Is the Mac mini M2 going to be announced at WWDC 2022?

At the March Apple event we expected to see a new, more powerful Mac mini but instead, we got the insanely powerful Mac Studio. Now there's a chance that the upgraded Mac mini could still be on its way. 

The latest firmware for the Studio Display contains references to a Macmini10,1. According to 9to5Mac, this isn't an existing model and could in fact be the much anticipated M2 update. 

The current Mac mini lineup includes two models with an M1 chip and a third that uses an Intel i5 processor. Aside from the Mac Pro, this high spec Mac mini is the last in the current Apple range to still use an Intel processor and is therefore highly likely to be replaced in the coming months. 

It was initially expected that the Mac mini would follow the higher-end MacBook Pro models in offering the M1 Pro and Max chips. Now though it seems more likely that it will be among the first devices to feature the second generation of M chips – potentially known as M2. 

Some have suggested that this year's WWDC, which takes place in June, could unusually see the announcement of new hardware. This last happened in 2019 with the announcement of the latest Mac Pro, so it's not impossible. The first mention of the M chips also came at WWDC in 2020. 

If not this July, it could be September before we see updates to the Mac mini, MacBook Air and 13in MacBook Pro, which feels like a long time to wait for us, and even longer for Apple to still have Intel models in its range.