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

[Tozovac]

I think this is more of a trying to make a unique design instead of the original intent of MagSafe. I have the new iMac and if the cord gets yanked that magnet isn’t going to let go before the iMac goes flying off the table. It will definitely fling a Mac mini off of a table

That actually sounds great to me. A magnetic connector that pops into place nice and quickly and easy, since it’s often tricky to reach around and plug in a “permanently placed” computer like a mini where the port is out of sight usually, while the magnetic connection stays in place and prevents unwanted powerdowns.

 

[theluggage]

I know you're not a huge fan of an all-TB/USB-C approach

Not so much on a desktop where the dongles can stay put and you're not losing a data port to charging. If the new Mini has 8 USB-C ports, in some reasonable permutation of 3.1 and USB4/TB4 then I'm fine.

Realistically, though, the extra cost, complexity and resources of USB-C/TB3 mean that an 'all USB-C' approach means we're likely to get fewer ports of any kind - as evidenced by the new iMac, esp. the entry-level 2 port version.

As for USB 3 hubs in keyboards - I think that, if people wanted them, the market would have already provided (and there are various USB-2 hub/keyboards around which probably mops up most of the demand - for a hard drive or suchlike that actually used USB 3 bandwidth I'd prefer to connect it to a top-level port).

Know what might help? At least if we're moving to all-USB-C: An affordable USB-C 3 hub with at least 6 USB-C ports providing USB 3 only, the ability to distribute the full 15W from the upstream port and an optional 100W power input to give full USB-C charging.

Its the biggest omission of the whole USB-C system - even the new $200 OWC USB 4 hub only gives 3 type Cs (but that's not really what it is for).

...because until then I'm going to need the 7 ports + 3 power from my $40 USB 3 type A hub, which also means I'll still be using a mixed economy of type-C and type-A connectors even if I end up with an all-type-C computer.

 

[Stephen.R]

An affordable USB-C 3 hub with at least 6 USB-C ports providing USB 3 only, the ability to distribute the full 15W from the upstream port and an optional 100W power input to give full USB-C charging.

I may well be wrong but I'm pretty sure multiple downstream USB-C (or TB3 for that matter) ports only works with USB4.

TB3 allows daisy chaining, and I believe USB3.x Type-C also allows for that (hence you get hubs with 1 downstream C port), but the star topology stuff requires USB4. Which is relatively new, and thus we're back to the $300 options we've already discussed.

The only other alternative I'd seen to that approach, a couple of years ago, was StarTech had a TB3 upstream to USB3x downstream hub. It mean you'd get I think 2 10Gbps and 2 5Gbps ports or some similar combination. In that scenario they could of course just provide you with a heap of, 3.xxx 5Gbps ports.

for a hard drive or suchlike that actually used USB 3 bandwidth I'd prefer to connect it to a top-level port

I was thinking more flash drives (thumb drives) and card reader slots, rather than regular mass storage, because they're usually not actually that fast anyway.

 

[russell_314]

That actually sounds great to me. A magnetic connector that pops into place nice and quickly and easy, since it’s often tricky to reach around and plug in a “permanently placed” computer like a mini where the port is out of sight usually, while the magnetic connection stays in place and prevents unwanted powerdowns.

I agree it works for its purpose on a desktop. I think the iMac connector would be great on a Mac mini but not a MacBook

 

[SteveW928]

<sarcasm> Because a top complaint of we Mac mini owners/fans is that the thing is just too darn big! </sarcasm>

I really don't understand this obsession Apple has with thinness. I suppose it doesn't need as much space with Apple Silicon, but as others have mentioned, just look at that port density! (Hopefully this rumor/rendering are wrong. I'd speculate *if* they go MagSafe, they might put the Ethernet on the brick and then could space the ports out properly.)

What I want is power, gobs and gobs of processor and GPU power, while still being silent. I sure hope they haven't traded off case-space to achieve their slim-goal, only to sacrifice too much of the cooling potential of the previous design, or to limit what they put in there.

That said, I'm really excited about some of the rumors regarding a mini-pro type machine. I'd love a box between what we're seeing with the M1 machines (consumer aimed) and the Mac Pro once it gets Apple Silicon. Apple has needed to fill that gap for a long time.

