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Alleged 'Mac Studio' Renders Surface Ahead of Tomorrow's 'Peek Performance' Apple Event
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Oof - that would be out of character for Apple to offer this.
But it would be a lot cooler if they did. ?
Some people want internal expansion not to have a desk littered with cables and external drives. I would love to have a new mac that I could add an ssd or ram but know that probably wont happen.
Both the 14” and 16” Macbook Pro thermally throttle with AS. And now they are talking about an AS chip that is more powerful than the M1 Max!
So the device needs a lot more thermal headroom. Hence the “thick”
They might also just need mkre space to add more I/O.
Presumably the Mac Mini will still be around if people want something slimmer.
This isn't the only render that has been put forth. Two other renders have the Mac Pro's lattice design. One is a cube like this one and the other is a cylinder that looks similar to the Mac Pro Late 2013. Maybe we'll find out tomorrow. 
I was thinking/hoping for the same. Being able to sit my 13 Pro on top for a lil boost (and/or my AW) would be SaWEET.
I’m one that would love to see wireless charging come to the iPad line. That is the only thing missing from my mini 6. Even so, it’s my favorite iPad to date.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Here's the thing: Mac Mini with PRO & MAX were very confidently rumored back with the MBpro launch. There seemed to be great confidence BOTH were ready to ship then... but pulled at the last minute for whatever reason. If that's true, I still fully expect Mac Mini PRO & MAX models to be launched, hopefully tomorrow.
If this Studio concept is real, I'm guessing that is something ABOVE a Mac Mini footprint... perhaps holding the long-rumored DUO.
There were NO rumors of this Studio back at the MBpro launch- just Mac Mini with PRO & MAX BTO. So if this was the plan all along, I think this Studio leak would have been buzzing back then. Since it was not, I'd leap to an assumption that Mac Mini with PRO & MAX exists in a traditional Mac Mini size or smaller.
So my wild guess is that the new Mac Mini case (the smaller one, possibly with colors) is announced tomorrow with PRO & MAX options. If PRO & MAX works in a MBPro-sized case, imagine chopping off the parts that do not come with a Mini and what is left is a small bit of tech that would be the guts of this small Mini. That shouldn't need a much thicker case and I don't think PRO & MAX support the potentials of what else could go in there unless perhaps some of the PRO & MAX ports are used inside to hook something else up (SSD, M.2, etc).
If Studio is real, I'm guessing the "peek" is at it, perhaps NOT available ASAP after tomorrow but available around WWDC. And since M1 DUO has real plausibility, I'm guessing Studio (or whatever) perhaps is for DUO, not just PRO & MAX.
All along, I've been assuming Mac Mini PRO & MAX would be priced about like a MBpro 14" configuration minus about $500-$700 for the lid, keyboard, track pad, better speakers, etc. If so, that puts Mac Mini with PRO & MAX options in the- my guesses- $1499-$5000 range. So my guess for this Studio probably builds up mostly above that level... more like iMac Pros minus screen, keyboard and mouse... probably starting with minimal config at maybe $3999-$4999 and going UP from there.
Does that seem crazy? Well if you max out the Intel Mac Mini in the store now, you get a $2999 price for 64GB RAM and 2TB storage, using old 8th generation Intel brains. I don't find it hard to imagine M1 DUO costing more than that... and more if you want > 2TB internal storage: add $600 for 4TB and $1800 for 8TB).
Else, if no duo yet, I would think that Apple is cranking up the power to PRO & MAX for greater performance (not spinning "per watt" but embracing power "per CORE") and thus needs more space for heat sink/management inside this "studio" box.
All speculation of course... but as logical as I can do it.
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It also could be as simple as: this machine has a thermal system that takes up space, to allow sustained peak performance from the M1 Pro and M1 Max.
I don’t understand this idea fully. Isn’t a major factor of Apple Silicon the idea of unified memory? If so, how will the two cpus share the separate memory?
As long a expansion (and other flex Pros require/desire) is there, this could be an interesting strategy for their desktop line. Theoretically, I’m in.
Regardless, I’m pretty excited for tomorrow’s livestream. Whose with me? ?
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Hmmmmm, that's really interesting. Instead of thinking of DUO as one linking 2 SoCs, what if it's linking 2 SoCs with their own motherboards for their own SSDs? As much money as Apple is charging for storage you MUST buy up front if you think you'll ever want it, I would think they would go to the trouble of offering 16TB in a DUO rather than limiting their very profitable take to only 8TB.
