M1X / M1+ Mac Mini Speculations

[displayator]

I have read threads, rumors and speculation about the M1X and it seems it's only going to be in the 16" mbp and probably the iMac(s).

I am on the edge of ordering an M1 with 16GB / 2TB, but the only thing holding me back is the thought of an M1X Mini becoming available in March or at WWDC. Also it seems the 16GB / 2TB Mini is shipping end of Jan / Beginning of Feb, getting closer to March iPad (Pro) event territory.


The rumors seems to only suggest an increase of the i/o for a higher tier Mac Mini allowing maybe 4 Thunderbolt ports and a 10GBit ethernet, but the things that gives me pause is that the Intel Mini still exists and supports more thunderbolts and displays, and spreads higher in price with 1 CPU upgrade and 2 more RAM upgrade options vs the M1.

So I think the remaining unannounced options for the Mini are:

- "better cpu" upgrade, which could be "just the IO" (M1+) allowing to support more thunderbolt ports & 10GBit Ethernet. Or an M1X with an improved GPU to support extra displays as well.

- 32GB RAM
- 64GB RAM (apparently still speculative as an option on the MBP by one of the leaker)

- 10GBit ethernet

Maybe even 4TB SSD, because why not?

The only thing we now for sure is the existence of a 10GBit Ethernet M1 motherboard for Mac Mini.

My hope is that if there is an option that increase the support for more IO, including 4 tb port as on the Intel Mini, it would be surprising if more displays are not supported.
=> So if one imagine that there could be support for more thunderbolt ports and more displays, does that imply an M1+ / M1X Mini with an improved GPU?
=> Would this imaginary improved mini be released around the March event or the WWDC event?



Decisions, decisions!!!

 

[Pressure]

The fact they still sell the space grey Mac mini should be telling.

There should come something to replace it or it would be gone already.

 

[digitalbreak]

Every year, Apple makes advances with their hardware and software. So, if you absolutely need the upgrade today and the options available do help you succeed with your work, do it. If not you can always wait or trade-in your device at a later time to get the new ones.

 

[JohnnyGo]

The fact they still sell the space grey Mac mini should be telling.

There should come something to replace it or it would be gone already.

I agree.

A beefier Mac Mini is coming. When ? Who knows. My guess: 60% chance to happen around WWDC, 90% by the end of 2021

 

[displayator]

Every year, Apple makes advances with their hardware and software. So, if you absolutely need the upgrade today and the options available do help you succeed with your work, do it. If not you can always wait or trade-in your device at a later time to get the new ones.

Yeah, well it's mostly FOMO, if I buy now, receive it in Feb and they release the M1X in March or WWDC I will feel bad. if they only release an M2 mini in November I would not feel bad. If I was in the market for a Macbook Air or a Macbook Escape I would have pressed the confirm order button already.

The existence of the Intel Mini and its higher RAM is what makes me think the rollout of the Mini is not complete.

I'm old enough to remember a time when there was CPU updates every 6 month! Those were the days! Nowadays Intel and AMD have enough trouble rolling out their architecture throughout the year.

If I upgrade now and keep it for the next 5 years I max it out. If I upgrade now and resell it in 6 month I buy a lower end version (less loss on resell).

I'm afraid on missing out on a significant GPU improvement compared to the Intel and M1 Mini if they release an M1X Mini in the next 6 months.

 

[displayator]

I agree.

A beefier Mac Mini is coming. When ? Who knows. My guess: 60% chance to happen around WWDC, 90% by the end of 2021

I think if they update the Mac Mini after WWDC it will be with an M2 / M2X in November. Though maybe they would like to eventually move up the release cycle so they can hit the Back To School season.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I don’t need one yet but I’m dying to get an m1 mac. I wouldn’t do it until I’ve seen what the pro models have to offer though, probably won’t even do it until the whole line is complete. I’m looking forward to a Mac mini pro. I think there will be redesigns for some models too. And that lush jet black stealth type colour rumour. Waiting is definitely my game.
But as I said, my 2018 i7 max mini is still doing it’s job admirably, so my situation probably varies from yours.

 

[displayator]

Every year, Apple makes advances with their hardware and software. So, if you absolutely need the upgrade today and the options available do help you succeed with your work, do it. If not you can always wait or trade-in your device at a later time to get the new ones.