My main concern is GPU capability, so hopefully (especially if this rumor is true) we'll see eGPU support back (and improved). eGPUs truly create a wonderfully flexible system where you can buy as much or little potential on a key area of the system as needed. But, they've somewhat gotten a poor treatment so far. I sure hope they weren't just a short-term tech-fad. (And, I don't see how Apple could stuff adequate GPU power into a design like this.)

 

[SteveW928]

Why the crap does the Mac Mini need to change to using an external power brick? One of the nice things about the Mac Mini is its lack of such a brick.

The first iteration of the Mac Mini had one, then moved away from that. It feels like we're sliding backwards?

Marketing department, probably. In any ad or display of a computer, they often hide or don't include cords or such and just focus on the unit itself. Once the buyer gets the product home, they then have to deal with the actual reality.

I'm not necessarily opposed to power bricks (if they are high quality), I just don't see the point here. If it is really that little, the problem a user is going to have is it being moved around by the slightest pressure on any cable. It's kind of too small... it almost is already.

About the only benefit is that it moves some heat out of the case (and maybe if this rumor is wrong, moves the Ethernet off the panel of the unit).

 

[Tozovac]

<sarcasm> Because a top complaint of we Mac mini owners/fans is that the thing is just too darn big! </sarcasm>

I really don't understand this obsession Apple has with thinness. I suppose it doesn't need as much space with Apple Silicon, but as others have mentioned, just look at that port density! (Hopefully this rumor/rendering are wrong. I'd speculate *if* they go MagSafe, they might put the Ethernet on the brick and then could space the ports out properly.)

Answer (IMHO): Because Human (or Corporate) Nature to stick to what works even if it leads you off a cliff sometimes. Think: Hollywood starlet who tries to keep capitalizing upon her beauty with more and more unnecessary plastic surgery that starts to become just awful, working completely against the desire for continual aesthetic perfection.

Apple absolutely killed it 15+ years ago when they were really the first to make things pretty and thin and minimalist but still with gobs of “it just works” function. It wasn’t too hard to stand out, when you looked at anything Windows-related, be it the Windows OS itself as well as the gag-me-with-a-spoon hardware from a myriad of manufacturers that was as fashionable as a bowl cut…PC-based laptops and desktops 15+ years ago tended to look like something we put on the moon in the 60’s.

Even the 1st generation iPod that today looks “ugly” in comparison to today’s Apple products was unreal-pretty back then. The competition had yet to wake up (to follow Apple) and Apple could exploit all the low hanging fruit by being *thinner* than the competition and full of wow new minimalism, but yet not *as thin as possible*.

Then the world started copying Apple and Apple needed to keep *thinking different*. From 2000-2013, what worked? Thin, minimalist, less is more, and to an utter near-perfection balance. So what can Apple keep doing? Add thinness, add minimalism, add less (both in the hardware and even in the pixels…even if off a cliff…iOS 7 cough cough cough…functional trade-offs be damned). Add more of what used to work, even if it ironically means taking more away each time.

Apple has started coming back to Jesus and turning its back on thin & pretty & minimalist at all costs. Fixed keyboard. More function-first nuances and pixels back in the OS’s. The rumor of more ports in MacBooks and even physical function keys in place of the futuristic touchbar. Apple has may be finally learned that you can’t keep giving more by taking more away. I’m happy with all this.

 

[Tozovac]

I'm not necessarily opposed to power bricks (if they are high quality), I just don't see the point here. If it is really that little, the problem a user is going to have is it being moved around by the slightest pressure on any cable. It's kind of too small... it almost is already.

I find the biggest pain with power bricks in a fixed (non MacBook) computer is cable management behind a desk. It’s nice when all cables can be gathered and kept off the floor and out of sight behind a desk. Most power bricks are just a pain (and a literal boat anchor) with figuring out how to locate it conveniently behind the desk either on the floor or on the desk itself, etc. It’s the odd man out amongst all the rest of the cable-only connections.

 

[theluggage]

I may well be wrong but I'm pretty sure multiple downstream USB-C (or TB3 for that matter) ports only works with USB4.

I'm talking about regular USB 3.1 over USB-C - not Thunderbolt - it's the same old USB 3.1 protocol that runs over A/B cables, so there's nothing magic. You could get any USB-3 hub with multiple downstream USB-A ports and plug in a bunch of USB-A to USB-C female adapters (plus a male one to connect it to the computer's USB-C), but that would be messy and doesn't really provide an incentive for people like me to move to USB-C cables... and because most USB3 hubs won't take advantage of USB-C power delivery you'd need a powered hub unless you were really careful about power requirements.

