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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

gusping said:
Hopefully at WWDC....
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That made me feel good. Wow if it releases at WWDC I’m on board. What could they modestly improve ?

my hopes 512GB NVME SSD storage,
M2 CPU 8 Performance Cores 4 Effciency Cores
WiFI 6e
Bluetooth 5.2
4 Thunderbolt Ports
And most of all A new Designed Chasis form factor,
 
I don't expect a new model before the anniversary of the current one. Maybe on the second anniversary.
 
Jorbanead said:
And the 16” MacBook Pro also gets beaten out by the cheaper 13” MacBook Air (in some tasks). The point is that the 4-port space grey Mac mini is supposed to be a higher-end mini (as it has more IO, and higher ram capacity). But right now M1 is so good that of course it outperforms it. That’s just because Apple doesn’t have a chip (yet) to replace the higher-end model.

It’s a byproduct of the transitonal period. There’s going to be some awkward overlap where lower-end M1 machines outperform higher-end Intel machines.




Likely because Apple doesn’t have chips for it yet. My theory is that the higher-end Mac mini models are going to get a higher-end chip (otherwise why even have a higher-end model?). So Apple won’t release the higher-end space grey mini until the M1X (or whatever it’s called) is ready. WWDC is always a great time to announce “pro” level macs. My guess is we could see 14” and 16” MBP along with a high-end Mac mini. All marketed towards the pro’s with a new “pro” level chip.
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I absolutely hope so. Basically the only thing holding me back from buying a M1 Mini right now is the loss of two Thunderbolt ports. Oh, and the loss of the space grey casing 😆
 
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Micky Do said:
Pixels / resolution, especially for editing photos, which I do quite a bit of. Having used higher res displays, there is a significant difference.

The 2009 Mac Mini will not drive a 4K display, so no benefit in getting one. When I do upgrade the computer I almost certainly want to reap the benefit of a higher res display......and nowadays the display on iMacs is way better than all but the most expensive, specialised monitors.
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But why isn't the converse true? Ie why can't the M1 drive an 2013 iMac as a monitor? It's not like it can't drive monitor with that low a resolution.
 
tubular said:
I don't expect a new model before the anniversary of the current one. Maybe on the second anniversary.
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It's hard to tell as 2020 and 2021 have been weird. Based on pass behavior the iMac should have been a no show before June and yet we got one. Covid has thrown all of Apple's past behavior out the window. I wouldn't write off a MacMini M1x or M2 before the end of the year.
 
Maximara said:
It's hard to tell as 2020 and 2021 have been weird. Based on pass behavior the iMac should have been a no show before June and yet we got one. Covid has thrown all of Apple's past behavior out the window. I wouldn't write off a MacMini M1x or M2 before the end of the year.
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Sure. Not saying it's impossible, just that it unless it's an incredibly easy swap, Apple is likely to be pouring its effort into getting other models over the Continental Divide out of Intel land rather than repolishing the models that have already made it -- and, in the Mac mini's case, made it to glowing reviews.
 
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Maximara said:
It's hard to tell as 2020 and 2021 have been weird. Based on pass behavior the iMac should have been a no show before June and yet we got one. Covid has thrown all of Apple's past behavior out the window. I wouldn't write off a MacMini M1x or M2 before the end of the year.
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There is still the 27" (or more) iMac to be released. It is going probably to release the mid-tier macs turn to be released with the new chips. I doubt it will be the M1, but more of an evolution of the M1.
 
I think it's more likely the Mac Pro will be upgraded before we see a Mac Mini Pro. Having an M1 and M1+ Mac mini standard and Pro makes little sense given its the least popular of all the Macs they sell. I think more likely they will just have one model going forward. But I'm in no hurry to upgrade my 2018 model. Good for a few more years yet (hopefully!).
 
