Mac Mini to Lose Its USB-A Ports Later This Year

[MacRumors]

Apple's redesigned Mac mini will not have any USB-A ports, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.

The current Mac mini with the M2 chip features two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, while the M2 Pro variant has four USB-C ports and two USB-A ports. Writing in his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the new Mac mini with the M4 Pro chip will have a total of five USB-C ports, but no USB-A ports. Three USB-C ports will be located on the back, while two will be present on the front of the machine, similar to the Mac Studio. There will continue to be ports for ethernet, HDMI, and 3.5mm audio. The power supply will apparently continue to be internal.

Last month, Gurman reported that the next-generation Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chips will feature the first major design change to the machine since 2010. The new Mac mini will apparently approach the size of an Apple TV, but it may be slightly taller than the current model, which is 1.4 inches high. It will continue to feature an aluminum shell. Individuals working on the new device apparently say that it is "essentially an iPad Pro in a small box."

Gurman says that suppliers in China are scheduled to begin shipping the new Mac mini models with the M4 chip in early September. The M4 Pro model will not begin shipping until October. The M4 generation of Apple silicon will purportedly be the first time that Apple has used the same chip generation across all of its Macs, with refreshes to add the M4 chip to the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro planned to take place over the next year.



Article Link: Mac Mini to Lose Its USB-A Ports Later This Year

 

[diggy33]

Looking forward to seeing a redesign. Needs to be something that makes it stand out from its taller twin.

 

[nt5672]

If this turns out to be true, then no Mac mini for me, even though I have two mini's that need to be replaced.

 

[chetzar]

Genuinely hope this is not true. I honestly wish the MacBooks had at least 1 USB Type A port. It’s still incredibly useful.

 

[vegetassj4]

Pffft...USB A.

Real men use DB9. Now get off my blue fescue.

 

[Abazigal]

Nice. In a way, I kinda missed the Apple of old who was not afraid to make controversial design decisions like going all in on usb c with their Macs.

Not that hard to work around this. One usb-c for a dock or adaptor, Bluetooth everything else, 5 is actually a luxury.

 

[jstsch]

I like that the MacBook Pro brought back the HDMI port, but I really don't miss USB-A. Even though I use quite a bit of external gear, all the time. Simply bought a few USB-C → USB-B cables, etc.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Great decision
Who wants useful ports on a desktop computer!?

/s

 

[lkrupp]

If this turns out to be true, then no Mac mini for me, even though I have two mini's that need to be replaced.

Oh my, shades of the rage when Apple first removed the SCSI port,the floppy disk and then the CD/DVD drives. The peanut gallery went berserk when Apple held out adding USB-C to the iPhone. Now it’s objecting to USB-C only devices.

 

[locovaca]

If this turns out to be true, then no Mac mini for me, even though I have two mini's that need to be replaced.

Usb-c to Usb-a adapters and hubs are a thing

 

[lkrupp]

Pffft...USB A.

Real men use DB9. Now get off my blue fescue.

Bring back the ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) port! I still have an old keyboard I want to use. Damn you Apple!

 

[spritle]

No FireWire ports = me not buying

 

[Plutonius]

The mini is generally a desktop unit so a female USB A to male USB C adapter shouldn't be an issue.

As an example, these are $6.00 for three adapters.

USB C to USB Adapter 3-Pack USB C Male to USB 3.0 Female Adapter Compatibllity for iMac 2021 for iPad Pro 2021 for MacBook Pro 2020 for MacBook Air 2020 and Other Type C or Thunderbolt 3 Devices gray

This USB C to USB adapter is compatible with any laptop/tablet/smartphone with a Type-C port. The Adapter lets you connect standard USB accessories/cables to a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 device. No interference with the Wifi signal. This tiny adapter is a combination of exquisitenes...

www.amazon.com

 

[turbineseaplane]

These are desktop computers
There is no need to be removing a port that is still highly useful

Why are we trying to even further "shrink" and "port constrain" a desktop computer?

What's that accomplishing?