Thing is, nobody makes them (although I do recall seeing a press release several years ago announcing a chipset for a USB-C hub, never seen a product which used it). It is pretty clear that the market has spoken and what people are buying is USB-C to "your old beloved ports" docks. If Apple want to promote USB-C they might want to think of priming the pump a bit with some nice-looking (colour matched...?) hubs and docks.

I was thinking more flash drives (thumb drives) and card reader slots, rather than regular mass storage, because they're usually not actually that fast anyway.

I think those are the things that people are wanting to plug into their laptops while "on the road". There's a whole universe of USB 2 & 3 hard drives, SSDs, thumb drives, audio interfaces, scanners, synthesizers/MIDI controllers etc. that you might want to use on the desktop. They don't need the speed (and consequent expense) of Thunderbolt/USB4 but they do like a good connection at the speed they were designed for.

 

[Stephen.R]

and a literal boat anchor

Surely you mean a figurative boat anchor?

Otherwise you and I have seen very different boat anchors and/or power bricks

 

[Stephen.R]

I'm talking about regular USB 3.1 over USB-C -

Yeah I realise that, I really thought there was some spec limitation that prevents multiple downstream type-c ports like that.

I think those are the things that people are wanting to plug into their laptops while "on the road".

How do you easily plug a flash drive into a mini though? I’ve resorted to using the “lonely step child” type a port on the back of dell displays, but I really don’t use a flash drive for much besides bootable installers.

 

[theluggage]

If those aren't Thunderbolt 4 ports this thing is a dud, DOA

I believe that the only reason the ports on the released M1 machines aren't badged "Thunderbolt 4" is that the TB4 standard requires support for at least 2 displays, and the M1 (apparently) only supports one hard-wired display and one connected via Thunderbolt.

That's something that pretty much has to be fixed by the M1x/M2/whatever. No way the 16" MBP replacement (which is most likely what the new SoC will be primarily designed for) can get away with not supporting at least 2 external displays.

 

[theluggage]

How do you easily plug a flash drive into a mini though?

If it's once in a blue moon, reach around the back. That's how I cope with the SD slot on my iMac when I want to re-flash the boot drive for a Raspberry Pi.

If it's regular, get one of those fairly nice-looking - but relatively cheap - aluminium USB3 hubs that will sit on your desk. As I said - I don't want to have to carry a hub/dock around with a laptop but, on a desk, it's a non-issue.

I've certainly use the old Apple Alu keyboard to plug in flash drives in the past when I haven't had a hub plugged in for some reason - again, if it's once in a blue moon, USB 2 is fast enough. But, I think anybody who gets triggered by a hub on their desktop will also get triggered by a cable going to their keyboard. Also, going forward, I guess we'll have to put up with Apple Tragic Keyboards if we want to use TouchID - I have a hunch that a wired, TouchID keyboard from Apple will be exclusive to the cheap, mini-tower, expandable xMac that they are going to make never.

 

[HowardEv]

What I want is power, gobs and gobs of processor and GPU power, while still being silent. I sure hope they haven't traded off case-space to achieve their slim-goal, only to sacrifice too much of the cooling potential of the previous design, or to limit what they put in there.

Me, too! For audio, we need gobs of processor power and total silence (no fan!). I would like it to be battery powered as well (being connected to mains, even with a brick, creates hum), and backpack-sized (if not pocket sized!).

 

[Stephen.R]

Me, too! For audio, we need gobs of processor power and total silence (no fan!). I would like it to be battery powered as well (being connected to mains, even with a brick, creates hum), and backpack-sized (if not pocket sized!).

Really sounds like you want a laptop

 

[theluggage]

Are we talking about the current Macs or 5-year-old Macs? And you can currently get a 4-port Anker USB-C-to-A hub for $20.

The iMac came out in 1998. Windows only got USB support in 1997. Over the following years, Unlike USB-C it was night-and-day faster c.f. the old interfaces it replaced, so USB rapidly took off on PCs, which is probably what pushed prices down. So if you want to post ads from 1998 then the relevant comparison is with 2015 when the 12" MacBook with USB-C had just come out - and USB-C peripherals were like hen's teeth. One problem with USB-C is that it has been a bit of a slow burn on PC.

