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Geez they go all out on designs these days.. Throw a few bucks to a few students for some new designs..
 
M1 has been passively cooled. In modded cases and MacBooks Airs. Even compared to the MacBook Pro 13" with active cooling, the difference has been found negligible.

That said, even an actively cooled M1 Mac mini could do just as well in a smaller form factor.
MacBook Air is throtteling. MacBook Pro maybe too at a certain point (and when its hot in the summer).
In addition, future SoCs may be hotter. Many also hope for a Pro variant (between the Studio and the current Mac Mini).
Why should the cooling of the Mac mini be made worse?

The Mac mini has the best cooling of all M1 Macs. It seems that it finally has reserves and isn't designed too tightly.

I can't understand this way of thinking at all, that one should make the cooling worse for senseless "features". Maybe that's how Johnny Ive thought, since design (no matter if it makes sense or not) was obviously more important to him than functionality. This scares away users like me, who simply want a good computer (which also includes a good cooling system that is not too tightly designed, if the computer really has to work for a long time).

I doubt if anyone has much of an advantage if a Mac mini is even smaller or thinner. After a certain point, there is no real value in making a Computer smaller. The Mac mini is a desktop computer and not a laptop.
 
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Extremely bold prediction considering they just released a mid-to-high-end desktop that looks exactly the same just moar thicc. (Which I call lovingly the "Big Mac".)
Big Mac, that’s great ?

It’s very true though, it feels totally plausible that the current Mac mini design will continue, considering it looks just like a cut down mac studio (or rather the Studio a built up mini).
 
Yeah but Apple want people to have a good experience, perhaps with a mini that is silent in the current case with the M1. Smaller case = potentially less airflow, running hotter and maybe noise that will annoy customers.
I don't see customers complaining about their experiences with their MacBook Airs.
And as it currently stands, case size does nothing to reduce noise of provide cooling. It's literally more than half-empty.
The Mac mini has the best cooling of all M1 Macs. It seems that it finally has reserves and isn't designed too tightly.
Not too tightly is putting it mildly. The current case is very much oversized.
I can't understand this way of thinking at all, that one should make the cooling worse for senseless "features".
I'm not saying they "should".
I'm saying they may and would.
I doubt if anyone has much of an advantage if a Mac mini is even smaller or thinner. After a certain point, there is no real value in making something smaller.
But that point isn't at it current dimensions.

Making it smaller would make the Mini
- less expensive to manufacture
- more environmentally friendly (less materials used, less CO2 in production and shipping)
- a more marketable product ("x% smaller than previous gen", "x% than comparable PCs", "smallest Mac ever")
- a more portable product or fit more units in the same rack space
 
I also had issues with only 16GB RAM. With more complex Final Cut Pro projects, it was constantly complaining of running out of RAM and failing to export.

I haven’t encountered this issue on my M1 Max machine with 64GB RAM.

Those that perpetuates the myth that “16GB is more than enough on M1” is doing anyone they convince a disservice.
You are the target customer for the Studio. Thats the point.
 
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Nothing wrong with this design, it matches up with the Mac Studio quite well, since the Mac Studio is just a giant version of this with ports on the front.
Totally agree. Why update it? We'll certainly get higher performance and more power consuming chips in the future than the current M1, so having some additional room inside to spare for a bigger heatsink and fan makes good sense. It seems Apple finally realized that having something that is slightly bigger and silent, is better than something getting thinner and unnecessarily noisy. Now that's progress.
 
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I don't see customers complaining about their experiences with their MacBook Airs.
In my eyes, the cooling of an M1 MacBook Air is (very) poor for desktop use.
Many Mac users do not have high demands and are also used to temperatures going up, fans cranking up under load and Macs throttling. I expect considerably more. And throtteling is not OK for a desktop computer.

And as it currently stands, case size does nothing to reduce noise of provide cooling. It's literally more than half-empty.

Not too tightly is putting it mildly. The current case is very much oversized.
I don't agree. Even if the cooling should not get worse in a smaller case with an integrated power supply, a significant downsizing does not make much sense from my point of view.

I'm not saying they "should".
I'm saying they may and would.

But that point isn't at it current dimensions.

Making it smaller would make the Mini
- less expensive to manufacture
- more environmentally friendly (less materials used, less CO2 in production and shipping)
In other places, much more can be done to protect the environment.
First of all, Apple could take the iMac 24" out of the program. Forcing monitors and computers to be connected is not environmentally friendly and will only lead to more electronic waste sooner or later.
Or how about swappable SSD or Ram? The current SoC concept with integrated RAM is bad from that point of view.
This is a different topic.

- a more marketable product ("x% smaller than previous gen", "x% than comparable PCs", "smallest Mac ever")
Yes, exactly. You risk making a Mac worse for such pointless and empty slogans that no one has anything to gain from. Just like J. Ive made everything thinner with no rhyme or reason. Function follows design and not vice versa.
I like the impression that Apple seems to have started rethinking.

- a more portable product or fit more units in the same rack space
Mac mini doesn't really make sense in the rack. If that is done, then only for lack of alternatives. This is a very special scenario.
And in order to fit more, it has to be considerably smaller. Not really an argument in my eyes.
 
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We have to see if Apple is redesigning its lineup in 2 categories: the colorful and the grey.

If the MacBook Air follows the iMac design language, then I could see the Mac mini joining them.
 
The current design is timeless (although black would be slick).

However, I would like to see more ports (see intel Mac mini) including the return of the SD card slot. Oh yeah, and how about offer the m1 Pro since the chasm between the Mini and Studio is quite large.
 
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3) allow for 64 gigs of RAM
I expect that for the next couple of years the M# will always be up to 16GB; the M#-Pro/Max up to 64GB; the M#-Ultra up to 128GB; and the M#-UltraMaxPlus will be 256GB or more. So the real question is whether the next Mini will also get the M2-Pro to sit below the Studio's M2-Max/Ultra.
 
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I expect that for the next couple of years the M# will always be up to 16GB; the M#-Pro/Max up to 64GB; the M#-Ultra up to 128GB; and the M#-UltraMaxPlus will be 256GB or more. So the real question is whether the next Mini will also get the M2-Pro to sit below the Studio's M2-Max/Ultra.
Until the memory chips available double in capacity at current price, I agree. And with worldwide chip shortages, that isn’t happening any time soon.
 
The design is fine, jus add some extra ports and the pro/max chip. Hardly look at it anyway since it is behind my monitor.
 
The current design was introduced in 2010. In the beginning, a large DVD-drive was still included. Until the 2014-model, you could install two hard drives of your own choice.

SATA-drives were dropped at a later stage, and especially since the M1 Mac mini, the case of the Mac mini is way too large for the small motherboard which it contains.

So people can say that the design is 'fine', and it does still look fine, but a case which is too large is not something to be proud of. With such a large case, Apple really should just give back the possibility to build in a drive of our own choice.
 
needs redesign imo ,at least colours or something. Not that the design is bad, just needs a refresh.
 
but a case which is too large is not something to be proud of.

IF they put a M1Pro level into it the M1(2) version is "too large" in the same sense as the Studio is "too large" for M1Max configs (which would have been o.k. at 1/2 the height).

IF they keep it with just the base M1/2 chip they will reduce it's size eventually.
 
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It been a while since Jonny Ive left... they need to hire someone else who can draw pictures.
 
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