iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Studio Refreshes Are Reportedly Ready — But a Memory Shortage Could Delay All Three

While most of Apple's September attention is on the iPhone and Apple Watch, three desktop Macs are reportedly waiting in the wings — and all three share the same complication. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports Apple is actively testing new iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Studio configurations, but the actual release timing for each now depends on "the state of memory-chip supplies" industry-wide, a constraint Apple CEO Tim Cook has himself acknowledged on a recent earnings call.

iMac: A New Chip, and Possibly New Colors

The next iMac is expected to move to Apple's M6 chip, according to 9to5Mac's reporting on Gurman's coverage — a straightforward generational step for the all-in-one desktop. Separately, some reporting points to a new slate of color options joining the current lineup, though this detail carries less sourcing weight than the chip upgrade itself.

Mac Mini: Apple May Skip the M5 Entirely

The Mac mini situation is the most unusual of the three. Gurman's reporting has shifted over the course of 2026 — earlier coverage pointed to M5 and M5 Pro chips, but the most recent reports describe Apple testing a base M6 chip paired with an M5 Pro, effectively skipping a standard M5 Mac mini generation entirely. That would be a genuine oddity: every other current Mac already runs M5-series silicon, making the Mac mini the one holdout still on M4 and M4 Pro since October 2024. One additional rumour worth flagging as more speculative: Macworld reports the base storage tier could double from 256GB to 512GB, though Apple hasn't confirmed this and it's presented as a prediction rather than a sourced leak.

Mac Studio: M5 Max and M5 Ultra, No Redesign Expected

The current Mac Studio lineup — M4 Max and M3 Ultra, released May 2025 — is expected to move to M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips. MacRumors' own round-up is explicit that there's no expectation of a physical redesign this generation; the compact squircle chassis, roughly 3.7 inches tall and 7.7 inches wide, is expected to carry over unchanged. With Apple's Mac Pro reportedly sidelined as a low-priority product, the Mac Studio has effectively become the company's de facto flagship for Mac desktop computing power.

The Common Thread: Memory, Not Design

None of these three updates involves a meaningful redesign — the story here is entirely about chips and timing. Macworld's reporting is direct that Tim Cook has acknowledged broader manufacturing challenges affecting M-series chip and memory supply on a recent financial results call, and that these constraints are expected to continue for several more quarters. Historically, dwindling stock levels on current models have often preceded a refresh, which is one reason some reports still expect a Mac Studio update before the end of 2026 despite the uncertainty — but as of this reporting, no official release date has been set for any of the three machines.

Apple has not confirmed new iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Studio models, their specifications, or release dates. Everything in this article is drawn from analyst and supply-chain reporting and remains unverified until Apple's official announcement.