Except for maybe all those port options, those specs can exist in a high end Mac mini… if they can squeeze the Max in a laptop, it’ll certainly be fine in a mini chassis. Find it hard to believe a “Studio” Mac will contain the same performance as their high end laptop.
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Apple Developing 'Mac Studio,' Described as a Mac Mini and Mac Pro Hybrid
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Except for maybe all those port options, those specs can exist in a high end Mac mini… if they can squeeze the Max in a laptop, it’ll certainly be fine in a mini chassis. Find it hard to believe a “Studio” Mac will contain the same performance as their high end laptop.
personally I saw the current Mac Pro as a bit of a vanity project for Apple in a way that, lets see how far we can push the desktop, and then show how amazing we are.
the thing is the Mac Pro, once configured up, was beyond my studio budgets and mainly due to all the expensive expansion ability, xeon CPU's we didn't need and then the rubbish GPU in the base model needing upgrades.
This Mac Studio, should however meet the speeds we want and the cost level.
I dont care about upgradability - it will be written off in a year.
I care about day to day speed, getting productive, and not having a furnace under the desk like I do now with the PC.
the thing is the Mac Pro, once configured up, was beyond my studio budgets and mainly due to all the expensive expansion ability, xeon CPU's we didn't need and then the rubbish GPU in the base model needing upgrades.
This Mac Studio, should however meet the speeds we want and the cost level.
I dont care about upgradability - it will be written off in a year.
I care about day to day speed, getting productive, and not having a furnace under the desk like I do now with the PC.
it needs to be better than their high end laptop...........
^^^^ CORRECTED PRICE LISTED ABOVE ^^^^
I was off a bit in my figuring, the base model should start at US$2.5k, which is still not too bad...?
The dual SoCs allow the higher port counts...
I do not think the current Mac mini could handle dual M1 Max SoCs though...
The 9to5 Mac article did mention that the Mac Studio would replace the high-end Intel Mac mini...?
The above single SoC configuration would be the base model; dual full-die M1 Max SoCs, 128GB RAM, 1TB SSD, & dual 10Gb Ethernet should be about US$5k...
Yes, that’s what I said.
This new “Studio” Mac will be marketed as an alternative to the Mac Pro. It will start near the price of the entry-level Mac Pro, but have an order of magnitude better performance (Max Duo), but lack the expandability.
Was really excited to hear this until I realized that they're going to charge roughly $2,000 to upgrade to 128 GB RAM (if it's available -- and yes I may legitimately need that much to even open certain files I'm working with).
It costs $1,000 to upgrade from 16 GB to 64 GB in the new MacBook Pros. A thousand dollars for an extra 48 GB RAM. Let that sink in for a moment.
Their RAM pricing has gone from unreasonable to straight-up unworkable. Not even mad anymore just sad :/
It costs $1,000 to upgrade from 16 GB to 64 GB in the new MacBook Pros. A thousand dollars for an extra 48 GB RAM. Let that sink in for a moment.
Their RAM pricing has gone from unreasonable to straight-up unworkable. Not even mad anymore just sad :/
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Upgrade from 16GB to 64GB on the MBPs is US$800, and you have to go from the M1 Pro SoC to the M1 Max SoC...
Apple likes their giant profit margin. Much of the 2019 Mac Pro $$ go to Intel. You’re paying through the nose for Xeon and a bunch of other Intel chips including controller that can handle all those slots, all that Thunderbolt, and importantly for the cost - 1.5TB ram. Even if you’ll never run more than 64GB, you’re paying for a 1.5TB capable Intel memory controller. I’m the past Apple had different logic boards for lower end SKU’s in G3, Mac Pro era, or different CPU cards. Not so with the 2019 Mac Pro. You get the top of the line logic board on the entry level model. With Apple’s fat margins, it’s expensive.
Plus, in 2019 Apple knew they were going Apple Silicon. They knew that machine was a stop gap measure. If it were half the price I would’ve bought one. They’d have sold heaps of them. That’s way more pro users stuck on the old architecture. I think they purposefully priced it higher to keep pros happilyish for now and then to wow them later with cheaper Apple silicon. Consider that here in Australia in 2018 the Retina 128GB MacBook Air with the ghastly keyboards and cooling issues was A$2,199. Right now the M1 256GB MacBook Air is A$1,499 RRP. I’m predicting the same with future Mac Pro level machines.
I said "It costs $1,000 to upgrade from 16 GB to 64 GB in the new MacBook Pros" which is true. Yes $200 of it comes the SoC upgrade but that doesn't really matter -- either way, you're shelling out $1,000 to go from 16 to 64 GB RAM. Never mind the fact that even $800 is absolutely insane.
Don't see how you figure a thousand bucks...?
