Apple Leaks New Mac Mini With 5 USB-C Ports

[Jamie0003]

Then why are they offering the current one with up to 32gb ram, an Apple M2 Pro with 12‑core CPU, 19-core GPU, up to 8TB storage, and a 10gb ethernet...all for a grand total of...wait for it

Doesn't look entry level budget friendly to me...Looks like something that would be right at home on a power users desk
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Yeah because this is the base model isn’t it 🙄

Because options are good

 

[bondr006]

Yeah because this is the base model isn’t it 🙄

Because options are good

No, this is the budget friendly/entry level base model Mac Mini silly.

I think we'd all agree there's a big difference from the $4500.00 non entry level/not budget friendly, not base model, to the tune of a $3900.00 difference.😉

 

[MrGuder]

Will this new one be much better than buying a 2023 Mac mini?

 

[NachoNoir]

I don't know if it's been mentioned already (the thread is too long now), but... given that the M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14" can be serviced with a 70W MagSafe adapter and the Mini has no screen, wouldn't it be NEAT if the new mini had no internal power supply AND could be powered by a USB-C monitor using the same cable that's used for video?

After all, a lot of people are using their MacBooks connected to a monitor in exactly that configuration. Remove the screen, keyboard, trackpad, battery, webcam, microphones and speakers... and you're there.

Just one cable to connect it to a monitor. Wireless mouse/trackpad and keyboard. That would be cool 🙂 The two-piece iMac!

 

[macjaffa]

I don't know if it's been mentioned already (the thread is too long now), but... given that the M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14" can be serviced with a 70W MagSafe adapter and the Mini has no screen, wouldn't it be NEAT if the new mini had no internal power supply AND could be powered by a USB-C monitor using the same cable that's used for video?

After all, a lot of people are using their MacBooks connected to a monitor in exactly that configuration. Remove the screen, keyboard, trackpad, battery, webcam, microphones and speakers... and you're there.

Just one cable to connect it to a monitor. Wireless mouse/trackpad and keyboard. That would be cool 🙂 The two-piece iMac!

That would be neat. Like these network devices (APs routers etc) than can be powered from wall or with a PoE ethernet cable.

 

[kalsta]

Yeah, I have a mouse and trackpad but use both on right hand. Incapable with left to be precise. I know that’s a good skill for brain power and long life though!!! Like brushing one’s teeth with their non-dominant hand. Cheers.

Funny you say that, because I brush with both hands too. (Alternating that is—not holding it like a shovel. 😂) Never heard of it leading to a long life, but I’ll take it! 😄

As for the left handed trackpad… I mainly use it for multitouch gestures and scrolling, but sometimes I mix it up a bit. Highly recommended.

 

[bgillander]

So you’re getting what you want so it’s a good product?

That’s kind of how it reads

The changes don’t suit my needs so it’s a bad product.

See we can both do that .. lol

Sure, it is a bad product for you. But Apple is offering a product that appeals to Jamie0003, while they are not forcing you to buy it. That is how the free market works. If there are not enough people that it appeals to, then Apple will likely change it.

 

[Bremse]

Oooh, still sounds nice! If it still doesn't have built-in Ethernet and HDMI, that's not too much a problem, because then I can still use my CalDigit TS3 Thunderbolt 3 dock with it like when I use my M1 MacBook Air in clamshell mode. But I do hope on the Pro model, there will be three Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, as two "regular" USB-C ports would still be fine for my uses. (Then maybe once I buy a new 4K display, I can get a USB-C monitor from Dell or LG or Samsung to use with it!)

It’s just messy to have an extra dock, especially one that needs power (with an external power brick, of course). There is not much downside to including various ports on a desktop computer. Who cares if it’s an inch more narrow or a bit thinner, it’s going to sit on a desk anyway. Make it so it is heavy enough to not move around from the weight of cables, and make it so it has ports people use. Make it have an internal lower supply and make it so it can be powered via usb-c for those who have a monitor that provides power.