 

[Edgecrusherr]

No USB A ports:
BOOO! That sucks. So much stuff is still USB A. USB C is obviously so much better, but it’s so inconvenient to not have USB A, especially on a desktop, and even more so for a desktop that you’re supposed to “bring your own keyboard and mouse”. Apple isn’t doing anyone a favor here, just guaranteeing many of their users will get stuck having to buy adapters and hubs, which for non-tech people, is almost always a struggle. Apple’s hubris condemns us to dongle hell.

For the front USB C:
That’s great. I think every desktop needs front USB. I wish my Mac Studio had 4 front USB ports (2x C and 2x A preferably).

 

[madmin]

3 usb-c on the back and 2 on the front is fine, but shame you'll need the Pro. Good news about the other ports, ethernet and internal power supply

 

[matt_and_187_like_this]

Can be annoying, but switching to a new standard is always tough. If companies don't remove them we will carry these legacy ports around forever. They are the ones that can force everyone else to finally adapt.

 

[bzgnyc2]

Apple's redesigned Mac mini will feature will not have any USB-A ports, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.

The current Mac mini with the M2 chip features two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, while the M2 Pro variant has four USB-C ports and two USB-A ports. Writing in his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the new Mac mini with the M4 Pro chip will have a total of five USB-C ports, but no USB-A ports. Three USB-C ports will be located on the back, while two will be present on the front of the machine, similar to the Mac Studio. There will continue to be ports for ethernet, HDMI, and 3.5mm audio. The power supply will apparently continue to be internal.

Last month, Gurman reported that the next-generation Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chips will feature the first major design change to the machine since 2010. The new Mac mini will apparently approach the size of an Apple TV, but it may be slightly taller than the current model, which is 1.4 inches high. It will continue to feature an aluminum shell. Individuals working on the new device apparently say that it is "essentially an iPad Pro in a small box."

Gurman says that suppliers in China are scheduled to begin shipping the new Mac mini models with the M4 chip in early September. The M4 Pro model will not begin shipping until October. The M4 generation of Apple silicon will purportedly be the first time that Apple has used the same chip generation across all of its Macs, with refreshes to add the M4 chip to the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro planned to take place over the next year.



Article Link: Mac Mini to Lose Its USB-A Ports Later This Year

Edit...just noticed that the 3 USB-C (presumably TB3/USB4) ports are rumored only for the Pro model. Which by the time I configure with RAM, etc is close to a Studio. Which is hard for me to justify...

The addition of the ports on the front is nice but overall actually seems like a slight downgrade from the current Pro model. Like losing 2 ports on the base Mini, net losing a port on the Pro isn't the worst thing but feels a bit chincey. The previous Mac Mini 2018 was really bifuracated into a lower-end base model for the same price and the much more expensive Pro model in all but name. Now it appears they are looking for corners to cut on the Mini Pro model...

So back to my previous position: Apple has saved me a lot of money over the years by releasing hardware with missing features and/or hard to justify pricing.

 

[chrono1081]

Good riddance. Give useful ports. Many people are going to use all USB’s ports vs having useless A port on there. You can get a usbc to a dongle if you really need a.

 

[JippaLippa]

For a 2025 machcine, it makes sense.
The only accessories that stubbornly remain usb-a are keyboards and mice.

I'd love for everything to be usb-c.

 

[progx]

No FireWire ports = me not buying

Are we talking the original 400 or 800? I could understand your rage if it was the former

 

[surfzen21]

I am still mad I cannot hook up my original Zip Drive with SCSI cables to anything anymore.

 

[CWallace]

If the new mini is more mini as projected, makes sense they drop the USB-A ports as they are twice as large as USB-C.

 

[heitoo]

This is stupid. I get removing ports on Macbook because compromises sometimes needs to be made to get the desired chassis but there is objectively no reason to do this to a desktop computer other than hubris.

Lots of multi-platform periphery used with Macs still uses USB-A by default because USB-C is not a standard in PC world. I don’t even care about additional money spent on a dongle or a hub that much. I just think it’s stupid having all those dongles sticking out of your computer because Apple was too arrogant to include what is a basic port.

 

[NickTuesday]

This is just the inevitable future, if we are to go USB-C then we should just start going all the way with it. No more figuring out which way is round on both ends.
Of course, now that USB-C is beginning to become standard, something else will come out and screw up the USB standard again I'm sure. LOL!!!
Actually, shocked at the number of USB hubs that only have one USB-C port. I guess that will change now.