I am looking at the base 14" MBP on the Apple Store right now; $400 to go from 16GB to 32GB, another $400 bucks to go from 32GB to 64GB (with the need for a $500 upgrade to the M1 Max SoC)...
I've been waiting for years to replace my 2013 mac pro, so what's a few more!
I would expect the 27” iMac (not Pro) will have the Pro and Max and the “pro” iMac will have something more powerful. I would also expect the same of this “Studio” Mac… that it would start with something more powerful, otherwise what’s the point? Again, the mini Pro, as the MacBook Pro could have the Pro and Max.
This is what I think the line up will look like…
iMac 24” (M1), iMac 27” (Pro/Max), iMac Studio (Duo)
Mac mini (M1), Mac mini Pro (Pro/Max)
Mac Studio (Duo/Quad), Mac Pro (Intel)
MacBook Air (M1)
MacBook Pro (Pro/Max)
MacBook (M2 - This Fall, 12” and 14”)
AHAHAHAHA! An M1 Max fits inside a Macbook Pro laptop! That said laptop is THINNER than any Mac Mini will ever be. So your statement is quite hilarious... ?
The Mini is now so high in price that such a mini tower is priced outside of the Professional world, and they will go for the Pro tower anyway. It is likely doomed to fail again.
Faster than the M1 Max? So M1 Max Plus?
Seriously though, they need better naming conventions. Maybe this will be a new class of chip. Maybe an X1? They could have X1 which is roughly the same performance as M1 Max, and then X1 Pro which has the specs Gurman mentioned. Then the new Mac Pro could start with an X1 Pro with some expansion or higher graphics option and go up to an X1 Max.
Seriously though, they need better naming conventions. Maybe this will be a new class of chip. Maybe an X1? They could have X1 which is roughly the same performance as M1 Max, and then X1 Pro which has the specs Gurman mentioned. Then the new Mac Pro could start with an X1 Pro with some expansion or higher graphics option and go up to an X1 Max.
The M1 Max in the 16” MacBook Pro can run under full load CPU or full load GPU but not both.
If you try to run all 10 CPU cores and all 32 GPU cores at the same time, the system starts throttling like crazy and actually ends up being slower than the 24 core GPU M1 Max to complete the same task.
After two tries (the PowerMac G4 Cube, 2000; the cylindrical Mac Pro, 2013), Apple's finally realized that marketing a compact system as an in-between makes much more sense than selling it as a replacement for their top-of-the-line workstation.
In 2000, they marketed the Cube as having all the power of the PowerMac G4 tower; however, it lacked in all other areas (including price). Then, in 2013, they thought they could replace the Mac Pro with what should have been a 'Pro' version of the Mac mini.
Even now in 2022, it still makes sense to retain the Mac Pro in its current form. Towers are antiquated, but they still make sense for certain workflows. (The more M1 chips you cram in, the better.) Thus, finally, Apple seems to have realized that a compact system for professionals ought to be an mid-grade system and not a replacement for a well-configured Mac Pro. I'm really curious to see what this 'Studio' system comprises.
In 2000, they marketed the Cube as having all the power of the PowerMac G4 tower; however, it lacked in all other areas (including price). Then, in 2013, they thought they could replace the Mac Pro with what should have been a 'Pro' version of the Mac mini.
Even now in 2022, it still makes sense to retain the Mac Pro in its current form. Towers are antiquated, but they still make sense for certain workflows. (The more M1 chips you cram in, the better.) Thus, finally, Apple seems to have realized that a compact system for professionals ought to be an mid-grade system and not a replacement for a well-configured Mac Pro. I'm really curious to see what this 'Studio' system comprises.
My guess is that it will be made to replace the lowest-end configurations of the traditional Mac Pro, which are generally not a very good value. So, it's likely that the alleged 'Mac Studio' will contain the same type of chip as the future Apple-Silicon-based Mac Pro — just with fewer CPU/GPU cores and less unified memory, as well as featuring additional forms of cost cutting (such as limited expansion, etc.). A less likely scenario is that this will be the new Mac Pro, and that the Mac Pro in its current form will maybe be updated one more time before being left to die on the vine.
It’s cheap as chips though……
Not sure what you are charging but I wouldnt even notice it on the bottom line (not trying to be arrogant or anything).
I spend more on software subs per computer than a Mac mini actually costs.
Ohhhhh sorry. I meant the 16 inch model. Specifically that it costs a minimum of $1,000 to go from 16 GB to 64.
You forgot the ports: 20 USB-C, 20 USB-A, dual 10gige, dual HDMI, 3 headphone jacks.
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These would all come from adding PCIe ports, right? That'd be a huge benefit if it's possible.
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So do We in the community call this Mac Max of yours the Mac Mini ‘Mad Max’ edition? Hmmm. /s