High-End Mac Mini Said to Feature Thinner Design With 'Plexiglass' Top, Magnetic Power Port

[SuperMatt]

I think the decision to have an external power supply on an all-in-one desktop is proof they did not.

Because they didn’t do what you personally wanted, you think they didn’t put thought into it?

Looking at the magnetic connection of the power cord, the extremely thin profile, the inclusion of ethernet right into the power brick, you’d have to say they put a massive amount of thought and effort into it.

Sorry you don’t like it, but this wasn’t something that was cobbled together without a thought.

 

[tomtad]

Plexiglass (Like)...Nope...scratches too easily, must be glass then, but....why, just use aluminium.
There is no reason to make the top of Plexiglass like material.

I presume it will be for the radio antenna and how the computer is manufactured.

The current mini has a plastic circular cutout on the base for the radios (which is why the mini doesn't sit flush) and a plastic rear housing for the ports where the internals of the computer are slid in.

I presume the new one will have all aluminium base and sides enabling it to sit flush with the internals being dropped in and sealed with a glass, radio transparent, top. This also allows the design to be simplified from 3 external parts (body, base and ports) to just 2 (body and top).

I'd also personally like it if it was halved in depth to take up less desk space.

 

[IllinoisCorn]

Renders are slick.

 

[cgsnipinva]

Separating the power supply may keep it fan-less. Which is a huge plus for some applications.

I have no problem with a separate power brick for two of my applications.

Agreed - it will sit on my desk and I have place for it on the floor behind my desk or in a holder on back. I just want more memory, more ports and a boosted M1 processor (the M1X)

 

[citysnaps]

I think the decision to have an external power supply on an all-in-one desktop is proof they did not.

Proof? Do you have inside information regarding Apple's methodologies for trading off new product goals and requirements, qualifying vendors, etc.

Do the power supplies you mentioned meet Apple's specifications? How about cost? Are the vendors on Apple's qualified list? If not, can they be qualified as a reliable vendor being able to source, say, a million units for staters and able to quickly adjust up or down? Are those chargers UL Listed and meet other stringent worldwide approvals. Do the specs for conducted and radiated EMI meet Apple's requirements? Will the internals in the brick in your first link fit within the new iMac enclosure?

That just for starters.

 

[citysnaps]

Agreed - it will sit on my desk and I have place for it on the floor behind my desk or in a holder on back. I just want more memory, more ports and a boosted M1 processor (the M1X)

Yeah, if I were in the market for that iMac I'd have no problem with the power brick sitting on the floor, and output cable connecting to the computer on my desk.

 

[t0pher]

2 x gig or better still 2 x 2.5 or 10gig Ethernet ports please.
The moment it has 2 rj45 ports it becomes more useful. 5 ports would be even better.

 

[DaveP]

Common Macrumors comment: "I have a strong personal opinion based on an immediate reaction regarding my specific use case and therefore conclude Apple didn't put any thought in to this."

Reality: a knowledgeable and experienced team spent weeks analyzing this from the perspective of performance, aesthetics, cost, manufacturability, and more, weighing various pros and cons before making a decision.

 

[Tagbert]

Plexiglass (Like)...Nope...scratches too easily, must be glass then, but....why, just use aluminium.
There is no reason to make the top of Plexiglass like material.

Perhaps because aluminum tends to block Bluetooth signals? The mini has a history of unreliable bluetooth connections.

 

[Tagbert]

So, we have here 4 USB-C ports, of which only 2 can be used at the same time, given the thickness of the plugs of any peripherals worth talking about. Also, soldered RAM and SSD.

Since the rumor is that the width remains the same and the ports remain the same as the top end Intel mini, you can ignore closeness of the ports as just an artifact of a quick illustration done for the rumor article. this is not a spy shot of an actual design.

 

[MNLondon]

I'm saving my money for this, having tried the M1 Mini with Final Cut and Logic Pro. I couldn't run both efficiently at the same time, like I could on my previous Intel version (which just got too hot and had to be returned). I hope they do it soon, because my poor 2010 Mac Pro is on its last legs! Actually, it's not bad but I can't do 4K easily.

I just hope it happens next month, rather than the end of the year.

 

[Think creative]

Man, apple really turned around their computers haven't they? Basically everything rumored in the pipeline looks great. It's nice to be excited about apple again. The future is bright.

 

[Tagbert]

I don't know why people keep repeating this. Magnetic connector =/= MagSafe easy tear away cable from the mid 2000s.

One of the iMac unboxing reviews that I followed pointed out that the force to detach the new magnetic connector was basically the same as the force to remove the old power plug that relied on friction to hold it in place. As you said, this is not a break-away MagSafe connector.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Because they didn’t do what you personally wanted, you think they didn’t put thought into it?

Looking at the magnetic connection of the power cord, the extremely thin profile, the inclusion of ethernet right into the power brick, you’d have to say they put a massive amount of thought and effort into it.

Sorry you don’t like it, but this wasn’t something that was cobbled together without a thought.

The fact they dressed it up nicely doesn't negate the larger point. It's an external necessary component on an supposed all-in-one desktop computer.

The power supply has been internal since the very first model, over two decades and 8 generations ago. Heck even the original Macintosh had an internal power supply in 1984! Was Apple and the countless designers over that entire period of time wrong then, or are they wrong today? Nothing about the decision about internal/external power supplies has changed since then. And if anything, Apple has been making more things built-in and internal over the years, so this move is a clear outlier. Even the AppleTV has an internal power supply! This is a regression, and nobody has credibly argued otherwise so far.

