Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Kuo: 2023 Mac Mini to Retain Same Design as Current Model
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I would believe this, except that the current enclosure has contributed to wireless signal issues. Jonny Ive has left and it’s no coincidence that Apple’s design team has focused on function before form.
The antenna reception is a design flaw that would be remedied with a plexiglas top - as per the ‘leaks’ - yet even this is contrary to the Mac Studio’s design (Unless the antenna is located on the Apple logo/rear exhaust vent).
So, I honestly don’t know what to believe. It’s a classic aesthetic, but slightly flawed.
The antenna reception is a design flaw that would be remedied with a plexiglas top - as per the ‘leaks’ - yet even this is contrary to the Mac Studio’s design (Unless the antenna is located on the Apple logo/rear exhaust vent).
So, I honestly don’t know what to believe. It’s a classic aesthetic, but slightly flawed.
The Studio Display has 96 Watts USB-PD according to the spec sheet. The power supply of the Mini is 145. So while the specification technically allows daisy chaining USB-PD it would limit what the Mini can technically output, especially considering a possible M1/2 Pro variant, which would, at full load, consume somewhere around 60-70 watts. So while it would technically work, yes, I don't think this is a margin Apple would be comfortable with.
Exactly. I don't know what kinds of desks people use, but the Mini fits on mine just fine. And frankly: I don't want a Raspberry Pi-like box that has cables dangling out of it on every side. The Mini is fine the way it is, perfect size, timeless design, with established accessories. And I was honestly quite pleased Apple went for the same no bs design with the studio.
Great news as keeps my Mac mini 1U rack mount kit nice and relevant. Although people have asked what the cutout horizontal slot is for... Shame they moved the status LED on the M1 as it does not align with the hole anymore.
The antenna has to be in one of those two locations as I believe as, unlike the mini, the base of the Studio is metal.
The mini will likely remain in a similar form factor but I fully expect changes to the design such as removing the plastic rear section, a metal base, and scaling it down to better fit the smaller Apple silicon internals. If the mini is going to be purely a consumer machine going forward it will essentially only need to house what fits in an iMac chassis.
That’s the dream and the whole pint of Apple moving to their own SoCs. If they can’t get that right, then leadership needs to be called to account everywhere, including shareholder’s meetings.
The current Intel Mini has
- 4 Thunderbolt ports
- Two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
- HDMI port
- Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
Part of the appeal of the mini is that it is a utilitarian box. It could be cheap and low powered or it could be configured to be more powerful. I think that is a valuable trait in a computer. I think there is a market for updates that give it an M2 for the cheap model and an M2 Pro as an upgrade.
Trying to make it as small as possible doesn’t really bring much benefit other than a brief “wow, that’s small”. Followed by “where do I plug in my X?” If there is a market for a Mac Nano, let’s see if Apple wants to launch such a device. I have no need of it.
Yes, and the fans needed for that would probably necessitate the size of the current one, so that’s probably where this comes from.
There's nothing in the top half of that picture except for the oversized fan and part of the power supply. Using the iMac 24" external power adapter, it could be 1/3 the size. Making it "only" half sized would be child's play for Apple.
This plus somehow fix the bluetooth performance and, since it's coming out late in the year or possibly even next year, bump up to wifi 6E. Do all that then I'm 100% good. I don't care much about a redesign, even less about Space Gray or other colors besides silver, and don't care at all if they make it smaller.
It's still a nice design. It's simple and sleek. As a plus, it reflects light beautifully. If I had to suggest a change it would apply the same design language from the studio.
I am pretty sure people wouldn't mind...if they could get one right now with the M1 Pro chip
I wouldn't. There's not only little point in Apple doing so.
M1 is basically a souped-up tablet chip. And the same (I'd think) M2 will be: squarely designed to fit in devices that are relatively low-powered, inexpensive and don't have many ports: iPads and small, low-power Macs with limited ports.
Increasing the number of ports would make these chips bigger, resulting in (possibly) higher power draws - but more importantly lower production yields and higher costs to manufacture.
Don't get me wrong: I have an M1 as my main computer and definitely would love to have more ports available, rather than the mess of USB hubs I'm using to connect all my peripherals. I just don't think it's in the cards.
I am unsure why you say "10 USB-A..." if I simply say more ports. My take is to consider a couple of more USB-C ports, possibly a flash card slot (that is a port). Also, as mentioned, Apple needs to start to address its audio out with a decent DAC. That doesn't sound like 10 USB-A ports but rather items that would have general use today.
I have often thought that Apple should have used that model. A mini of sorts that snaps to the back of an Apple monitor that has a direct interface. If newer computer comes out or newer monitor, you just replace one of the two parts.The 24" iMac is the same as the M1 Mac mini.It's just glued to the computer's screen casing.
Well all numbers are nonsense, people just want more RAM being a power of 2 doesn't matter.
But the most important reasons why are 12GB modules are more readily available than 16GB (Micron is still only sampling 16GB LPDDR5 still, so that'd leave Samsung as the only producer) and Apple is cheap, increasing RAM by 50% still is a big jump and cheaper than increasing it by 100%.
I mean if Apple wants to double the RAM without increasing the price, by all means I'd welcome it, but if anything they'd just add 32GB as an even more expensive option and keep 8GB as the entry. Even for casual users 8GB will get a bit tight in the years to come ahead especially with people using machines for almost 10 years these days, so moving up the base to 12GB would be a great move for entry machines without the cost of moving to 16GB base.
Just because something is built-in doesn't mean it will run perfect. An iPad will probably throttle when it is loaded for a longer period of time. Moreover, the M1 is probably also clocked lower.
Good cooling means that nothing throttles even under full load after a long time and ideally the computer remains quiet at good temperatures.
This requires a suitable cooling system. And that also needs space. Fans that are too small are bad.
It simply does not make much sense to make a Mac mini smaller, since there is no real benefit, but possibly disadvantages.
as a long time user of the Mac mini, I love this design and all the renders people have been showing off looked kinda ugly so im relieved by this lol
I always felt making it thinner would limit it's power potential, and all I ever wanted out of the Mac mini was a bit more oomf. Doesn't need to be M1 Max/Ultra crazy, but the current chassis seems like it'd be perfect for the M1/M2 Pro
I always felt making it thinner would limit it's power potential, and all I ever wanted out of the Mac mini was a bit more oomf. Doesn't need to be M1 Max/Ultra crazy, but the current chassis seems like it'd be perfect for the M1/M2 Pro