Apple just launched seven products last week. But inside the macOS 26.4 developer beta that quietly dropped on March 9, references to two products that were not among them have already appeared: an unreleased Mac mini and two new Mac Studio configurations.
What Was Found in the Beta
According to AppleInsider and MacRumors, internal builds of macOS Tahoe 26.4 are compatible with hardware identifiers J873s and J873g — both corresponding to unreleased Mac mini models with M5 and M5 Pro chips — as well as J775c and J775d, which match two new Mac Studio configurations using M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips.
This is a well-established pattern. Apple routinely tests upcoming hardware against in-development software, and those identifier references almost always surface in beta builds weeks or months before the products are officially announced. The M5 MacBook Air appeared in internal builds before its March 4 announcement. The MacBook Neo did the same.
Finding these identifiers in macOS 26.4 beta strongly suggests that both the Mac mini M5 and Mac Studio M5 will launch sometime around or after macOS 26.4 ships publicly — which is expected in late March 2026.
See Also: Every Apple Product Still Coming in 2026 — The Full Roadmap
What to Expect From Each Machine
The Mac mini M5 will offer M5 and M5 Pro chip options. No redesign is expected — the compact 5-by-5-inch enclosure from the 2024 M4 refresh stays the same. The M5 chip brings up to 45 percent faster GPU performance and 3.5x faster AI task handling compared to M4, making it a meaningful upgrade for anyone on an M1 or M2 Mac mini.
The Mac Studio M5 is the more significant update. Bloomberg’s Gurman expects M5 Max and M5 Ultra variants, with the M5 Ultra delivering a major leap over the M3 Ultra it replaces. Notably, Apple is redesigning how the M5 Max is built — placing the CPU and GPU on separate silicon blocks for the first time, allowing more flexible custom configurations.
When Will They Launch?
Based on the macOS 26.4 beta compatibility data and Gurman’s reporting, the Mac Studio is most likely to arrive in the middle of 2026 — potentially around WWDC in June. The Mac mini M5 is expected shortly after.
Both the Mac Studio and Mac mini missed Apple’s March launch week entirely, so anyone waiting on desktop Mac updates has at least a few more months to go. The M4 Mac mini remains an excellent machine in the meantime, and is currently available at a discount at several third-party retailers as Apple begins clearing inventory ahead of the M5 refresh.
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