 

[SDRLS]

One would assume that an M4 and M4 Pro model would have different port counts on account of the bandwidth limitations. But you never know. They might choose to have a the same number of USB-C ports with different numbers being Thunderbolt enabled. Similar to the front ports on a Studio.

No.

One would assume that an M4 and M4 Pro would have the same number of ports just different internal specs. ONLY in the Apple-Verse is that considered a logical thing to do.

ESPECIALLY since the current version has far more ports.

 

[Astrohunter]

I wonder if it will still come with 8GB of ram and they will keep charging 200£ for 8GB upgrade. Pretty sure they will. 🥲

 

[cjsuk]

I wonder if it will still come with 8GB of ram and they will keep charging 200£ for 8GB upgrade. Pretty sure they will. 🥲

If they try that on I will ... err ... um ... bend over and take it.

 

[Astrohunter]

If they try that on I will ... err ... um ... bend over and take it.

I don’t need to bend luckily my M1 still is enough for me. 😁

 

[bzgnyc2]

I recall MS-DOS, then Windows 3.0, and moving back and forth between Windows and Mac before settling on Mac. Those of us who dealt with MS-DOS (e.g.: C:\Windows\System style directory tree typed commands to find and launch files) learned to think in terms of the directory tree (we had to in order to get anything done). Windows 3.0 was basically a GUE shell on top of DOS; Windows 95, IIRC, was the version of Windows that was not a shell, but it still had what I call the 'fingerprints of MS-DOS' on it (I think you could still find C:\ type stuff).

Windows 95 was still a GUE shell on top of -- or perhaps overlaid is a better term -- a DOS (I believe 7.0). All the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT favorites were still there. It -- similar to Windows 3.x, etc -- was a weird hybrid operating system of a 32-bit protected mode kernel, drivers, applications that didn't 100% shed it's 16-bit real mode roots.

Windows NT was the true new 32-bit protected mode OS. I used Windows NT 4.0 on a Dell Precision of the time and it was unexpectedly solid (coming from UNIX systems whose uptime was typically measured in months and years rather than hours maybe days). However, I recall it didn't support Plug and Play and otherwise not great for laptops among other limitations.

Windows 2K finally merged the previous mess of consumer and business versions. It used the Windows NT kernel while offering a more consumer friendly GUI, Plug and Play, and better laptop support among other things. It was solid.

Still Windows though. Although 2K finally did away with DOS, it retained the C:\ type stuff. As far as I know Windows will operates in drives letter. One can mount file systems as folders in more recent versions but otherwise I think it defaults to drive letters.

People who are advanced GUI-native, who grew up in a culture where everybody uses computers quite a bit (not just the nerds/geeks/future engineers), and for whom the computer is 'plug and play, ready to go,' yes, I imagine for many internal expansion bays are not much concern.

It's somewhat ironic but I think the computer enthusiasts of the future will be high-end gamers...for the rest it will be an appliance like a refrigerator.

 

[bgillander]

It's somewhat ironic but I think the computer enthusiasts of the future will be high-end gamers...for the rest it will be an appliance like a refrigerator.

I sold computers in the 1980s and, back in the 20th century, a lot of the PC fans (Lotus 1-2-3 fans) referred disparagingly to the Mac and anything not a PC as a "game machine". Fast forward a few decades and now the PC fans complain that only PCs are game machines. Yeah, it's a funny world.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

I also have the M2 Pro Mac Mini with 6 usb ports, and I am asking the same question, but darn I want the new M4 Pro MM....especially in the new for factor. All my previous Mac Minis have looked pretty much identical. It's time for a change.

Do we know for sure what the redesign will look like?

 

[bgillander]

Do we know for sure what the redesign will look like?

Well, it's all technically still rumours, so I would say "No?"

 

[bondr006]

Do we know for sure what the redesign will look like?

