Apple Unveils New Mac Mini Powered By M1 Chip, Pricing Now Starts at $699

[Frank Philips]

Anyone knows about the color bit depth support for pro apps (video editing, photo editing)?
It is limited to 8-bits, or do we also have 10-bits?

I know the HDMI certainly supports 10-bits video out when playing videos. But what about the editing part?

It's a problem we also have on Windows, with 10-bits OpenGL only available on Nvidia cards or AMD pro cards (not the Radeon series).

 

[Macusercom]

Why are the M1 Mac minis only available in silver? What happened to space gray?

 

[dapa0s]

Look I sometimes have to manage on 2017 12" MacBook which barely run one instance of VPS Avenger Synth (badly written but great sounding synth) and made full 40 track songs on it. I also have i9 Hackintosh in the studio with 64GB ram only shows what mess x86 architecture is that you think you'll need best computer in the world to make a song.

I don't make songs, I make orchestral compositions with hundreds of orchestral instruments, it's a very, very, very different thing. As I've said even the best i9 MacBook pro is just not enough for my work, as the iMac Pro also struggles to handle it often. The more power I have, the better.

 

[LeeW]

Honestly, though, people need to realise this is an entry-level device, more and better is coming. But what they have provided is really quite significant. It is going to take most a while to understand the changes and what they mean before we see an end to the 'what only 16GB ram?' and 'what you can't upgrade the ram?' comments and the like.

 

[dapa0s]

All of this makes sense - I suspected since you had a iMac Pro the M1 wouldn't be close to enough and was more curious about why you didn't go with a souped up Mini (with eGPU if needed), Pro, or just high end latest iMac - which you addressed.
Whats this about the noise of an iMac vs iMac Pro?
I always assumed their thermals/cooling would be (relatively) equal in terms of fan noise?

Yeah, I'm gonna have to wait for a silicon mac pro or something like that. The mini is also less powerful than the iMac Pro, and I mostly don't need the GPU at all.

The iMac is worse for logic pro, as it can "hold" fewer instruments. The fan noise is much worse on the iMac, even when not under load, and if you're recording something, it can be detrimental.

I would have loved to be able to use the iMac, but unfortunately, it's just not good enough for my work.

 

[4sallypat]

$100 cheaper Nice

I thought it was going to start at $499 when the 2014 base Mini were priced - oh well gotta make more money!

 

[JosephAW]

A few questions:
1. Is target mode still available?
2. She talked about render farms with the mini but what about server farms?
3. I got the impression that the devices with fans do not slow down, so the MacBook air will slow down when it’s hot?

 

[mytdave]

Here's my observations/assumptions:

1. These are entry level machines, with amazing relative performance. Don't expect Pro in a non-Pro box.
2. Apple chose to go with SOC instead of discrete components. Makes sense for an entry level product.
3. Will Apple build discrete components for future Pro models? Only they know.
4. Fairly obvious the M1 has but one integrated Thunderbolt controller, hence only 2 TB ports.
5. 10GbE chips are super power hungry. Apple is not going to build that into a low power SOC.
6. On-die unified RAM has major advantages, but at the expense of capacity. It is fine for entry level.
7. This architecture clearly has room to grow. This much power in a 1st gen product is quite amazing.
8. Could Apple shave $100 more off each model? Yeah they could, but market demand determines much of that.
9. I am disappointed they didn't come up with even slightly new enclosure designs to distinguish the new tech.

 

[neander]

If they just had HDMI 2.1 it would have been ready for the next gen Ipad apps etc with VRR and HDR etc.. I would love to have a Mac as a entertainment "pc" with all the apps and VRR for smooth computing and video with a 2.1 ready TV. Thats computing entertainment nirvana in europe at least. (with all the switching framrates.)
Maybe they can get there with the Displayport/thunderbolt 3 40gb/s but it of course needs to be supported on the software side like on the Ipad Pro.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Here's my observations/assumptions:

1. These are entry level machines, with amazing relative performance. Don't expect Pro in a non-Pro box.
2. Apple chose to go with SOC instead of discrete components. Makes sense for an entry level product.
3. Will Apple build discrete components for future Pro models? Only they know.
4. Fairly obvious the M1 has but one integrated Thunderbolt controller, hence only 2 TB ports.
5. 10GbE chips are super power hungry. Apple is not going to build that into a low power SOC.
6. On-die unified RAM has major advantages, but at the expense of capacity. It is fine for entry level.
7. This architecture clearly has room to grow. This much power in a 1st gen product is quite amazing.
8. Could Apple shave $100 more off each model? Yeah they could, but market demand determines much of that.
9. I am disappointed they didn't come up with even slightly new enclosure designs to distinguish the new tech.

Dang I forgot about that. 10GbE will probably come, but probably needs a couple more years.

 

[Sethal]

I’m curious if you’ll still be able to upgrade the ram on your own or if it’s now soldered like other Macs.

 

[LeeW]

I am disappointed they didn't come up with even slightly new enclosure designs to distinguish the new tech.