It's also not like an ethernet or display adapter that can be dongle-ized. It's a necessary component without which the product cannot be used. This makes it no longer an all-in-one. When does an all-in-one stop being an all-in-one? How many components are allowed to be external before it stops being an all-in-one?

What does it say about Apple's own confidence in the power supply? Power supplies are external when they need to be for portability (e.g., laptops, tablets, smartphones) and when they are cheap and likely to fail (and thus designed to be easily replaced). The iMac is certainly not a portable device. So is Apple expecting these things to fail and need frequent replacement?

Besides just giving Apple the benefit of the doubt, nobody has actually put forth any reason the power supply had to be external on the iMac, nor why it should not be internal on the Mac Mini. The M1 Mac Mini uses just 39W of power at peak. There are 65W power supplies that are approximately 1 inch cubed, and some designs are under 1cm thick. It can easily be made internal to a redesigned Mac Mini, even if the goal is to make it thinner and sleeker.

There is objectively no technical reason it cannot be integrated, and no benefit to having it external (unless Apple is not confident in their quality and reliability).

 

[Stephen.R]

It's an external necessary component on an supposed all-in-one desktop computer.

Whatever you do, don’t look at a picture from the front of the iMac that shows the keyboard and mouse.

 

[petvas]

One of the iMac unboxing reviews that I followed pointed out that the force to detach the new magnetic connector was basically the same as the force to remove the old power plug that relied on friction to hold it in place. As you said, this is not a break-away MagSafe connector.

The new iMacs do not have a MagSafe connector. Apple never said they did. The power cord connects to the Mac magnetically but this is not the same as the functionality of MagSafe.

Going back to the main topic though, the Mac Mini would be a good alternative to the iMac for me, if Apple also offered an Apple Cinema Display with integrated web camera and speakers. I just don‘t like the monitors that are available on the market. Most of them are low res, and the ones that are high res are way too expensive and also do not scale well under macOS. I would love to have a 5K 27“ display or a 4,5K 24“ display. The LG 27“ 5K display is not available here in Germany.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Perhaps because aluminum tends to block Bluetooth signals? The mini has a history of unreliable bluetooth connections.

I was just about to post again asking about BT connection and plexiglass when I saw your post. Imagine if the BT issues were actually solved after so many years.

Anyone here with actual knowledge of such things that could shed light on this possibility?

 

[IllinoisCorn]

Looks really nice. I think the USB C ports will be spaced a little further apart than the render shows.

Will also have TB logos on them.

 

[deevey]

There is NO WAY that iMac MagSafe design is cheaper than using the MacBook Pro PSU. And we already pay for the battery management in the M1 and MacOS, but it goes to waste with no battery.

A MacBook Pro PSU would not be powerful enough vs 143 Watt. If you are building millions of iMac PSU's it would make sense to make them share the design rather than re-tool specifically for each particular model.

Braided Cables and the magnetic connection are not going to add a whole lot to the cost in volume.

I think the decision to have an external power supply on an all-in-one desktop is proof they did not.

Plenty of AIO's and MFF desktops have external PSU's. This isn't a new thing.

There is benefits, it lowers RF interference and the internal temperature of the device significantly.

However, I did like the convenience of having no power brick on my iMac's and Mini's.

 

[IllinoisCorn]

That magnetic plug makes sense on the iMac because a regular plug has too much force for such a relatively fragile case, but… on a Mac mini? For consistency / economics of scale reasons, perhaps (and to provide Ethernet more conveniently), but I don't think that's right. I think the Mac mini won't have a magnetic plug.

I just don’t see the utility of a magnetic plug on this device.

 

[IllinoisCorn]

I was just about to post again asking about BT connection and plexiglass when I saw your post. Imagine if the BT issues were actually solved after so many years.

Anyone here with actual knowledge of such things that could shed light on this possibility?

My M1 Mini BT issues were fixed after I took it to the Apple Store and they erased and re(flashed, did, whatever) the firmware.

And I had buku problems.

 

[hot-gril]

Common Macrumors comment: "I have a strong personal opinion based on an immediate reaction regarding my specific use case and therefore conclude Apple didn't put any thought in to this."

Reality: a knowledgeable and experienced team spent weeks analyzing this from the perspective of performance, aesthetics, cost, manufacturability, and more, weighing various pros and cons before making a decision.

Even better when it's about Epic v Apple and everyone is suddenly a professional lawyer.

 

[Stephen.R]

Even the AppleTV has an internal power supply!

The appletv draws somewhere around 5w when playing video. The iMac has a ~140w PSU, the Mac mini is likely north of 100w too.

could they make it fit inside the iMac? Sure. Would that have other trade offs? Almost certainly.

Every product in history has compromises in its design. The only difference here is you don’t agree with the compromises that the designers made.

 

[Tagbert]

I'd be shocked if this turns out to be true. The Mac Mini is the most popular data center Mac. No 1/10g ethernet and an external power supply would make continuing to use it in a data center setting extremely impractical.

I'm sure that Apple is aware of the popularity of racks of minis. Keeping the original width and ports will be welcome there. I could imagine Apple providing an alternate power delivery for rack use or at least a spec so that vendors could incorporate their own DC power supplies.

 

[Apple_Robert]

My M1 Mini BT issues were fixed after I took it to the Apple Store and they erased and re(flashed, did, whatever) the firmware.

And I had buku problems.

My BT problems were regular with the keyboard and trackpad. A lot of the time the trackpad would freeze and I would have to plug it in for a second or two to get it going again. The keyboard was also bad about dropping out for a second or two, especially when I would be trying to login. It would usually take me 3 - 4 tries to get in. Very frustrating.