Apple to launch new Mac mini and iPad mini soon, report says

Apple is about to launch a new Mac mini for the first time in two years, and it might come ahead of the company's big event in September.

This is according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who claims the Mac mini will arrive "as soon as the coming days."

The report offers few details about what the new Mac mini will be like. Gurman claims that Apple tested version with Apple M5 and M6 chips, but it's unclear which ones will be used in the final product.

The Mac mini is an unusually coveted product these days, as many people started using it to run AI tools such as agentic LLMs locally, including the super-popular OpenClaw. But the Mac mini hasn't been updated since November 2024, with Apple's M4 or M4 Pro chips and a more compact enclosure. An updated version with Apple's latest chips might be a coveted product, though with recent price increases due to the memory supply crunch, it's hard to tell how good a deal it will be. Apple recently increased the starting price of the M4 Mac Mini from $599 to $799 (though the pricier model comes with twice the storage.

Gurman also said Apple is working on a new iPad mini, which could launch by the end of October. The biggest changes for the new iPad mini should be the OLED display and a new chip, likely Apple's A19 Pro or A20.

If the report is accurate, the iPad mini will arrive at an interesting time, as Apple is widely expected to launch its first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Ultra, in September. That device will reportedly be similar in display size to an iPad mini when opened, making it a bit of a competitor for Apple's smallest tablet. However, the iPhone Ultra is rumored to cost north of $2,300, while the iPad mini currently starts at $599.