I think the same, that the Mac mini will get an M2 and not an M1 Max/Pro. The M2 will be still "slower" than the M1 Max/Pro chips.
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Any compelling reasons to wait for the M1 Max Mini (vs. ordering M1 Max MBP now)?
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That's called "clearing the channel", standard for a soon-to-be-discontinued product...?
Yes, the Mac mini started as an entry-level offering, but there are plenty of end users who buy the higher-end models, because they want that 64GB of RAM in a small desktop product. They do not need a laptop, they do not want an AIO, they cannot afford a hyper-expensive (and physically massive) Mac Pro.
And Apple definitely pushed the 2018 Space Gray Mac mini towards the macOS power users when they debuted it; really pushing it as a still powerful yet lower-cost solution for assorted pro tasks; I believe they highlighted video editing & coding a good bit in the presentation?
Keep in mind, the folks buying the entry-level M1-powered Mac minis are NOT the same folks buying the higher-spec Mac minis; and the Mac-based CoLocation folks will want something more powerful (and with more RAM) than a stock M1-powered Mac mini. Plenty of market for a M1 Pro / M1 Max powered Mac mini, even if you don't personally think there is.
Yes, the Mac mini will get a M2-series SoC, along with a redesign and a slimmer (shorter) chassis; as has been rumored. This is for the ENTRY-LEVEL system! There will be more powerful systems as well. Apple is not keeping Intel models on the Apple Store for "poopies & giggles", it is there until it is replaced by an Apple silicon powered model.
Yes, the Mn-series SoCs will always be less powerful than the Mn Pro / Mn Max series SoCs; kind of like it was designed that way! Mn-series is low-end / entry-level SoCs; Mn Pro / Mn Max series are mid-to-high-level SoCs; with the SiP-based M1 Max Duo & Quadro units being the peak of power, but at a hefty cost.
If anything, this is one of the few times Apple has given us anything close to resembling a roadmap to future products! If there is an Intel unit still on the Apple Store, then it is "on the map" to be replaced by an Apple silicon model.
21.5" iMac- 27" iMac (Pro)
- Mid/High-level Mac mini (Pro)
- Mac Pro
Okay, there are rumors of an Intel refresh on the Mac Pro, which will require a new motherboard, but that itself would make sense as a final offering to the pro users who require PCIe slots for their workflow. This refresh could happen any time between now & WWDC 2022, but I would expect a portion of WWDC 2022 to focus on the all-new Mac Pro lineup...!
- Mac Pro Cube
32" iMac Pro- Mac Pro
And with the talk of a new 27" iMac being labeled as "Pro" because of it using the new M1 Pro / M1 Max SoCs, I have removed the 32" iMac Pro from my above lists...
AND if Apple is going to call a new 27" iMac the iMac Pro (again, because of the M1 Pro / Max SoCs) then the FORTHCOMING M1 Pro / Max powered Mac mini will henceforth be know as the Mac mini Pro...!!! ;^p
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For better purchasing decisions, you really need to look at your specific use case.
As soon as a product comes out, a better one almost always will already be in early execution.
Next one will usually have more CPU, or GPU cores.
Special case next year, is better manufacturing. TSMC will already mass produce chips at 3nm.
This is projected to have 25-30% increase in performance just because of the size decrease.
Apple would have already reserved that production run.
If you need the performance, get the new MBP 14/16 now. No better time.
If you can wait, are you sure you need it?
The current Mac mini M1 (or MBA M1) are still amazing machines.
Those will be good for many years to come.
For software development, looks like its a substantial upgrade because more performance cores. Will probably benefit a game developer most due to double gpu cores.
As soon as a product comes out, a better one almost always will already be in early execution.
Next one will usually have more CPU, or GPU cores.
Special case next year, is better manufacturing. TSMC will already mass produce chips at 3nm.
This is projected to have 25-30% increase in performance just because of the size decrease.
Apple would have already reserved that production run.
If you need the performance, get the new MBP 14/16 now. No better time.
If you can wait, are you sure you need it?
The current Mac mini M1 (or MBA M1) are still amazing machines.
Those will be good for many years to come.
For software development, looks like its a substantial upgrade because more performance cores. Will probably benefit a game developer most due to double gpu cores.
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I wouldn’t see the presence of an Intel Mac as a guarantee that the position will be taken by an Apple Silicon equivalent.
The fact of the matter is that the MBP:s are sold today, whereas a desktop system, much easier to design and source, is not.
That tells us … something. The only semi-plausible case one can make at this point for an M1P/M1M desktop system is that Apple is constrained regarding SoC production, and once that is sorted, a desktop version will arrive. But that is not to say that this line of argument is correct.
