The official Midnight Mac system specifications have a M2 processor as the minimum required. Can anyone tell me whether this is really strictly true—that Midnight won’t run at all on any Mac with an M1 processor—or whether such systems just aren’t officially supported, but the game will still launch and run, albeit probably more poorly than was deemed acceptable? It seems like it should be possible to test this with the Alpha, but I haven’t found an answer anywhere.
I have a 2021 M1 iMac purchased in 2023 and am quite unhappy that what seemed like a very solid new system when I bought it may already be losing the ability to run games less than three years later, but I’ve gathered the fault there may lie more with Apple than Blizzard, for its short support horizons. In any case, I’ve been looking to upgrade at some point before too long, but my tentative plan has been to switch to a Mac Mini when the next line comes out, apparently expected sometime in 2026. I can tolerate poor game performance at minimum graphic settings, but if my Mac won’t run WoW at all I’ll have to choose between going without the game for a while or rushing my system upgrade.
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My suggestion. Wait, until Public Beta is released. Then try it.
The Mac Mini is midway through its current cycle. I wouldn’t expect new models before October 2026. Here’s some info: https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac_Mini
If you need the Mini before then, I suggest the M4 Pro if it’s in your budget. I have a Studio with the M4 Pro and it’s a beast. I also suggest pairing your new Mini with a monitor with a refresh rate of 120Hz or higher.
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The two most recent Mac mini updates were introduced in January, 2023 (M2 or M2 Pro) and November, 2024 (M4 or M4 Pro). Based on that (and not the regrettable, long intervals between previous model introductions), I’d guess the next product refresh will be sometime between now and October or November of next year (2026).
Unless the M5 Pro & Max are delayed, I’m guessing most of the Mac lineup gets its M5 variant update within the next six months
As mentioned by Tavlina, might want to wait and try it out before rushing out to buy new hardware.
It’s possible there will be slight degradation to no change in performance. It all depends on where the performance bottlenecks are for the resolution and graphical settings you are running.