According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple may release a new Mac mini, to be called Mac mini 2021, within the "next few months."

This credible journalist and informant made the claim in the latest Power On newsletter, reinforcing rumors that the next compact desktop Mac will feature a new design and more ports. It looks pretty good. But in our review of the Mac mini M1, we concluded that it is a great little computer that tops our ranking of the best mini-PCs. So I don't know if Apple needs to release a new mini just a year after the last one.

According to Gurman and previous rumors, the Mac mini 2021 will double the number of Thunderbolt ports from two to four, but he has not commented much on the overall design of the Mac mini. However, leaker Jon Prosser claims that the next Mac mini will feature a "plexiglass" top and sport magnetic power ports like the iMac 2021. [This is because the Mac mini may reportedly use Apple's M1X chip, which is a more powerful version of the Apple M1 chip with more CPU and GPU cores. This is the same chip that is said to be in the upcoming MacBook Pro 2021, which makes sense since Gurman believes that the Mac mini 2021 will come after its laptop sibling.

I'm all for power upgrades and redesigns. However, especially in the face of machines like the Dell XPS 13 OLED, I think the MacBook Pro needs such a treatment, but I'm not sure the Mac mini needs it.

The clean, simple Apple logo on a compact square of aluminum is a pretty nice piece of industrial design. Sure, it looks like it could use a few more ports, but the Mac mini is not targeted at people who need a lot of Thunderbolt-enabled USB-C ports.

And while power is always a good thing, we have not heard anyone complain that the Mac mini is underpowered. For those who really need power, there is the iMac Pro and other powerful desktops.

Maybe some people crave a more powerful Mac mini, but I have never heard anyone say that. I'm all for Apple continuing to move forward, but I'd rather see them work on a redesign of the MacBook Air with a little more power and slimmer display bezels than ruin a perfectly good mini desktop.

In fact, I hope Cupertino engineers wait until they can use the Apple M2 chip and other enhanced Apple Silicon chips to give the next Mac mini some special features that will make it stand out from the MacBooks and iMacs Gurman has been right on target with this prediction and rumor. We'll just have to wait and see what happens in the fall, since Gurman may not have been right about these predictions and rumors.

Speaking of cooler weather, we can expect a whole slew of Apple products to be announced soon, most notably the iPhone 13 and Apple Watch 7, but we wouldn't be surprised if the rumored iPad mini 6 makes an appearance before the end of 2021.