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.
M2 Mac mini release scenarios
- Thread starter Sami13496
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Should do. The Macbook Air M1 stayed in when the M2 came out. Your point is you are looking for a good deal on the M1 Mac Mini when the M2 Mac Mini comes out?
M2 will replace the current M1 model, with a modest price increase accounting for inflationary pressures. The last remaining Intel model will be replaced with an M2 Pro chip, which is why we haven't already seen the M2 make an appearance inside the mini line. The Coffee Lake CPU inside of the x86 mini was EOL'ed by Intel at the end of last year, so it's a placeholder for a more advanced model. The M2 Pro model will fill a hole between the base M2 mini and the Mac Studio with an M2 Max.
We don't know for sure this will happen. Apple may decide to insert an M2 Pro chip into the Studio suite as a new entry level modal to get customers wanting to upgrade to 32GB RAM into this category and keep the Mac Mini in the same category as the MB Air with just the base upgraded M2 chip which can only be upgraded to 24GB RAM.
All will be revealed soon enough.
Hmm, if THAT's made an option, I wouldn't mind buying a Mac Studio with the M2 Pro chip and 32 GB of RAM. I currently don't need 64 GB of RAM or greater, as I feel 32 GB would suit me fine. (Currently the computers I use have 16 GB of RAM and it's generally just fine, but as system requirements and such keep increasing I'll want to be ready down the line.) Besides, I do want a headless desktop with one of the higher-end Apple Silicon chips (at least Pro) to replace my 2012 quad-core i7 Mac Mini and also have more RAM and processing speed/power than my M1 MacBook Air (which is currently my fastest and most powerful Mac on hand, but I do enjoy also having an actual desktop setup).
Yeah I think we are many!!
I have a 5.1 cheesegrater that is beautiful to look at but as tech advances it is now seriously showing its age. Next year I am looking also to upgrade my desktop to an M2 Pro chip but Apple are holding back knowing they can sell Max chips in the studio.
I bought an M1 Air for my work on the road which will help me get by until Apple finally release an M2 Pro desktop variant.
I need to upgrade to something newer. My 5,1 is starting to lock up for no apparent reason and I don't know if I have the mental capacity to figure it out right now 😅
An M1 Mini would suffice for my CPU needs, but it doesn't have the ports I want nor GPU options. So here's hoping to some form of M2 Pro Mac Mini with at least 24GB RAM, and an SD Card slot. One would hope for multiple storage slots, but we know that's not happening based off of the Studio.
Also, I have a theory that Apple could be waiting until they come out with the higher-end M2 chips to finally revise the Mac Mini line. This way, the M2 Mac Minis could replace the M1 Mini while being introduced alongside an M2 Pro-equipped Mini replacing that last remaining Intel Mini.
To me, the Studio price/design seems overkill for the low-end configs. Even more so if it only holds the M2 Pro and 32GB RAM. The M2 Pro should be Mac Mini territory (and hopefully also Mac Mini pricing similar to the outgoing Intel i7).
Apple always has promoted tiered pricing to encourage upgrading, and the entry level machines are almost always a dummy to encourage spending more on mid-tier products. The current Mac Mini has false price anchoring on the M1 version because it's the same GPU & CPU, but with a different HDD size as the only difference between the 2 models (unlike, say iMac, where there are actual differences between the GPU, CPU and ports on the base and mid-tier machines.)
The problem with Intel was that most people maybe saw the difference between a Core i5 and a Core i7 as being slight variations, rather than different chips with different performance levels. The M series seems to be making a more drastic distinction, with a clear claim about the difference in performance (eg: "it's 18% faster etc") and marketing that claim heavily. This makes it easier for Apple to present the latest chip with a consistent price jump for that speed (eg:$250) because it's marketed much like the thinner/lighter/faster way they've always sold their machines.
I'd expect the M chip tiering to continue so we'll have M1/M2, M2/M3, M3/M4 and so on, with the older chip being used to anchor a premium for the new one, as the new chips come out. As seen with the Macbook Pro M2, this also breathes life into older hardware for longer which keeps R&D costs down at Apple HQ.
The problem with Intel was that most people maybe saw the difference between a Core i5 and a Core i7 as being slight variations, rather than different chips with different performance levels. The M series seems to be making a more drastic distinction, with a clear claim about the difference in performance (eg: "it's 18% faster etc") and marketing that claim heavily. This makes it easier for Apple to present the latest chip with a consistent price jump for that speed (eg:$250) because it's marketed much like the thinner/lighter/faster way they've always sold their machines.
I'd expect the M chip tiering to continue so we'll have M1/M2, M2/M3, M3/M4 and so on, with the older chip being used to anchor a premium for the new one, as the new chips come out. As seen with the Macbook Pro M2, this also breathes life into older hardware for longer which keeps R&D costs down at Apple HQ.
Last edited:
Just random bits of unresponsive behavior. Nothing will open, close, be clicked on etc. And then everything goes back to normal!
I've been running a few utilities to check the health of my disk and trying to do some data repair.
open close u mean apps, files right?...or physical hardware like the CD drive bay?
Might want to consider doing a clean install of MacOS. System should be responsive after that.
Files, Windows etc.
A clean install is probably what I'll do - just have to get all my data sorted. The joy lol
Indeed! The joy of having backups before u take the plunge!!
Lets hope so. I'm waiting desperately to replace my iMac with a Mini M2 and Studio Display or LG Ultrasharp 5K ( can't decide
).
They need to support Macs for a minimum of 5 years based on when they are *last* sold, not when they are first sold. That more than anything is what’s keeping me away from the M1 Mini.
The M1 Air might be available for 4 years or more before its discontinued. It absolutely sucks for people who buy a brand new laptop at the end of it’s lifecycle to only get 2 or 3 OS updates.
If you spend $1200 on a Windows machine, you can be pretty confident you’ll have access to the latest OS version and full security support for 10 years. The recent TPM stuff was an aberration.
The M1 Air might be available for 4 years or more before its discontinued. It absolutely sucks for people who buy a brand new laptop at the end of it’s lifecycle to only get 2 or 3 OS updates.
If you spend $1200 on a Windows machine, you can be pretty confident you’ll have access to the latest OS version and full security support for 10 years. The recent TPM stuff was an aberration.
Lets hope so. I'm waiting desperately to replace my iMac with a Mini M2 and Studio Display or LG Ultrasharp 5K ( can't decide
Honestly, if you're going to spend that much on a display, I would lean towards the Studio Display. The design, quality, speakers and how it plays perfectly with macOS is worth the $300 extra in my opinion.
I have my display budget locked at under $700; I would kill for a quality display with decent speakers/webcam (i.e. the Studio Display).
I'm going to use the Price Is Right strategy and guess October 25.
Seriously though, does Apple usually do silent releases on Mondays? October 24 is a Monday. IIRC, most of the quiet released have been later in the week, like Tuesday.