M1 Mini form factor

[mckenzzzzie]

I feel like it was a real missed opportunity for Apple to leave the exterior of the Mini unchanged. This form factor used to have both a 2.5" hard drive _and_ an optical drive in it, and with the miniaturization of parts since then, as well as the reduced need for cooling, it could certainly have gotten smaller. (9 to 5 Mac reports a "30% – 40%" reduction in motherboard size.)

If retaining compatibility with certain mounting accessories was a concern, they could even have simply reduced the height of the unit, and I think it would have been an improvement.

 

[bsamcash]

There will be a smaller version. It was a wise marketing decision for Apple to keep the externals the same so not to confuse much of the customer base. Not everyone is as tech savvy as we.

 

[pmiles]

The reality is, the form factor does wonders for thermals... just because you can reduce things down to the size of a postage stamp, doesn't mean sticking it in a package that size is a good thing. History has shown, airflow around electronics is a good thing... the more the better to dissipate heat.

It's why the Mac Mini doesn't throttle like say laptops do... all that airflow keeps the device cooler.

 

[ItWasNotMe]

It's already too small to fit the number of ports it should have

 

[frou]

Optimising a stationary computer for tininess is really dubious anyway.

The Intel Mini 2018 would have been a lot more balanced computer if it were a touch larger and had a Radeon 560X or similar, like the contemporary MBPs did.