The trouble with trade-in or re-sell is that it's a big loss and a huge pain.
Either you're not budget limited and can buy the new one, migrate and sell the old one, or have to backup, clean and sell the old one, then buy the new one. But there is a period of time during which you have no computer (or a backup computer). I guess you could do it in one or two days if what you want is available in store.

 

[Fomalhaut]

I agree.

A beefier Mac Mini is coming. When ? Who knows. My guess: 60% chance to happen around WWDC, 90% by the end of 2021

Given the Mac Mini's history of updates, I wouldn't expect anything until the end of 2021 or even later. I think they probably think that the current M1 model is enough for most people who want a "cheap" Mac desktop.

I bought one last week (16GB/512GB) and it's working like a champ for DevOps work.

Increases in RAM or TB ports would almost certainly need a new SoC, and I expect the focus this year will be on the more powerful laptops and the iMac.

Hopefully, with Apple Silicon, we will see more frequent upgrades in the Mini, but I'm betting that I made the right choice by jumping on board with the M1 Mini...I may eat my words later, but I can live with that!

 

[displayator]

I don’t need one yet but I’m dying to get an m1 mac. I wouldn’t do it until I’ve seen what the pro models have to offer though, probably won’t even do it until the whole line is complete. I’m looking forward to a Mac mini pro. I think there will be redesigns for some models too. And that lush jet black stealth type colour rumour. Waiting is definitely my game.
But as I said, my 2018 i7 max mini is still doing it’s job admirably, so my situation probably varies from yours.

My 2012 MacBook air really need some successor. I guess I should get a TB3 / TB4 docking station and plug some external storage, to eventually re-use with a Mac Mini, but the CPU is really struggling with the Photos app.

 

[Fomalhaut]

I agree.

A beefier Mac Mini is coming. When ? Who knows. My guess: 60% chance to happen around WWDC, 90% by the end of 2021

I would be surprised to see a new Mini around WWDC time; I think the focus will be more power MacBooks.

Maybe an entry-level iMac with the M1 somewhat earlier? A new large (27"/32"?) iMac with M1X / M2 I would expect around October 2021, with the better GPU ("Lifuka"), whatever that turns out to be!

 

[displayator]

Given the Mac Mini's history of updates, I wouldn't expect anything until the end of 2021 or even later. I think they probably think that the current M1 model is enough for most people who want a "cheap" Mac desktop.

I bought one last week (16GB/512GB) and it's working like a champ for DevOps work.

Increases in RAM or TB ports would almost certainly need a new SoC, and I expect the focus this year will be on the more powerful laptops and the iMac.

Hopefully, with Apple Silicon, we will see more frequent upgrades in the Mini, but I'm betting that I made the right choice by jumping on board with the M1 Mini...I may eat my words later, but I can live with that!

if there had been a 32 & 64 GB RAM Mini I would have bought it already I think, assuming the rollout was complete. But the Intel Mini remains with higher ram and more TB ports which makes me think that the Mini could be split the same way the MPB 13" is (touchbar vs non-touchbar 13" / Edit: now 2 vs 4 tb ports 13"). That and the mystery 10GBit ethernet motherboard for the M1 Mini makes me think its rollout might not be complete.

 

[digitalbreak]

Yeah, well it's mostly FOMO, if I buy now, receive it in Feb and they release the M1X in March or WWDC I will feel bad. if they only release an M2 mini in November I would not feel bad. If I was in the market for a Macbook Air or a Macbook Escape I would have pressed the confirm order button already.

The existence of the Intel Mini and its higher RAM is what makes me think the rollout of the Mini is not complete.

I'm old enough to remember a time when there was CPU updates every 6 month! Those were the days! Nowadays Intel and AMD have enough trouble rolling out their architecture throughout the year.

If I upgrade now and keep it for the next 5 years I max it out. If I upgrade now and resell it in 6 month I buy a lower end version (less loss on resell).

I'm afraid on missing out on a significant GPU improvement compared to the Intel and M1 Mini if they release an M1X Mini in the next 6 months.

Apple has publicly stated it will take 2 years to transition all of their hardware to Apple Silicon. So, that itself should tell you that there is more coming within the next 18 to 24 months.

I keep my laptop for 3 to 3.5 years and then upgrade. The M1 MBA seems like it will surely last longer for my workloads. My previous laptop was 2017 MBP 15" which I traded for the M1 16GB/1TB/8-core GPU MBA. I may trade-in the device in 2 years or sell it 3rd party marketplace like swappa if Apple comes with M2, which should be right around 2023 if all goes well.

