Hard to answer since no one yet know what is in an M4Pro chip, much less how powerful it actually is.
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Apple Leaks New Mac Mini With 5 USB-C Ports
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I think it's a "many (or most) people with a *desktop* computer" issue.
Because it sits on our desk and we plug all our desktop stuff into it, and has been this way for many, many years. It that unreasonable, or, to say a bit different, is there a really good reason why our desktop computer shouldn't be well suited for our desktop environment? Or why the new desktop computer option cannot serve as well as the one we currently have?
I think a 1) mouse 2) keyboard 3) printer 4) backup storage ?) webcam ?) other ... is a pretty reasonable port usage for a desktop setup. But I guess there are all kinds.
Maybe you have always been a road warrior who docked their laptop and cannot identify fully with other sorts of users who have a desk and a certain expectation for that workspace. As another user stated, especially when paying Apple price vs, oh, so many other small desktop computer solutions that don't sacrifice desktop functionality.
I have a mouse on left and a mouse on the right. Left mouse only after repetitive strain developed in my right side during a huge project back in 2018. It did not take long to get proficient with left hand, maybe a few weeks. These days it is easy to keep the stress down for either hand/wrist/forearm by switching hands often.
If the mini doesn’t suit your needs, buy something else. You do realise this is an option right?I think it's a "many (or most) people with a *desktop* computer" issue.
Because it sits on our desk and we plug all our desktop stuff into it, and has been this way for many, many years. It that unreasonable, or, to say a bit different, is there a really good reason why our desktop computer shouldn't be well suited for our desktop environment? Or why the new desktop computer option cannot serve as well as the one we currently have?
I think a 1) mouse 2) keyboard 3) printer 4) backup storage ?) webcam ?) other ... is a pretty reasonable port usage for a desktop setup. But I guess there are all kinds.
Maybe you have always been a road warrior who docked their laptop and cannot identify fully with other sorts of users who have a desk and a certain expectation for that workspace. As another user stated, especially when paying Apple price vs, oh, so many other small desktop computer solutions that don't sacrifice desktop functionality.
The studio has everything you need, just get that
The Studio also commits you to a $2,000+ purchase, and if the Mac Mini comes out with the M4 series first, months of additional wait.
In years past, true desktop computers offered powerful processors (because they could handle the higher power and cooling requirements), much more internal RAM expansion, and drive bays for SSD, HDD, etc... People could even pick their own external graphics card. There were plenty of ports, or worst case scenario one could install an expansion card with ports in an internal expansion slot.
These days, a 'desktop' Mac has the same processor as the Mac Pro series coupled with none of those advantages, except before now a much better port selection. And now Apple starts whittling away at that, too?
It would be a fascinating market exercise if they released the new Mac Mini in both this anticipated form factor, and the previous one, and let the buyers decide.
Then buy something else. The mini has always been marketed as a budget machine
Just because you say it doesn’t make it true. A top of the line mini is $4,499. Hardly a “budget machine.”
Lmao yes that’s the base model mini right? You could make the same argument about pretty much all of apples computers, mini is still the cheapest
LMAO, just replying to your own words. The mini has a low entry point, but that does not make it the "budget machine."
Watching this back-and-forth and trying to figure out what decision it is driving towards...
As far as which costs less, a Mac Mini Pro with 12 cores, 32GB, 8TB, and 10Gbit Ethernet comes in at $4499.
A Mac Studio with 12 cores (standard), 32GB (standard), 8TB, and 10Gbit Ethernet (standard) comes in at $4399 despite also coming with 30-core GPU, etc.
This is because while the Mac Mini has the lowest entry-level price of all new Macs, it has the most expensive RAM upgrades on a per-GB basis.
My previous two Mac Mini were the base models at the time and I have been very happy with them. Then Apple bifurcated the line with Apple Silicon. The base model is too base for me. The Pro models would meet my needs but the jump in price with upgrades makes it hard to justify relative to a Studio. But now we're at >2x over a Mac Mini 2018...
However, M4 benchmarks are hard to ignore and am curious to see if the M4 Mac Mini will hit the sweet spot for me.
I'm thinking the same....An M4 Pro Mini that starts at 24GB/512GB with maybe 12-core GPU & 16-core GPU would probably good enough to not bother waiting another 6-9 months for a base M4 Studio.
I really hope that Apple doesn't cripple it with some underwhelming specification or unreasonable price increase.
Yup, a base Studio with 32GB of RAM and 2TB storage is the same price (at Apple) as a mini Pro with nearly identical specs. Biggest difference, you're getting considerably more processing power with the Studio. As soon as you bump up the RAM in the mini you might as well go Studio.
The question I have is whether this equation will change with the M4 Pro.
If the starting point of the M4 Pro is 24GB/512GB even with a binned SoC, and the price is $1399 or less, then that is getting somewhat close to the M2 Max Studio, albeit with fewer GPU cores.
I see a higher base RAM on the Pro SoC (at 24GB) as quite possible if the base M4 Soc is going to increase from 8 to 16 GB.
Sadly, we have the hardcore Apple fans, that will drive you to the possible wrong decision because in their eyes, Apple does no wrong.
One factor about the Mac Studio, it is already 2 years old, yet it has the same MSRP from launch with the same hardware specs.
If Apple was "scared" that we might jump ship, they would either cut the price or improve the specs and keep the same price.
And with the rumors of them slowing the releases, it just going to get worse.
Even though, I do agree that not everything needs a yearly release, but we also now that costs do go down with time, so something has to give.
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