This is where my point comes in, how to you segment the M4 Pro if you can have an M4 Mini with the same 4 Thunderbolt ports and just 4Gb less memory? It just makes the base model too attractive for people who need the ports but not the horsepower.
USB4 is Thunderbolt. (Well, USB4 is not 100% Thunderbolt, but it incorporates a lot of Thunderbolt's features and for Apple products, AFAIK all USB4 ports are actually also Thunderbolt ports.) USB-A is on its way out, and actually I was a bit surprised that the M2 Mac mini preserved the USB-A ports. I had thought the M1 Mac mini was the transitional machine with USB-A, and then M2 would be the new revamp with USB-A eliminated.
That didn't happen, but I still think USB-A will be eliminated sooner rather than later. It turned out M2 only had 2 Thunderbolt controllers, but the missing piece is now in place with M4 since it has 4 Thunderbolt controllers. They wouldn't have bothered doing this, at a significant die area penalty too, if they weren't going to use them.
To make use of those 4 Thunderbolt controllers, they would have at least 3 Thunderbolt/USB4 ports, but possibly 4.
It should also be noted that all iOS and iPadOS devices released in the last year are now USB-C too.
BTW, we recently did a kitchen renovation, and for the electrical outlets we got some with USB. We spec'd dual USB-C for all of them. The problem with USB-A is limited charging compatibility and power. USB-C is more robust specs-wise for charging.
It realistically means the M4 Pro mini has to start with 24Gb RAM just to give that proper segmentation.
No it doesn't. M4 Pro also has the faster SoC, more ports, and bigger SSD. Furthermore, they can play with the pricing tiers as appropriate.
Furthermore, M4 Pro Mac mini could start at 18 GB. In fact, the M3 Pro MacBook Pros already start at 18 GB.
One other option could also see a base M2 Mini hang around as a cheap starter machine [no options] while the M4 model goes upmarket as a middle tier model with 12Gb RAM while the M4 Pro starts at a higher still price with the 24Gb RAM - kind of like a junior Mac Studio (and don't forget even that comes with USB-A ports)
That is also a possibility, or they could even eliminate the M4 Pro completely. But I don't think they will do either.
I still think it will be M4 12 GB base and M4 Pro but perhaps the latter with 18 GB base (instead of 16 GB).
I would have thought OLED would require a case redesign to accommodate for sure so Apple will want a 4th gen of the current 14 and 16 inch models to amortise the costs on the current design before switching things up with OLED.
Yes, OLED would mean a case redesign, and it would probably go thinner. It would make sense from that stand point to be 2026, in line with Ross Young's prediction.
And I'll add that Ross Young might not be aware of a new Mac if it was using the same panels as the 13" iPad Pro (at the higher iPad density) though.
My wacky idea - and this would legitimately include a battery (tap of the nose for people still indulging in THAT thread) would see a 4x3 aspect ratio iPad Pro screen used in a 13" MacBook Pro with that tandem OLED screen. If indeed M4 can accommodate
There won't even be a 13" MacBook Pro. The smallest MacBook Pro is 14.2", and I highly doubt they will regress with size, especially if OLED brings about a lighter form factor. 13" is restricted to the MBA, and even that isn't 13". It's 13.6", and it won't be going OLED anytime soon.
And neither will be 4:3. They just won't.
Whatever is under the hood, the M4 still officially starts at 8GB so you can't really predict future Mac RAM sizes from that. It's no great revelation that the M4 could take 12GB when even the M2 goes up to 24GB. Quite possibly, it's just a temporary supply chain glitch on the 4GB chips & they're keeping the option to go back to 8GB base when that's sorted. Otherwise, why not just give people 12GB and avoid the inevitable criticism? Esp. since the better model is 16GB, not 12GB so it's not like they can save on logistics by only having to make 12GB M4 packages - and even that upgrade is quietly bundled with the (expensive) 1TB SSD upgrade.
Because of marketecture concerns.
They are still selling 8 GB MacBook Pros and will be for many more months. AFAIK, iPads have never shipped with more base RAM than MacBook Pros. I don't expect the iPad Pros to go to 12 GB until the MacBook Pros go to 12 GB, meaning that I predict that the 2025 14" M4 MacBook Pro will ship with 12 GB RAM base, and then the 2026 M5 iPad Pro will also ship with 12 GB RAM base.
So, no you can't predict that the use of 6 GB chips in the M4 iPad Pro means the next Mac mini and MacBook Pros are definitely going to 12 GB base, but that possibility has gotten much, much more likely, and that is in fact what I am expecting. Just the fact that those 6 GB chips are there in the iPad Pro M4 illustrates that it's gotten to the point that Apple and/or Micron feel the 6 GB chips are cheap enough to use even when the design marketecture only specs 4 GB.