 

[displayator]

I would be surprised to see a new Mini around WWDC time; I think the focus will be more power MacBooks.

Maybe an entry-level iMac with the M1 somewhat earlier? A new large (27"/32"?) iMac with M1X / M2 I would expect around October 2021, with the better GPU ("Lifuka"), whatever that turns out to be!

The obvious holes in the lineup with rumors are the 24" iMac (new design) and 14" MBP (micro LED). These could be driven by an M1+ (14") M1X (16", 24").

So I assume there might be an event around an M1X chip supporting more RAM and more Thunderbolt powering the next round of devices (24" imac, 4 port 13" successor, 16"), and the question is would this chip find its way in the Mini to bring it to par with the Intel Mini.

 

[displayator]

Apple has publicly stated it will take 2 years to transition all of their hardware to Apple Silicon. So, that itself should tell you that there is more coming within the next 18 to 24 months.

I keep my laptop for 3 to 3.5 years and then upgrade. The M1 MBA seems like it will surely last longer for my workloads. My previous laptop was 2017 MBP 15" which I traded for the M1 16GB/1TB/8-core GPU MBA. I may trade-in the device in 2 years or sell it 3rd party marketplace like swappa if Apple comes with M2, which should be right around 2023 if all goes well.

My assumption is that by or at WWDC we will have the 24", 4port 13" and 16" . After that the iMac 27 / 30 / 32 gets updated with M1X and Apple discrete GPU, maybe in fall maybe in the following spring with M2X, and then the iMac Pro and Mac Pro get sunset or updated at WWDC 2022.
In the mean time the MBA, 13" MBP, maybe even Mac Mini get refreshed with M2 chips in November 2021.

 

[Fomalhaut]

if there had been a 32 & 64 GB RAM Mini I would have bought it already I think, assuming the rollout was complete. But the Intel Mini remains with higher ram and more TB ports which makes me think that the Mini could be split the same way the MPB 13" is (touchbar vs non-touchbar 13" / Edit: now 2 vs 4 tb ports 13"). That and the mystery 10GBit ethernet motherboard for the M1 Mini makes me think its rollout might not be complete.

Do you have a definite need the 32/64GB RAM and 10Gbit ethernet? I have found the 16GB M1 Mini to be very efficient with its RAM usage - more so than my 32GB MBP16. I'm not saying it magically transforms 16GB into 32GB, but it does seem to work well.

The trouble with Apple Silicon is that RAM increases are now an expensive proposition at the mercy of Apple's exorbitant pricing. The cost of it will make people seriously consider their real needs versus their assumed needs.

 

[displayator]

16GB would be enough for today. But if I want to keep it more than a year I will need 32 and for 5 or more years 64 would be a requirement. I run eclipse, pycharm, firefox, some java process started by eclipse, slack, skype. Given that docker is not ready yet, 16GB would be enough until I can run it.

The 10GBit is probably overkill given my home network at the moment, and could be upgraded via thunderbolt anyway. But that would be more comfortable with 4 tb ports instead of 2:
1 for display (hopefully ultrafine at some point)
1 for an nvme SSD because 2TB is not enough
Then 1 for a hub for all the other peripherals.

Yeah the RAM and GPU are my biggest FOMO, followed by the 4 thunderbolt ports instead of 2 thunderbolt port.

 

[Fomalhaut]

16GB would be enough for today. But if I want to keep it more than a year I will need 32 and for 5 or more years 64 would be a requirement. I run eclipse, pycharm, firefox, some java process started by eclipse, slack, skype. Given that docker is not ready yet, 16GB would be enough until I can run it.

The 10GBit is probably overkill given my home network at the moment, and could be upgraded via thunderbolt anyway. But that would be more comfortable with 4 tb ports instead of 2:
1 for display (hopefully ultrafine at some point)
1 for an nvme SSD because 2TB is not enough
Then 1 for a hub for all the other peripherals.

Yeah the RAM and GPU are my biggest FOMO, followed by the 4 thunderbolt ports instead of 2 thunderbolt port.

Your list of applications doesn't sound very different to mine, and unless you are running huge JVMs (or lots of them), then the 16GB does fine. How many Docker containers would you normally run? Assuming this is just for development, you can run a lot of containers with capped Docker CPU/RAM limits - they might be a bit slower if heavily over-committed, but should be usable. These guys were running 625 Linux containers on a 16GB machine in 2015: https://ubuntu.com/blog/how-many-containers-can-you-run-on-your-machine

As always, "it depends...".

