Buy or wait?

[Boil]

Unlikely. Apple wants you to move from a maxed Mini to the base Studio.

	Loaded Mac mini	(Theoretical) Mac mini	Base Mac Studio
SoC	M1	M1 Pro	M1 Max
CPU	8-core (4P/4E)	8-core (6P/2E)	10-core (8P/2E)
GPU	8-core	14-core	24-core
SDRAM	16GB LPDDR4X	16GB LPDDR5	32GB LPDDR5
UMA	68GB/s	200GB/s	400GB/s
SSD	2TB	512GB	512GB
Ethernet	10Gb	Gigabit	10Gb
Cost	$1799	$1099	$1999

There is definitely a space in the Apple headless desktop market for a Mn Pro-powered Mac mini...!

There are seemingly credible rumors of an M2 Pro Mini.

Yes, please...!

That would be great. Interesting though that they will have skipped over M1 Pro Mac Mini for the M2 Pro.
Wonder why ?

Maybe the demand for the M1 Pro SoC in the 2021 MBP laptops is using all the M1 Pro SoCs TSMC can produce...?

 

[badlydrawnboy]

I'll take an M2 Pro Mac Mini with 32 GB of RAM and 2 TB SSD, please! But I'd also happily buy a Mac Mini M1 Pro with the same spec.

 

[now i see it]

There’s a reason why the M(x) Pro chips won’t be showing up in a mini.
That reason is the Mac Studio.
Want a more powerful mini? Cough up the cash and buy a Mac Studio. (Is Apple’s solution)

 

[badlydrawnboy]

There’s a reason why the M(x) Pro chips won’t be showing up in a mini.
That reason is the Mac Studio.
Want a more powerful mini? Cough up the cash and buy a Mac Studio. (Is Apple’s solution)

Not according to many of the rumors. But we'll see!

 

[Jamacfer]

Not according to many of the rumors. But we'll see!

I wonder when…I wish June but think October.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

I wonder when…I wish June but think October.

Most rumors suggest this year, but in the fall. It will take that long for the M2 to be ready, apparently.

That said, Ming-Chi Kuo said not until next year. He seems to be alone in this, but he's got a decent track record.

 

[EugW]

I wonder when…I wish June but think October.

If there is no M1 Pro Mac mini, and if the only Pro Mac mini coming will be a M2 Pro Mac mini, I'm guessing 2023.

While a 2023 release date is not ideal, I'm personally OK with that, since my current 2014 Intel Mac mini is only a secondary machine, and was purchased in 2021 as a stop gap replacement for my 2007 Mac Pro. It works quite well, and is functionally much better for my usage than my Mac Pro was.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

If there is no M1 Pro Mac mini, and if the only Pro Mac mini coming will be a M2 Pro Mac mini, I'm guessing 2023.

While a 2023 release date is not ideal, I'm personally OK with that, since my current 2014 Intel Mac mini is only a secondary machine, and was purchased in 2021 as a stop gap replacement for my 2007 Mac Pro. It works quite well, and is functionally much better for my usage than my Mac Pro was.

Yeah, I'm in a similar boat. I don't absolutely NEED an M1 desktop machine. I've got a 2017 iMac Pro, and it's still pretty powerful/fast for most tasks. But I've noticed that my M1 Pro MBB 14" is faster for Lightroom and Photoshop, especially the Topaz plugins, and I do quite a bit of photography.

I don't want a Mac Studio because of the fan noise. I'm tempted to just get a maxed M1 Mini now, along with an ASD, and then trade the Mini in for the M2 Pro Mini when/if it comes out. That's not the most cost-efficient move, but that's not a huge factor for me right now. And I can get almost $1,500 for my iMac Pro trade-in, so the Mini would be nearly free, even with 16 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

 

[Icaras]

I’m not concerned about the M2. Just release it with the M1 Pro already! WWDC release?

 

[badlydrawnboy]

I’m not concerned about the M2. Just release it with the M1 Pro already! WWDC release?

I wish. Sadly, I don't think that will happen. Sounds like WWDC will be the announcement of the Mac Pro and an ASD "Pro".

 

[wayne_rowley]

There is a rumour that the Intel Mac Pro and Mac Mini will be discontinued from June. I've heard about the probable new Mac Pro and Display Pro - nothing about a Mini 'Pro' to replace the Intel Mac Mini. Perhaps there won't be one, and the Mini will now remain the low-end/budget desktop option.

 

[grouch]

Wait.

 

[icemantx]

If they kill off the Intel Mac Mini after keeping it around for the last 18 months since M1, will they replace it higher spec mini? Or just kill it to kill it with no replacement?

 

[EugW]

If they kill off the Intel Mac Mini after keeping it around for the last 18 months since M1, will they replace it higher spec mini? Or just kill it to kill it with no replacement?

We don't know. However, in the very least, an M2 Mac mini will be faster than the M1 Mac mini, may support 32 GB for those who need it, and will get about 2 years more macOS updates than the M1 Mac mini.

Yeah, I'm in a similar boat. I don't absolutely NEED an M1 desktop machine. I've got a 2017 iMac Pro, and it's still pretty powerful/fast for most tasks. But I've noticed that my M1 Pro MBB 14" is faster for Lightroom and Photoshop, especially the Topaz plugins, and I do quite a bit of photography.

Actually, I have a 2017 iMac (non-Pro) as well. I thought about trading it in, but just decided to keep it as my main personal machine. My Mac mini is my work machine.

I don't do a lot of heavy lifting often on either machine so in truth even M1 is overkill for my needs.

I don't want a Mac Studio because of the fan noise. I'm tempted to just get a maxed M1 Mini now, along with an ASD, and then trade the Mini in for the M2 Pro Mini when/if it comes out. That's not the most cost-efficient move, but that's not a huge factor for me right now. And I can get almost $1,500 for my iMac Pro trade-in, so the Mini would be nearly free, even with 16 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

FWIW, my friend just got a base model Mac Studio and he doesn't hear the fan at all. I don't want a Mac Studio though since as mentioned I don't need the performance, and I don't want to spend that much. Plus, it's bigger than I was hoping for. It is actually too tall to fit under my 30" Apple Cinema Display.