It was so the could hit the original $399 price point. Oh wait.
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Apple Unveils New Mac Mini Powered By M1 Chip, Pricing Now Starts at $699
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Apple must be REALLY happy that they can force people to only buy ram upgrades from them. $200 for an extra 8gb is insaneApple store is back up.
Buy Mac mini
Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chips. Built for Apple Intelligence. With front and back ports. Get credit when you trade in an eligible Mac. Buy now.www.apple.com
$699 for 256gb and 8gb RAM
$899 for 512GB and 8GB RAM
16GB RAM +$200
These new Macs all have the same form factor (minus two thunderbolt ports on the mini). Probably that was a business decision: just change to the new chip, so the story is how we were able to improve the speed and battery life over Intel. If they’d changed the design too, that story would have been lost.
So these aren’t the “new form factor” macs we heard about. I am sure the new form factor mini will be smaller, fanless, have battery, no internal power supply, and four thunderbolt ports. Just have to keep waiting for that one.
My 1GB psd in photoshop will still use 1GB ram. Data doesn't magically shrink when the cpu is swapped out.
I imagine it's because these are used in server farms that would need to rethink 100s of racks for no good reason if the shell changed. And it's a nice look, so probably not worth it. I'm not offended...
Exactly. The CPU will likely be fast enough for 6-8 years. But in 2026, that ram is going to look mighty small, and no way to upgrade it.
We gonna have to wait for real life tests but don't forget they mentioned that SSD controller is also on the chip. I think memory will be shared with SSD if needed.
I take this as Apple intends to segment their machine/CPU’s very differently compared to when using Intel. With Intel there were MANY different CPU models to use and all with modular memory. This allowed the small machines to have large memory configurations.
Looks like Apple will just make 2 SOCs/generation. One for all the small machines - artificially limited in memory and ports but none the less a harvested version (with disabled cores, memory and less clockfreq) of the same SOC for the slightly Bigger machines. Then we’ll see a different SOC for the big PRO machines with modular memory, more cores and frequency, no GPU but builtin 10Gbe. But basically only producing two SOC models/generation.
Looks like Apple will just make 2 SOCs/generation. One for all the small machines - artificially limited in memory and ports but none the less a harvested version (with disabled cores, memory and less clockfreq) of the same SOC for the slightly Bigger machines. Then we’ll see a different SOC for the big PRO machines with modular memory, more cores and frequency, no GPU but builtin 10Gbe. But basically only producing two SOC models/generation.
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.
Anyone notice how they don’t even show the speed that the CPU is running at? They are applying the same logic that they use on an iPhone to all their computers - keep the details hidden. Really not liking this at all.
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.
I sure as hell hope that Apple gets the importance of 4x TB3 for pro users. Probably they are protecting their pro lineup by hobbling the expandability of this mini until they silicon the macPro and iMac Pro
has to surely, over TB3 ePCI is supported in the OS.
They will change the design of the mini when it can do things the older models with the same design cannot. Maybe VR, maybe something else gpu related. They will also change it when they can justify charging more for it. The only reason it is priced lower is to grow the installed base of Apple Silicon macs. When that number is high enough they will release an OS that makes the M1 obsolete and entice you with a shiny new model.
I was thinking similarly but came to a different conclusion. This first generation won't be used much as server farms likely won't be ready for AS for some time.I imagine it's because these are used in server farms that would need to rethink 100s of racks for no good reason if the shell changed. And it's a nice look, so probably not worth it. I'm not offended...
I’m getting one. 16gb. The low cost on the mini is less risk on first gen Apple Silicon and it also beats my wife’s current Windows machine she is using for online teaching. For what she does it should be fine. I just worry about software. Education software is a mess.
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LOL at the thought of there being any real person running a Mac Mini with a Pro Display XDR
"Hm, what's the perfect display for my new, tidy little $1,500 desktop? I know! The 32", 6k, $6,000 XDR!"
"Hm, what's the perfect display for my new, tidy little $1,500 desktop? I know! The 32", 6k, $6,000 XDR!"
Do you think it can compete by performance in logic and final cut?
The speed difference between memory and solid state storage is on the order of 10,000%. They are not interchangeable.