Yawn. Can we have something a bit different Apple?
Because of massive heatsink.
If you believe it, that it will be totally fanless.This isn't the only render that has been put forth. Two other renders have the Mac Pro's lattice design. One is a cube like this one and the other is a cylinder that looks similar to the Mac Pro Late 2013. Maybe we'll find out tomorrow.
Either of those would look way better IMO. Although the original 9to5mac article seemed to suggest it was going to look like a Mac Mini, so I am not optimistic.
I love the 2013 Mac Pro design.
Sure, but the existing Mini design could accommodate a full-size desktop Intel i7 space heater and a more complex circuit board... I don't see it struggling with anything that currently fits into a MacBook Pro.
The rumored 2x chip maybe (...and that would also support twice the ports...)
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I don't know... and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night. ?
Working from rumors and speculation of others, apparently DUO comes from the magic of "special fabric"... which I interpret as creating the equivalent of ONE bigger chip... OR more like a network of 2 separate computers working in tandem. If you think back to X-grid or whatever it was called, where you could share the work across separate Macs to collectively tap their horsepower to speed up some task able to use it, that's mostly what I think DUO can be.
That's how I also imagine the further rumored QUAD: basically 4 "Macs" able to work together through some kind of link (fabric or whatever else). If so, then conceptually each could have its own unified RAM for doing its part of the shared work and, at least in my head, it's own fast storage too.
However, I am FARRRRRRRRRRRR from expert at this kind of thing. Perhaps the magic fabric links M1 MAXs together as if they ARE one unified chip? All rumors about it keep seeming to get them their own RAM though and, until this thread, I have been under the impression that they could have their own extra fast storage too.
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this is hilarious. and so unlike apple, i really am beginning to think they cant innovate for anything anymore... that is UGLY. how any of you can say its nice.. Luke Miani is a good youtuber. but the chances he has got this right are very low. i mean come on he's a YOUTUBER. not an engineer.
It's not just Intel Macs, it's pre-T2 Intel Macs. Once those pass out of support I suspect that MacOS will pretty quickly drop support for anything without a T2, because security.
I think that clock started ticking with the discontinuation of the 21.5 iMac last year.
Same. If Mac Studio looks like the boring render from the YouTuber I'm not buying one.
From Nov 2020:
Apple Working on Redesigned Mac Pro With Smaller Form Factor and Apple Silicon Chip
As part of the transition to Apple Silicon, Apple is designing a new Mac Pro that has a smaller form factor, reports Bloomberg. The new Mac Pro is...
www.macrumors.com
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Yes, but- I presume- that's not THIS. That was loosely rumored as Mac Pro "Jr.". This is Mac Mini "Plus."
Certainly they could be the same thing... but there were ZERO rumors for Mac Pro Jr. launching with MBpros in October. However, there seemed to be MORE rumors that Mac Mini with PRO & MAX launching in October than MBpros.
If this Studio rumor is a real product, it very well may be the rumored Mac Pro Jr.
I'm doubting this one though... as it just popped up recently... and I'm not quite seeing Mac Pro Jr./Studio beating iMac "bigger" out of the launch door.
We'll see tomorrow. Frankly, I hope BOTH show up: existing or smaller Mini with PRO & MAX and Jr/Studio perhaps with DUO too. If both, then iMac "bigger" almost certainly has DUO configurations coming and apparently Mac Pro seems likely to be QUAD or more (perhaps however many MX MAXs one wants in a box working together?) or maybe it kicks off with M2 MAX DUO?
Certainly they could be the same thing... but there were ZERO rumors for Mac Pro Jr. launching with MBpros in October. However, there seemed to be MORE rumors that Mac Mini with PRO & MAX launching in October than MBpros.
If this Studio rumor is a real product, it very well may be the rumored Mac Pro Jr.
I'm doubting this one though... as it just popped up recently... and I'm not quite seeing Mac Pro Jr./Studio beating iMac "bigger" out of the launch door.
We'll see tomorrow. Frankly, I hope BOTH show up: existing or smaller Mini with PRO & MAX and Jr/Studio perhaps with DUO too. If both, then iMac "bigger" almost certainly has DUO configurations coming and apparently Mac Pro seems likely to be QUAD or more (perhaps however many MX MAXs one wants in a box working together?) or maybe it kicks off with M2 MAX DUO?