One other point (that I make often ) is that a lot of software development is pushing builds and deployments to cloud platforms, so the power of client machines is becoming less relevant. If you are paying for Cloud Services out of your own pocket, then yes, there is a financial case to be made for doing more development locally, but you need to do a real cost-analysis to see whether paying Apple $1000 to upgrade to 64GB (cost of 8GB->64GB on an Intel Mini) is going to be cheaper than renting the time on AWS, GCP or MS Azure.

If you are doing this professionally for customers, then quite possibly the end product is deployed on a cloud platform and you can just use their development environment (or bill them for using an environment owned by you).

Another option is to run your own servers at home of course, or use a CoLocation service, but then you have the admin overhead of installing and managing them or paying someone else to do it.

One more point. If you are trying to "future proof" by waiting for the next Apple Silicon Mac, and then maxing it out, consider that after 5 years, when you say you will need 64GB RAM, that your CPU/GPU will be 5 years old, and you'll probably want to upgrade anyway.

 

[jdb8167]

I wouldn't bet on only the 16" MacBook Pro with the next M1 generation--we'll call it the M1X but who knows. I would actually think that it is likely that the 16" MacBook Pro might not get that SoC but remain on Intel until late 2021-early 2022.

Right now we have both the higher end 13" MacBook Pro and Mac mini that are both still on Intel and they will be the easiest to update to Apple Silicon since they could use the same M1 as the 13" MBA, MBP and mini with some additional I/O capabilities and maybe more CPU and/or GPU cores. The I/O is necessary if they want to match the higher end MacBook Pro that is still on Intel. I wouldn't bet against Apple replacing the 13" Intel MacBook Pro with a 13" M1X MacBook Pro with 4 Thunderbolt/USB4 ports and maybe more CPU and GPU cores (GPU most likely). The higher end Mac mini is also ripe for replacement as soon as possible. Again, I/O is missing to match up with the Intel mini. There could also be a 24" iMac that uses this SoC. These also need at least 64 GB of RAM since the Intel mini supports that and 4 TB of fast SSD because the Intel 13" MBP has 4 TB. They also have to support at least 1 5K or 6K display and/or at least 2 4K displays.

I'd expect a 16" MacBook Pro is going to need a much more radical upgrade compared to the M1 or the M1X described above. The current Intel 16" MBP CPU performance is about the same as the M1 but since a 16" Apple Silicon MBP will come out next year, it needs to outperform the current i9 8 core Intel CPU. In addition, the current 16" MBP can be configured with an 8 GB Radeon Pro 5600M which has about double the performance of the 8 GPU core M1. So figure at least 24 to 32 GPU cores to keep up with GPU technology. You can also spec an Intel 16" MBP with 64 GB of RAM and 4 TB of fast SSD. Video output is also far better than the M1 with up to 2 6K displays or 4 4K displays.

Those specs for an Apple Silicon 16" MBP are probably not sufficient because Apple is also probably going to update the non-Pro 27" iMac with the same SoC as the 16". The 27" iMac can support up to 128 GB of RAM and up to 8 TB of fast SSD. It also has a faster GPU than the top of the line Intel 16" MBP with the 16 GB Radeon Pro 5700 XT. So I would expect the generation after the M1X to have 4 Thunderbolt/USB4 ports with at least an 8 performance core/4 efficiency core SoC with at least 24 GPU cores. Then it needs all the I/O to get to the 128 GB of RAM, 8 TB of fast SSD, and video out for at least 2 6K displays and/or 4 4K displays.

I think getting to that higher spec is going to take longer than next spring. Realistically, next spring is going to be a modest update to the late 2020 M1 to add additional RAM, 4 Thunderbolt/USB4 with more video out and maybe more CPU or GPU cores. The generation after that will be a big one to support everything needed by the 16" MacBook Pro and non-Pro 27" iMac (and maybe a 14" MBP).

 

[displayator]

Your list of applications doesn't sound very different to mine, and unless you are running huge JVMs (or lots of them), then the 16GB does fine. How many Docker containers would you normally run? Assuming this is just for development, you can run a lot of containers with capped Docker CPU/RAM limits - they might be a bit slower if heavily over-committed, but should be usable. These guys were running 625 Linux containers on a 16GB machine in 2015: https://ubuntu.com/blog/how-many-containers-can-you-run-on-your-machine

As always, "it depends...".

