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Mac mini 2019 refresh coming this week?
- Thread starter ryne275
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Given the Mini was only updated in October '18, I would think it will be at least 2020 Spring at the absolute earliest but more likely much later. Regarding the thermal issues to allow a 9th gen Intel cpu, they probably wouldn't need to change the size of the design but could remove the psu and make it external, as has been suggested in places. Such a shame the current built in gpu is so inadequate meaning shelling out for an egpu
for most tasks. With Apple being such a cash rich company it makes one constantly wonder where they want to go with the wealth? Sorry for the digression.
for most tasks. With Apple being such a cash rich company it makes one constantly wonder where they want to go with the wealth? Sorry for the digression.
Earliest presumably would be after a new gen of CPU suitable for it?
The CPUs in the current ones can't run the Apple Pro Display XDR thought right - is there something post Coffee Lake that could?
From Phil Schiller interview by Jonathan Morrison - 3m40s
"So should we potentially expect updates in the near future with the rest of the lineup?"
The CPUs in the current ones can't run the Apple Pro Display XDR thought right - is there something post Coffee Lake that could?
"So should we potentially expect updates in the near future with the rest of the lineup?"
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I'd suspect that the Mac Mini Colo guys (who order Minis in bulk) will have driven the decision to keep the same form factor for the Mac and this to include retaining the PSU.
I'd have been interested in better graphics capability, either with Kaby Lake G, mobile CPU + discrete GPU (or Iris Graphics) but I guess majoring on CPU grunt may also have been driven by the bulk buyers.
I would also guess that economy of scale will see the relatively inexpensive Coffee Lake desktop CPUs shared with the iMac.
The Coffee Lake refresh CPUs - 9th generation - probably don't offer anything new for iMac. Apple will probably be more interested in the AMD 5300 and 5500 GPUs used in the MacBook Pro 16".
As mentioned before, the 16" MacBook Pro precedent suggests any spec bump will simply involve doubling standard storage to 256Gb and 512Gb for the two SKUs with no change in price due to Apple's economy of scale with NAND and resulting reductions in price in the last 12 months.
That, I feel, will produce a nice bump in sales as well as potentially spell the end of spinning hard drives in the Mac range - on the iMacs - as well as the introduction of the T2 CPU across the range.
current mini drives my 5k display just fine using a tb3 to dual-dp adapter. not in games of course, but as a desktop it is fine.
I'd say the price is the biggest complaint. Second, definitely the GPU, but that's kind of a non-issue now that we have eGPU's. The internal GPU can drive two 4K screens at 60 Hz, or one 5K at 60 Hz, so I'd say most people are quite happy with it. Third, I'd say the thermal issues, which is likely now number two complaint.
You and me both. I'm waiting out for the 2020/21 model, before I snatch one. 9th generation Intel chips with 8 cores, and cheaper SSD upgrades, and I'd be happy.
Suspect not so many are buying the 2018 Mac mini. Attractive to pros and wannabes, it has more power and less storage than the average Joe or Jill needs. To be attractive to regular consumers a refresh is needed.
Except Logic Pro people. The new Mini has been fairly popular with audio community.
I switched from single 15" to Mini + 13". I always liked the 13", but needed more power.
I mean, Mac Pro is overkill for most audio applications, and expensive af.
iMac (Pro) is dumb because it has fans in front of your face. MacBook Pro is portable, but comes at a cost. Both the computer and performance.
Mac Mini on the other hand is a CPU with some stuff around it, which can't be any more perfect for audio than it is.
What i'd like to see in a new iternation of it:
- better iGPU, this one really is BARE minimum, but that's up to intel.
- more cores
- max RAM @128GB not 64GB
- more Thunderbolt3 ports (6) because not all devices offer daisy chaining
- ability to turn it off/on remotely
Everything else to be honest is much easier to keep externally (NVMe drives, USB drives).
Even eGPU, because you can chuck it somewhere ELSE, AWAY from you.
It's also a killer machine for developers: lots of storage/RAM headroom, plenty of CPU, decent quantity of ports. I also did a hand-me-down of my '15 MBP 15" (16/512/2.5) to my wife, and went [back] to a Mini since I was docked 99% of the time.
I'd like to see Apple go all in on the eGPU, and offer an Apple sourced option, the same footprint as a Mini, so you could make a slick little stack (and also sort out some of the particulars, make it an Apple-like real PnP product).
For 3x the price i can already get the BlackMagic, so probably 4.Translation: "I'd like to pay two to three times more for my eGPU".
If there only was such a thing. A 2-slot PCIe case to put on top of or under the Mac mini. But then the GPU would need special cooling.
Apple finally admits iPad Pro won't replace your PC
Is the iPad Pro the only future for productive computing? It isn't. At last Apple acknowledges it.
www.zdnet.com
Of course. this does not mean Apple ever has any intention of building a fast, small, cheap, somewhat expandable computer ever again. For that we'll likely have to go to Lenovo and their like, and Linux.
Apple is no longer the software giant it once was. It's a content provider, and that hurts all three members of the Mac Lineup.
At least they finally decided to go back to the old reliable keyboard design. The one with such short travel. and bad tactile feedback that I moved to Goodwill quality Dell keyboards.
-Twice the speed, half the errors. $5.00, and they only "break" when the paint wears off the keys.
Très Chic!
Apple finally admits iPad Pro won't replace your PC
Is the iPad Pro the only future for productive computing? It isn't. At last Apple acknowledges it.
Of course. this does not mean Apple ever has any intention of building a fast, small, cheap, somewhat expandable computer ever again. For that we'll likely have to go to Lenovo and their like, and Linux.
Apple is no longer the software giant it once was. It's a content provider, and that hurts all three members of the Mac Lineup.
At least they finally decided to go back to the old reliable keyboard design. The one with such short travel. and bad tactile feedback that I moved to Goodwill quality Dell keyboards.
-Twice the speed, half the errors. $5.00, and they only "break" when the paint wears off the keys.
Très Chic!
I laughed at your post, not because I think what you said about the Magic Keyboard is ridiculous, but because it's true.
Translation: "I'd like to pay two to three times more for my eGPU".
The main driver behind an Apple sourced product would be Apple totally being in, maybe adding a little hardware magic to make it totally seamless. I feel like eGPUs being relegated to only 3rd party puts it in the "Here, maybe this will work for you ..." category.
I mean, since we're all here, with Minis, I'd say we've sort of already drank the kool aid
One of us ...
One of us ...
One of us ...
Anyway, yeah, I'd overpay, IF it was quiet, IF it was a nice design, IF it had many of the design attributes we've come to associate with Apple.
Actually my bad, there is a DROP IN chip apple could use.. the i9-9900...
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...-9900-processor-16m-cache-up-to-5-00-ghz.html
it's 65W and same socket.
also comes with the same garbage GPU.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...-9900-processor-16m-cache-up-to-5-00-ghz.html
it's 65W and same socket.
also comes with the same garbage GPU.
Not quite drop-in, since there's no 9900B variant (yet?).
That would be a pretty decent boost for a new top end mini. An extra 2 cores, and almost 10% single thread GHz increase over the current i7.
I'd be a little concerned about the cooling though when all those 8 cores are active...
With Intel's TDP ratings, it is mostly that Turbo Boost can find itself not able to go flat out. Hard to say in what ways without testing it. That could rob some of the advantage of the 9900 over the 8700 which can stay noticeably above stock clocks fully loaded in the Mini. But the 8700 tends to be pretty close to 70-75W under full load on average. The 8500 can get up to around 80-85W fully loaded and stay under 100C, so a 9900 may do pretty well. Hard to say.