AFAIK there are still no USB-C hubs with multiple USB-C-with-USB-3.1 ports other than a couple of recently announced Thunderbolt 4 multiport hubs which are a new possibility but carry the usual Thunderbolt price premium.

 

[HowardEv]

Dude, I've tried laptops. To get the power I want, I have to get a giant heavy 16" Pro, which gets throttled and LOUD and is unusable as a laptop, and is super expensive. It suuuucks for audio. Why can't you accept progress? The old desktop/laptop compromise is obsolete: the M1 works the same in both.

 

[theluggage]

Me, too! For audio, we need gobs of processor power and total silence (no fan!).

Point is, two good ways to make a quiet computer are bigger fans (which shift more air while spinning slower and making less noise) and big hunks of aluminium or copper with bulky fins to dissipate heat, possibly without fans. So if you want to make a computer quieter, make it bigger, not smaller.

 

[Stephen.R]

To get the power I want, I have to get a giant heavy 16" Pro,

The old desktop/laptop compromise is obsolete: the M1 works the same in both.

so buy the fanless m1 battery powered Mac mini with built in screen.

Just ignore where it says MacBook Air on the box.

 

[polyphenol]

so USB rapidly took off on PCs

Not disagreeing - but it astonishes me how long after that some PCs were still being supplied with PS/2 mice and/or keyboards. Despite having several USB ports. I think the last one I personally saw was about five or so years ago. Brand new from manufacturer, and not an old model.

 

[Stephen.R]

Not disagreeing - but it astonishes me how long after that some PCs were still being supplied with PS/2 mice and/or keyboards. Despite having several USB ports. I think the last one I personally saw was about five or so years ago. Brand new from manufacturer, and not an old model.

There are PCs for sale now with ps2 ports.

 

[hot-gril]

Hmm… doesn’t seem to check out. Plus, today’s iMacs come with wireless keyboards and mice (or trackpads).

It's relative. $80 for a 4-port USB hub isn't a lot if you're spending a combined $700 or so for the accessories to plug into it, and the alternative ways to add more ports were even worse. USB was a clear improvement back then, while nowadays USB-C is just clearly more expensive than what it's replacing. So, adoption is taking forever.

 

[hot-gril]

Not disagreeing - but it astonishes me how long after that some PCs were still being supplied with PS/2 mice and/or keyboards. Despite having several USB ports. I think the last one I personally saw was about five or so years ago. Brand new from manufacturer, and not an old model.

Yeah, I have no idea why this is the case and have seen it too. It's frustrating.

 

[SuperMatt]

It's relative. $80 for a USB hub isn't a lot if you're spending a combined $700 or so for the accessories to plug into it, and the alternative ways to add more ports were even worse.

Sorry USB hubs did not used to be cheap when the first iMac came out. The claim has been shown to be inaccurate, so the excuses start to pile up. Why not "I forgot (or didn’t know) that USB hubs were actually expensive then…" When facts start to interfere with one's opinion, perhaps it's the opinion that needs to be re-examined, not the facts.

 

[theluggage]

Not disagreeing - but it astonishes me how long after that some PCs were still being supplied with PS/2 mice and/or keyboards.

Well, for a keyboard/mouse, even the 12Mbps of USB 1 was overkill, PS/2 peripherals were already being made in vast quantities, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Why not leave your fancy new super-fast USB ports free for something else? Then you have data centres etc. which often used (expensive) keyboard/video/mouse switches to manage multiple servers from one display, mouse and keyboard - which would have been PS/2 and VGA-based. Probably 101 other examples from the corporate/government/data-centre world where Apple has never had such a huge presence.

Remember: True Professional Business Users lease brand new equipment every 3-4 years - but meanwhile, back on planet Earth, Professional Business Human Beings rely on a bunch of ancient systems held together by string and prayer, set up by someone who retired 5 years ago, which will cause utter chaos if/when they finally fail but which Manglement won't authorise the budget and downtime to replace.

Somewhere between "if it ain't broke don't fix it... even if it is broke" and "if it works it is obsolete, especially if we can make it 1mm smaller" there must be a sensible policy, but it's yet to be discovered.