Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mac Mini to Lose Its USB-A Ports Later This Year
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What's the point of making a device smaller if its total footprint increases once you add hubs?!
Unless you have your Studio Display tucked away in a corner, it'll look like a monstrosity with a mutant lump on its back. Hardly sleek like an iMac.
Exactly! It is baffling how people are delighted that the overall device can shrink by a potential extra mm, and save 2g in weight, and act like that's an improvement on what came before. It's a desktop! Who cares if it's 1mm smaller and 2g lighter?!
have you seen other mini PC nuc that are small too. You want a bigger desktop get the Mac Studio..
5 USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet is more than enough for a mini.
It's time for USB A to be phased out, if you really need to use it there are adapters that are tiny and cost about 1$ a piece, which means you can buy one for every USB A device you have and leave them on if you really want.
Did I hear someone say a Thunderbolt 5? 80gbs PRO
Oh I must be hearing things.
Oh I must be hearing things.
Tbf Apple thought that in 2016 and that was more stupid that the keyboard and touchbar they put out that year.
Apple doesn't really seem to understand computers much anymore, its run by people who love their iPad.
Not going to complain- appreciate the change - just will be much different than my tower that had a pcie usb card just for me lots of cables 
music studio… like I said at least 2 breakout hubs - one owc and the other generic… might need more have to count the connections very happy with all the usb-c ports - can’t wait for this machine!!
music studio… like I said at least 2 breakout hubs - one owc and the other generic… might need more have to count the connections very happy with all the usb-c ports - can’t wait for this machine!!USB-A is not going anywhere. We will probably still use it in 10 years. It's just too ubiquitous on devices that are not replaced that frequently like scanners, printers, keyboards.
One thing is certain. The more ports the better. I bought the mini Pro specifically for having more USB-C ports on the back.
One thing is certain. The more ports the better. I bought the mini Pro specifically for having more USB-C ports on the back.
And they were perhaps a bit over-eager, but they weren't wrong.
Most computers no longer need USB-A ports.
Bluetooth Audio is okay with 2 notable exceptions: multi-device connectivity and TV support.
The problem with former one is that more often than not it makes the connection unreliable. Like, you have it occasionally drop connection. I‘d rather them not include the feature at all if it’s bugged but alas it looks too good in reviews from unsuspecting people on YouTube.
The problem with the latter one is that most TV manufacturers have abysmal BT software that either doesn’t support audio at all or has latency problems that are not all inherently related to BT protocol itself. Samsung TVs had the best BT Audio implementation in my experience to the point where I could even play console games comfortably (even rhythm games) with BT connected headphones, but it’s not industry standard so there is no way to reliably tell which manufacturers and models have decent implementation and which do not.
Last edited:
Very tempting for me to buy if this mini will be fanless.
Of course after more nice people like these will present some more test just like this one:
forums.macrumors.com
Leaving me to consider only the extra cost for dongles, cables or hub that I would have to purchase and number of NAND chips.
Or old M1 M2 with 4 ports..
Of course after more nice people like these will present some more test just like this one:
Sonoma RAM usage
Saw one test on YT, where guy tested different MacOS on M1 and here his results of ram usage after startup: Big Sur: 3.57 GB. Monterey: 3.24 GB. Ventura: 3.39 GB. Sonoma: 4.88 GB. This is weird on Sonoma, maybe something went wrong with his test. Want to check with users, who use Sonoma on a...
forums.macrumors.com
Leaving me to consider only the extra cost for dongles, cables or hub that I would have to purchase and number of NAND chips.
Or old M1 M2 with 4 ports..
Really?
Where have you been?
This is totally the right way to go, and totally a non-issue… 🙄
I find all the Apple fanboy-ism and gaslighting here obnoxious.
If it had been about removing a physical media format, like the CD-player, I would agree. Or, if we were talking about a portable computer/laptop.
HOWEVER, we're talking about a desktop computer. Apple is again trying to maximize their margins, cutting costs wherever they can. So what if your desktop computer is a couple of centimeters larger, because of an USB-A connection? Having one USB-A connection is still useful.
Apple and Tim Cook are not your friends, they are trying to squeeze you for as many dollars as they possibly can, while having the largest margins possible.
USB-A is still highly relevant for memory sticks, music equipment, keyboards etc.
If it had been about removing a physical media format, like the CD-player, I would agree. Or, if we were talking about a portable computer/laptop.
HOWEVER, we're talking about a desktop computer. Apple is again trying to maximize their margins, cutting costs wherever they can. So what if your desktop computer is a couple of centimeters larger, because of an USB-A connection? Having one USB-A connection is still useful.
Apple and Tim Cook are not your friends, they are trying to squeeze you for as many dollars as they possibly can, while having the largest margins possible.
USB-A is still highly relevant for memory sticks, music equipment, keyboards etc.
Last edited:
Fewer ports is a different issue than how many should be USB-A.
A Mac mini with 4 USB-C ports is better than one with 3 USB-C ports and 1 USB-A ports.
A lot of regular people don't attach a lot to their Macs.
HDMI: A monitor
Maybe 1 or 2 USB ports for an external hard drive or printer.
Rest of the stuff is wireless.
I certainly hope so. I have a fairly high end audio setup (speakers/amplifiers etc) connected to my Studio ultra (maxed out) by USB-A to USB-B port cable.....also relatively high end. This is because I like listening to high fidelity music. I have found over the years the pieces of equipment that make the most difference to the sound are the speakers and cables. And I have yet to find a really good audio cable TB3 to USB-B.....anyone?.
I swear the people that complain the most about the current Mac mini design are ones that probably dont even use one themselves.