One other point (that I make often ) is that a lot of software development is pushing builds and deployments to cloud platforms, so the power of client machines is becoming less relevant. If you are paying for Cloud Services out of your own pocket, then yes, there is a financial case to be made for doing more development locally, but you need to do a real cost-analysis to see whether paying Apple $1000 to upgrade to 64GB (cost of 8GB->64GB on an Intel Mini) is going to be cheaper than renting the time on AWS, GCP or MS Azure.

If you are doing this professionally for customers, then quite possibly the end product is deployed on a cloud platform and you can just use their development environment (or bill them for using an environment owned by you).

Another option is to run your own servers at home of course, or use a CoLocation service, but then you have the admin overhead of installing and managing them or paying someone else to do it.

One more point. If you are trying to "future proof" by waiting for the next Apple Silicon Mac, and then maxing it out, consider that after 5 years, when you say you will need 64GB RAM, that your CPU/GPU will be 5 years old, and you'll probably want to upgrade anyway.

I think on linux they can use CHROOT for docker but they have to use some kind of VM for Mac OS, thus being less RAM effective than they can be on Linux. But yeah, maybe 16GB would be a good start.

I am developing this cloud env stuff and I dislike the latency of using remote services (nevermind the rights and roles management rigamarole). Supposedly for the cloud stuff you have a script that provision and deploy everything, but the latency of it going through the full pipeline is productivity killing. It feels more productive to have a limited copy of the env locally that you can test your component against and then deploy it to the cloud environments.

For the future proofing it's half future proofing / half fomo. After reading this thread I expect a 4 thunderbolt port mac mini that supports more RAM to come this year, probably around WWDC. I think such a machine would be useful longer than a 2 port machine.

 

[displayator]

I wouldn't bet on only the 16" MacBook Pro with the next M1 generation--we'll call it the M1X but who knows. I would actually think that it is likely that the 16" MacBook Pro might not get that SoC but remain on Intel until late 2021-early 2022.

Right now we have both the higher end 13" MacBook Pro and Mac mini that are both still on Intel and they will be the easiest to update to Apple Silicon since they could use the same M1 as the 13" MBA, MBP and mini with some additional I/O capabilities and maybe more CPU and/or GPU cores. The I/O is necessary if they want to match the higher end MacBook Pro that is still on Intel. I wouldn't bet against Apple replacing the 13" Intel MacBook Pro with a 13" M1X MacBook Pro with 4 Thunderbolt/USB4 ports and maybe more CPU and GPU cores (GPU most likely). The higher end Mac mini is also ripe for replacement as soon as possible. Again, I/O is missing to match up with the Intel mini. There could also be a 24" iMac that uses this SoC. These also need at least 64 GB of RAM since the Intel mini supports that and 4 TB of fast SSD because the Intel 13" MBP has 4 TB. They also have to support at least 1 5K or 6K display and/or at least 2 4K displays.

I'd expect a 16" MacBook Pro is going to need a much more radical upgrade compared to the M1 or the M1X described above. The current Intel 16" MBP CPU performance is about the same as the M1 but since a 16" Apple Silicon MBP will come out next year, it needs to outperform the current i9 8 core Intel CPU. In addition, the current 16" MBP can be configured with an 8 GB Radeon Pro 5600M which has about double the performance of the 8 GPU core M1. So figure at least 24 to 32 GPU cores to keep up with GPU technology. You can also spec an Intel 16" MBP with 64 GB of RAM and 4 TB of fast SSD. Video output is also far better than the M1 with up to 2 6K displays or 4 4K displays.

Those specs for an Apple Silicon 16" MBP are probably not sufficient because Apple is also probably going to update the non-Pro 27" iMac with the same SoC as the 16". The 27" iMac can support up to 128 GB of RAM and up to 8 TB of fast SSD. It also has a faster GPU than the top of the line Intel 16" MBP with the 16 GB Radeon Pro 5700 XT. So I would expect the generation after the M1X to have 4 Thunderbolt/USB4 ports with at least an 8 performance core/4 efficiency core SoC with at least 24 GPU cores. Then it needs all the I/O to get to the 128 GB of RAM, 8 TB of fast SSD, and video out for at least 2 6K displays and/or 4 4K displays.