I’d like a desktop mac because iMacs don’t work for me since they stopped being useful as general monitors. And if Apple isn’t going to make something more performant than the current mini I’d like to know so I can pull the trigger on something else. The wait for the next step after the M1 was long enough.
Mac mini Pro
- 10-core CPU (8P/2E)
- 32-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 64GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 400GB/s memory bandwidth
- 1TB NVMe SSD
- 10Gb Ethernet port
- (4) USB-C ports
- (2) USB-A ports
- HDMI 2.1 port
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Space Gray
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You know, posting that list over and over doesn’t make it true.
It doesn’t exist.
It doesn’t exist.
Conceded. 
But, then I'll say again, that as long as I'm engaging in wishful thinking, I really wish Apple would stop fleecing us so badly on RAM and storage. Having to tape a thunderbolt enclosure to the Mini and permanently blocking one of the thunderbolt ports on the system because Apple charges silly money for storage kinda sucks. Particularly since they could easily use an internal m.2 connected SSD, there is no particularly good reason to not allow it on the Mini apart from fattening the profit margins - which in turn makes people just buy less storage from Apple, add external storage, and have to muck around with what-is-stored-where for the entire life time of the system. A worse experience all around that nobody really gains from.
But, then I'll say again, that as long as I'm engaging in wishful thinking, I really wish Apple would stop fleecing us so badly on RAM and storage. Having to tape a thunderbolt enclosure to the Mini and permanently blocking one of the thunderbolt ports on the system because Apple charges silly money for storage kinda sucks. Particularly since they could easily use an internal m.2 connected SSD, there is no particularly good reason to not allow it on the Mini apart from fattening the profit margins - which in turn makes people just buy less storage from Apple, add external storage, and have to muck around with what-is-stored-where for the entire life time of the system. A worse experience all around that nobody really gains from.
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Wishful thinking, how about a modern day Radius Skylab...?!? ;^p
Four M1 Max Quadro SiPs
Four M1 Max Quadro SiPs
- 160-core CPU (128P/32E)
- 512-core GPU
- 256-core Neural Engine
- 1TB LPDDR5 RAM
- 6.4TB/s memory bandwidth
- 3kW PSU
Clamshell mode would be a terrible waste of that ProMotion display. I am typing on it now and it's gorgeous. Too beautiful to hide away.
Apple stocks unofficial configurations of some devices. Until recently, it had the M1 Mini with 16GB and 2TB SSD available in the UK retail stores, but it’s now order only. Hopefully this is a good sign that something new is coming but it’s unlikely to be this year.
I wonder if it's worthwhile to speculate on what an "M2" SoC might bring to the table. I think it's a given that it will stay within the power draw envelope of the M1, so a doubled A15 configuration (4+4 CPU, 10 GPU, 32MB SLC) would seem likely. Speculating, I'd assume LPDDR5 and an increased memory capacity limit (due to higher capacity memory chips), but not higher than 32GB. Could we see HDMI 2.1? It would seem to make sense that a system that prides itself with its ability to process 8k video could output to 8k screens, the current situation is a bit weird. Might one hope for more robust I/O in general? WiFi 6e across the board? Anything else?
Possibilities...?!?
M2 SoC
M2 Pro SoC
M2 Max SoC
M2 Max Duo SiP
M2 Max Quadro SiP
M2 SoC
- 8-core CPU (6P/2E)
- 12-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 32GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 200GB/s memory bandwidth
M2 Pro SoC
- 16-core CPU (14P/2E)
- 24-core GPU
- 24-core Neural Engine
- 64GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 200GB/s memory bandwidth
M2 Max SoC
- 16-core CPU (14P/2E)
- 48-core GPU
- 24-core Neural Engine
- 128GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 400GB/s memory bandwidth
M2 Max Duo SiP
- 32-core CPU (28P/4E)
- 96-core GPU
- 48-core Neural Engine
- 256GB LPDDRX5 RAM
- 1TB/s memory bandwidth
M2 Max Quadro SiP
- 64-core CPU (56P/8E)
- 192-core GPU
- 96-core Neural Engine
- 512GB LPDDRX5 RAM
- 2TB/s memory bandwidth
The Mac Pro, based on all rumors, is supposed to get a 20 and 40 core chip. Rumors suggest it will be getting a totally different - more high-end chip compared to the Pro and Max chips.
What makes me question this is how Apple still sells the i5/i7 Mac mini’s on their website. When the M1 came out, they only deprecated the i3 model, took away 2 ports, and changed the chassis back to silver. This is why many expect Apple to put in a more advanced chip in the mini - and the most realistic scenario is that they put the M1 Pro/Max into the enclosure.