I was fine with the current design and even thought it worked out in the long run since these Apple Silicon chips are only gonna get hotter as they stuff more performance and cores into them. The fan was overkill for the M1 but it should handle anything going forward fine. If this new tiny box has any overheating problems in the slightest, Apple just f*cked one of their most versatile Macs, but hey, at least they REFRESHED IT!!!1!1!!! JUST BUY A MAC STUDIO IF YOU WANT THE GOOD PERFORMANCE YOU ALWAYS HAD!!11!1
I'd be ok with all USB-C if we weren't missing one port. Mac mini has 2 USB-C and 4 USB-C, 6 ports. Now we're just down to 5. Why?????
I don't give a sh*t about extra thinness and smallness in a device that already most small form factors PC's can only dream of being. All this crap is what the MacBook Air is for, they didn't need to bring it to their desktops.
I was fine with the current design and even thought it worked out in the long run since these Apple Silicon chips are only gonna get hotter as they stuff more performance and cores into them. The fan was overkill for the M1 but it should handle anything going forward fine. If this new tiny box has any overheating problems in the slightest, Apple just f*cked one of their most versatile Macs, but hey, at least they REFRESHED IT!!!1!1!!! JUST BUY A MAC STUDIO IF YOU WANT THE GOOD PERFORMANCE YOU ALWAYS HAD!!11!1
I'd be ok with all USB-C if we weren't missing one port. Mac mini has 2 USB-C and 4 USB-C, 6 ports. Now we're just down to 5. Why?????
I don't give a sh*t about extra thinness and smallness in a device that already most small form factors PC's can only dream of being. All this crap is what the MacBook Air is for, they didn't need to bring it to their desktops.
USB and Thunderbolt cables are not audio cables, they are data cables. Any difference in sound quality is all in your head.
In theory this shouldn't be a problem, except in my experience there are always some devices that are really fussy about which port they are plugged into. Even though I have USB-C to USB-A adaptors, some things will only work properly when plugged into a regular USB A port directly into the machine, and don't like being plugged into hubs or adaptors. And also USB-C is so overkill for some devices, like those little wireless USB dongles and stuff. I don't want to sacrifice a whole USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 port just to plug in a wireless dongle. The old 2018 Mac Mini's used to have 6 USB ports including 2 USB A. So if those are going to be ditched we need at least 6 USB-C ports as well as HDMI and Ethernet to replace what has been lost. The whole idea of a desktop computer is that you put it on a desk and plug things into it.
So... it's time to clear out all the drawers with old standard spare cables again.
Remember Centronix, SCSI, DIN plugs, RCA plugs, all the kinds of flat cables? 😃
I don't mind USB-C on the Mac mini M4. In fact I hope that all the connectors will be Thunderbolt too.
It would be even better if the Mac mini M4 could be powered through the USB-C/Thunderbolt port.
In all the years I've always prepared for the moment when there were hints that some interface would be phased out.
I had to this with Firewire 800 years ago and USB-A is next. USB-A was great, I've always hated the "mini" and "micro" connectors... always broke down quick and plugs just fell out of the always loose sockets.
Whenever I wanted to buy some new storage devices, when possible I got one that had multiple interfaces: Thunderbolt, USB3 and USB-C. Even Flashdrives have USB-C these days.
From all the connectors I think USB-C is currently the most versatile for most applications. With the right monitor the USB-C (or better Thunderbolt) cable carries everything: power for the Macbook, video/audio and even ethernet network.
Did the same in the last couple of years. It's often easier to have a complete cable with the right plugs than using some sort of hub in between. Although for charging I sometimes like to use USB-A on purpose to force some device to slow charge.
Firewire 400/800 is really gone now. Actually I was trying to find a Thunderbolt -> FireWire interface, but these are just too expensive. It was cheaper just move the internal disk to a new USB-C case.
Remember Centronix, SCSI, DIN plugs, RCA plugs, all the kinds of flat cables? 😃
I don't mind USB-C on the Mac mini M4. In fact I hope that all the connectors will be Thunderbolt too.
It would be even better if the Mac mini M4 could be powered through the USB-C/Thunderbolt port.
In all the years I've always prepared for the moment when there were hints that some interface would be phased out.
I had to this with Firewire 800 years ago and USB-A is next. USB-A was great, I've always hated the "mini" and "micro" connectors... always broke down quick and plugs just fell out of the always loose sockets.
Whenever I wanted to buy some new storage devices, when possible I got one that had multiple interfaces: Thunderbolt, USB3 and USB-C. Even Flashdrives have USB-C these days.
From all the connectors I think USB-C is currently the most versatile for most applications. With the right monitor the USB-C (or better Thunderbolt) cable carries everything: power for the Macbook, video/audio and even ethernet network.
Did the same in the last couple of years. It's often easier to have a complete cable with the right plugs than using some sort of hub in between. Although for charging I sometimes like to use USB-A on purpose to force some device to slow charge.
Yeah... that's why I bought the last MacBook Pro in 2011 that still had it.
Firewire 400/800 is really gone now. Actually I was trying to find a Thunderbolt -> FireWire interface, but these are just too expensive. It was cheaper just move the internal disk to a new USB-C case.
Last edited:
Yes and the data that is transmitted is digital and converted to analog by the receiver. And, of course, the sound I hear is all in my head (that is the same for everybody...it is just the way animals are made).....but I enjoy the music that comes out some speakers with some cables (audio and data) better than other speakers and cables. Just the same way some headphones produce more enjoyable sound than others.
Last edited:
It is, and it has been.
But much less than we do today, and much less than we did 10 years ago.