I think getting to that higher spec is going to take longer than next spring. Realistically, next spring is going to be a modest update to the late 2020 M1 to add additional RAM, 4 Thunderbolt/USB4 with more video out and maybe more CPU or GPU cores. The generation after that will be a big one to support everything needed by the 16" MacBook Pro and non-Pro 27" iMac (and maybe a 14" MBP).

They do seem to like putting laptop parts in their desktops...

I think the "more RAM /more TB port / more video out" is the 14" / 13" MBP. but if they put that chip in a 24" iMac as well, it kinda needs a beefier GPU than the current M1. And are they willing to put that chip in the Mac Mini? Maybe with less GPU cores than in the iMac so as not to undercut the new iMac.

 

[chris-7777]

I am on the edge of ordering an M1 with 16GB / 2TB, but the only thing holding me back is the thought of an M1X Mini becoming available in March or at WWDC. Also it seems the 16GB / 2TB Mini is shipping end of Jan / Beginning of Feb, getting closer to March iPad (Pro) event territory.

I feel your pain.

Every year, Apple makes advances with their hardware and software. So, if you absolutely need the upgrade today and the options available do help you succeed with your work, do it. If not you can always wait or trade-in your device at a later time to get the new ones.

Yes and no. No, because the AS transition period is unlike a more or less steady upgrade cycle we have seen in the previous years. Yes, because you need to focus your buying decision on what your current needs are even more than ever.

We all know that there will be new AS machines with more cores, more RAM, more I/O in the next year and the year after that. Wrt the Mini, it is obvious that it is "underpowered" with the M1 being the first entry-level SoC in a desktop device, which is obviously a showcase of power/thermal efficiency for mobile computers. So if you can't live with the M1 performance and the features, don't buy it.

On the other hand, the changes in the next Mini version won't be disruptive: Probably 6 or 8 high-performance core instead of 4, maybe more GPU cores, most likely more RAM, more I/O. They might make it a bit smaller, but IMHO this is negligable compared to the fundamental redesign that is expected for the Macbook (new form factor, Mini-LED, maybe touchscreen). I find this prediction very intruiging: "Within the next three years, Kuo's optimistic scenario sees MacBook shipments grow significantly by 100 percent with up to 35 million units per year, thanks to the adoption of ‌Apple Silicon‌ and refreshed designs."

Kuo: Two Redesigned MacBook Pros in 2021 and New MacBook Air in 2022, All With Apple Silicon and Mini-LED Displays

Apple plans to release two redesigned MacBook Pros in 2021 and a new MacBook Air in 2022, all with mini-LED displays and Apple Silicon chips,...

www.macrumors.com

So if you considering buying a 16GB/2TB Mini now with delivery in Feb, the questions are: Can you wait 1–2 more months (best case)? Can you wait 8 months (worst case)? How much more are you willing to pay for 32GB / 2–4 cores on top / 2TB more / 2 more ports? Fill in your own guess about the pricing.

 

[nothingtoseehere]

I am on the edge of ordering an M1 with 16GB / 2TB, but the only thing holding me back is the thought of an M1X Mini becoming available in March or at WWDC. Also it seems the 16GB / 2TB Mini is shipping end of Jan / Beginning of Feb, getting closer to March iPad (Pro) event territory.

A little bit thinking out of the box: For your use case, the more RAM, the better. But as the 8GB Minis are available, how about giving it a try? Maybe with a clean install, keeping the old machine around? Then, as soon as the higher specced Apple Silicon comes, getting a beefed up machine?

 

[bluecoast]

My assumption is that by or at WWDC we will have the 24", 4port 13" and 16" . After that the iMac 27 / 30 / 32 gets updated with M1X and Apple discrete GPU, maybe in fall maybe in the following spring with M2X, and then the iMac Pro and Mac Pro get sunset or updated at WWDC 2022.
In the mean time the MBA, 13" MBP, maybe even Mac Mini get refreshed with M2 chips in November 2021.

Agreed. I suspect that the initial target for the above hardware was March 2021 - but with Covid, you’d have to imagine that the next wave has been pushed back to WWDC (still online at that point I’d imagine).

 

[chris-7777]

Not sure about that. My guess is that as soon as the M1X is available, the redesign of both the 16/14'' as well as the 27/24'' is the limiting factor. Why should they announce a (redesigned) 24'' and defer a (redesigned) 27'', which both can be powered with an M1X? Why do you assume the Mini skips the M1X?