No, we don't. But we are pretty certain that there is a redesign for the new model. Gurman has a good track record, and if he says it's going to be smaller, it's probably so. It does make sense after so many years in its current form factor from 2010. Not only that, but mini pc's abound and are extremely popular. In any case, we should find out next month.🙂

 

[Razorpit]

Yeesh. This is like if there was rumor Toyota was coming out with a compact pickup truck you didn't think would be powerful enough to tow your boat and you got all up in arms about the rumor. The Mini is an entry-level Mac. Always has been.

As for the comparison with a Raspberry Pi... what? Apple's base model iPhones have more processing power than that.

This is the most exciting product that I will probably never buy. Here's what I mean:

The Mac mini has always been a product that every time it updates I wish I could get one. BUT, it just works out for me to have a laptop and use it with a monitor and peripherals for desktop use, and then of course on the go as a laptop.

That was true in 2008 when I switched to Aluminum Unibody MacBook, and I've never looked back.

And now, with Apple Silicon, you can get in a laptop what you get in a Mac Mini, and even more right now with the "Max" variant in MBP.

And yet, every time Apple release a new Mac mini I think to myself "wow I would love to buy that". Then I come back to "shoot, I really just need a laptop thought".

And this one looks like the coolest one ever. Seriously, it's gonna be hard not to buy this. Sounds like it's going to be an awesome device.

If it makes any difference I'm the exact opposite. 😁

So get a studio. It’s essentially the same device but with even MORE ports! And power

Mac mini has always been a budget entry level Mac. Not really made for power users such as yourself

Mac mini has always been an entry point to the Mac platform, but there are also $4K powerhouses for those who need/want it.

I don’t need to bend luckily my M1 still is enough for me. 😁

My 2018 Intel machine is still enough for me. 😉

 

[Jamie0003]

Mac mini has always been an entry point to the Mac platform, but there are also $4K powerhouses for those who need/want it

I agree. For those users there’s the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro. If apples slimming down the Mac mini and stripping ports, it’s probably going to bring the cost down too, and honestly there’s not much point having a high end mini anymore. I think the mini is going to the budget end only in future, imo

 

[bgillander]

I might consider the mac mini if it's strong enough for Logic Pro and serious recording

But.. I am not paying that for a raspberry pi? Why do we need a smaller mac mini? It's called mini as it's.. SMALL. Already. So infuriating as all know this means, more heat and more noise and that's the last thing we need.

Curse the day Apple bought Logic. Affects so many people.

I'm not sure a smaller mini will mean more noise. My M1 Air is silent, and if they are shrinking the mini they might just make it fanless.

Apple buying Logic did indeed affect me, as it probably saved me at least a thousand dollars in upgrade costs over the last decade, so I'm not cursing them.

 

[bgillander]

If Jobs was still alive this would be a little cube.

Yeah, I actually think they are missing an opportunity to release a 40th Anniversary Mac that is just one of these minis stuffed into a Cube style case. It should run cool enough for the original cooling system and would be a great throwback that I would think would appeal to at least a few of us old nerds that miss the original.

 

[Chuckeee]

I'm not sure a smaller mini will mean more noise. My M1 Air is silent, and if they are shrinking the mini they might just make it fanless.

But if the plan includes a Mac mini version with an M4pro chip, then a fan is very likely

 

[mectojic]

Oops, thanks for that correction. I pulled ‘1993’ from a very quick web search and didn’t think to actually pause and remember that I was still using this mouse with my 1997 Power Mac!

When I switched to the G3 iMac, I bought a plastic extension that clipped over the USB hockey puck mouse to make it usable. Eventually I gave up on that and switched to Logitech’s budget mouse which saw me through multiple generations of Apple nonsense, from the slippery soap bar mouse to the cutting edge (literally!) Magic Mouse, and on it still goes.

The plastic extension was the Macsense iCatch, and some from other brands too.
They're really cool 🙂

 

[kalsta]

The plastic extension was the Macsense iCatch, and some from other brands too.

That's the one.

They're really cool

A really cool patch for one of Apple's worst ever design blunders, and it happened on Steve Jobs' watch folks—a reminder that every genius is fallible.

 

[viltsu]

Any ideas how powerful M4 Pro is compared to 9900X Ryzen?