I suspect they probably have, but sticking with the familiar for this 1st launch. Look inside the Mini, virtually nothing in there now. Once we see the next more powerful Mini with the M1X or whatever it will be I am sure we will see a new design.

 

[LeeW]

I’m curious if you’ll still be able to upgrade the ram on your own or if it’s now soldered like other Macs.

It's in the CPU, unified, so no, there is no RAM soldered to the board at all.

 

[macsba]

Can't wait for the iFixit breakdown review.

 

[mwdevers]

I was prepared to pre-order the new Mac Mini to replace my 2018 model when I noticed (as many here have noted) that there were only 2 USB-C (USB4) ports on the back whereas my current Mac Mini has 4. All of which are used, in part, because I have 3 monitors. In scrolling the new Mac Mini page on Apple's site, it states that the new Mac Mini can support up to 2 monitors; one short of what I need. So I called Apple and they confirmed that the new Mac Mini only supports up to 2 monitors.

Disappointing. Less ports. Less memory. Less monitors. All-in-all, this seems like a step backwards.

Guess I'll have to wait for the 2022 Mac Mini.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

It's in the CPU, unified, so no, there is no RAM soldered to the board at all.

What was that company Apple was an investor in that was doing WSI chips. (Wafer scale integration) chips. I thought that would be Viagra to Apple and their need to lock down all of their products. The 'chips' the company was working on were literal computers on a wafer, in a chip. You got what you bought, but potentially allowed for instant upgrades. You just popped out the 'chip', and popped in a new one. It's in interesting idea, but they failed because of, and I'll bet most of you can figure out what the problem was.

Uneven heat distribution. The 'chips' (wafer sized) were warping in the chip carriers and failing as the traces fractured. I had hoped they would figure it out, but, Nope. And if you go small, you are going to be sorry under these circumstances. Buy a new 'chip'. For hundreds of dollars. Whatever...

EDIT: 'Trilogy Systems'. As I remember, Apple was an investor. The end of a Wikipedia entry says: "Trilogy systems was known as one of the largest financial failures in Silicon Valley before the burst of Internet/dotcom bubble in 2001. In describing the company, financial columnists coined the term "crater" as describing companies that consumed huge amounts of venture capital and later imploded to leave nothing for its investors."

But anyway...

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Ill wait for real world testing. Apple marketing events are just painfully vague statements and stats.

Annoying that they didn't mention the core speeds for the M1.

The more I read about these new Apple Silicone machines the more they look like a downgrade from the machines they replaced.

 

[obeliq]

My finger was so twitchy on the buy button. If they had just put 512gb SSD on the base it would have pushed it over the edge, but that +$250 really cold showered me. Now I am in wait and see what others think after using it for a bit. I don't think there will be a shortage anytime soon. My needs are modest, some pixelmator, some 6-8 track Logic, some iMovie. My 2011 iMac has 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD (external via Thunderbolt) and I am happy with the performance, just want to get current with MacOS.

Looking forward to seeing some real world opinions!

 

[techwhiz]

$1,299 for the Mac mini with 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB SSD.

WTF.

And people thought Apple was going to reduce prices once they started making their own chips....
Told you so! Oh, did I gloat?

 

[techwhiz]

The maximum 16 gb is probably why I am going for the "cheaper" Mac mini instead of a 13 inch pro. I am pretty sure the processor is going to do what i want for years to come(hey, my laptop right now is the mid 2011 Air) but that ram is going to limit it at some point for what I would like to more with my next computer.

Also that 16GB is unified between system and GPU memory.
Yuck!

 

[tdar]

One word: drivers.

Another word: PCI BUS.
I doubt that the M1 has any idea what a pci bus is.

 

[DaveN]

Fully customized silicone, no more spinning disk or optical drive (for years), yet they couldn’t update the design 10 years later?

Because minis are used a lot in server farms and keeping the same form factor keeps those big customers as all they have to do swap out old minis without needing to change their racks.

 

[fernelius]

Maybe the M2 or M1x or whatever the more performance chip is will shed light. Maybe they will release Mac Mini Pro.
Likely 16" MBP, Mini Pro and iMac Pro hopefully will have something similar super more nuts.

I’ve been wondering the same. The absence of Space Grey makes me wonder if the Mac Mini Pro will come in space grey (like iMac Pro) with a return of twice the Thunderbolt/USB ports and a noticeable bump in CPU and GPU Performance.

 

[widEyed]

thanks because Geekbench has no Apple processors listed or 2020 minis yet I wonder if they have any in stores

Intel version is still available for US$400 / A$600 more… ouch, integration must be saving them quite a bit on part inventory.

yep. was wondering if any of the developer models stayed out in user land and were now allowed to be geekbenched

 

[widEyed]

That will be welcoming views.. As a normal person and developer myself, I can't see how a small chip can beat a Radeon or Nvidia beast. If the mini will support egpu still, Im in for this first gen. I have all the rest of peripherals.

it will be instructive to hear what OWC say once they tear one down and try out all the TB expansion boxes they make/retail.