Back in 2018, Apple released the space grey Mac mini with 6-cores. At the time, this was pretty powerful and apple sort of marketed this mini as a Mac mini for prosumers (sort of the Mac for those that can’t quite afford or need a Mac Pro). I’m fairly confident Apple is going to update the i5/i7 models with something geared more towards prosumers (which again would be the Pro/Max chips).
That was the original idea, but this changed in 2018 when they announced the 6-core mini with a revamped cooling system, 64gb of ram, 10gb Ethernet, tons of I/O ports, and new space grey color that was synonymous with “pro” at the time.
Even though there was past suggestions in the forums about a much smaller Mac Pro then the present tower design. The thought of a Mac Mini using M1 Pro or M1 Max to thermally support either is impractical with the existing Mac Mini design. There is also the thought of a product much cheaper then the larger iMac which likely be similar priced to 14” MBP being a marketing thorn to contend with. So more likely you see it remain low end, and a separate higher end headless Mac be introduced below the Mac Pro line.
How far the Mac mini has come...!
And I was totally wrong about the 7.7" x 7.7" footprint, apparently the OG Mac mini had a 6.5" x 6.5" footprint... The height also changed, dropping from 2" thick to 1.4" thick...
So any new design for the Mac mini will be a third gen of the chassis; I am hoping the rumored thinner (slimmer / shorter) Mac mini will be for the Mn-series SoCs, with a return to a thicker (taller) Mac mini for the Mn Pro / Mn Max powered models... More interior volume, more room for larger heat sink & fan, better cooling, higher frequencies on SoC, better overall performance...?!?
This taller Mac mini, with the Mn Pro / Max SoCs just might be called the Mac mini Pro...?
I am holding to the thought that the rumored smaller Mac Pro "like 3x Mac minis stacked on top of each other" will be this Mac mini Pro; and that the real smaller Mac Pro is a return to the Cube...! ;^p
And I was totally wrong about the 7.7" x 7.7" footprint, apparently the OG Mac mini had a 6.5" x 6.5" footprint... The height also changed, dropping from 2" thick to 1.4" thick...
So any new design for the Mac mini will be a third gen of the chassis; I am hoping the rumored thinner (slimmer / shorter) Mac mini will be for the Mn-series SoCs, with a return to a thicker (taller) Mac mini for the Mn Pro / Mn Max powered models... More interior volume, more room for larger heat sink & fan, better cooling, higher frequencies on SoC, better overall performance...?!?
This taller Mac mini, with the Mn Pro / Max SoCs just might be called the Mac mini Pro...?
I am holding to the thought that the rumored smaller Mac Pro "like 3x Mac minis stacked on top of each other" will be this Mac mini Pro; and that the real smaller Mac Pro is a return to the Cube...! ;^p
The current mini can handle processors well beyond the M1. Needless to say if they can fit an M1 Max chip inside a 14” laptop enclosure I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the mini could also handle these loads as well.
So please explain how a current Intel Mac mini that can cost up to $3k is considered "low-end"...?
I do believe there will be another headless Mac, the Mac Pro Cube; but it will not be cheap, probably starting at $5k...
So there is definitely room for a $3k Mac mini Pro between the Mn-based Mac mini & the Mn Max Duo Cube...
Mn SoC - Consumers / Prosumers
Mn Pro / Max SoC - Prosumers / Professionals
Mn Max Duo / Quadro - Professionals / Mad Scientists
Apple will upgrade ALL of their Mac offerings to Apple silicon, the only thing slowing that down right now is the current world health crisis & the fallout from that on worldwide manufacturing & shipping...
Not really, unless I am understanding that you are trying to berate & belittle me, as if watching TV or reading SciFi is a bad thing....?
And I don't know if you are meaning that my thoughts on future Apple Mac products are affected by my excessive TV watching & SciFi reading; or if you are trying to discount the part COVID-19 has played with worldwide commerce & production...?
BTW, I am currently watching Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the umpteenth time; and I am currently reading the Harry Potter books again as well... ;^p
My guess based on nothing.
Next Mac Mini comes with a M1 Pro die. It is an upgrade over the original M1. It is not as powerful as the M1 Max found on MBP so as to not cannibalize on those sales.
Gets an SD card, HDMI, 3 TB4 ports. Starts with 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.
Sold in the USA and other countries for around $1200.
For Greece as usual the price is at about 50% more, in Euros.
Next Mac Mini comes with a M1 Pro die. It is an upgrade over the original M1. It is not as powerful as the M1 Max found on MBP so as to not cannibalize on those sales.
Gets an SD card, HDMI, 3 TB4 ports. Starts with 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.
Sold in the USA and other countries for around $1200.
For Greece as usual the price is at about 50% more, in Euros.
I’m thinking it might start at 16 gb memory and 512 gb SSD like the MBP 14”