Apple fanboy said:
I think it's more likely the Mac Pro will be upgraded before we see a Mac Mini Pro. Having an M1 and M1+ Mac mini standard and Pro makes little sense given its the least popular of all the Macs they sell. I think more likely they will just have one model going forward. But I'm in no hurry to upgrade my 2018 model. Good for a few more years yet (hopefully!).
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The Mac Mini was the least popular because it generally had the slowest CPU in base configuation in Apple's line up. That is no longer true. Also in the past Apple would have a higher end Mini as an option.
 
Maximara said:
The Mac Mini was the least popular because it generally had the slowest CPU in base configuation in Apple's line up. That is no longer true. Also in the past Apple would have a higher end Mini as an option.
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It’s the least popular because most people prefer a laptop (not me). If they go the desktop route people like the iMac all in one. Heck I do but the glossy screens are rubbish.
 
Micky Do said:
Well, no new Mac Mini this time, but almost certainly still coming. Didn't expect it really, but had to put the possibility out there a couple of weeks back.

However, with the new consumer level iMac must be some indicators of the future of the Mac Mini..... return to a separate power supply, thus likely smaller size, for instance. Pretty much a Mini with a monitor, it seems...... priced at about the cost of an M1 Mac Mini plus a decent 4K monitor.

Versatility was why I bought the Mac Mini original in 2005. I didn't want a portable to tote day to day, but (as an ex-pat university teacher) I wanted something easily occasionally transportable in a backpack from time to time. I got my second Mac Mini in 2009, and am using it right now. It fitted my needs until 2017, when I did start to need a computer to take to work most days, so I got a MacBook Air to supplement the Mini.

Recently returned to live home country, my situation has changed. With the Air to use when I am out and about, occasional transportability is no longer a requirement for a desktop. However, handy it may be, a laptop does not cut it as my main machine, and the Air gets little use at present (though that situation is likely to change next year, when I return to study). Having a decent sized, good quality monitor for photography and general use does it for me. So too do good sounding speakers.

While I was looking at almost certainly getting a new M1 Mac Mini to replace my 2009 model sooner or later, scarce supply of 4K monitors where I am at (an island in the South Pacific) has been one reason I have held back. So too does the fact that the 2009 continues to run just fine, and remains adequate (if a little slow by today's standards) for most of my daily needs, still with the original HDD!

Now I am less than certain. The arrival of the new iMac has given me further cause to hesitate..... One way and another, it looks an elegant, hassle free solution to my desktop desires going ahead. I'll certainly be taking a closer look when it does arrive in the stores in due course.
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Actually, the I'd wager the co-location guys probably had a hand in keeping the Mac mini they way it is now - with a power supply and enclosure that's clearly way over spec for what you get with the M1 CPU. They will have wanted the form factor to stay exactly the same to fit it in their data centres.

Which benefits the home user as peripherals can stay the same and Apple can keep parts the same for the 2018 model.

If the TDP of the entire M1 SoC is under 25w there's scope to double everything without breaking a sweat for the existing mini case if Apple wanted to spec up the higher SKU mini replacement.

What if we had M1X with 8+4 Compute cores and potentially up to 16 GPU cores? And these CPUs were binned versions of high end CPUs that didn't make the grade for iMac Pro? For example, I'm sure we'd all be more than satisfied if the top SKU mini came with 6+4 Compute cores and 12 GPU cores plus 4 Thunderbolt ports.

One big clue is returning the regular M1 Mac mini to a silver case - silver is also available for the newly launched iMacs but there's a conspicuous lack of space grey which is the only colour available for the Intel iMac Pro.

Clearly later this year as part of the transition we could be getting higher core count variants of the ARM CPUs but I've been thinking that if the ARM CPUs launched on an annual basis for phones we could be seeing annual updates for the M series CPUs.

There could be scope for Apple to decide that odd numbered M series CPU were power efficient ones (based on A14, A16 etc), and even numbered ones (based on A15, A17 etc) would be the power house CPUs. This would allow them to do a 2 year upgrade cycle on Mac hardware.

We'd all really want annual upgrades every year though and I'd say that in that case Apple probably would need to get every M1 variant launched by July (October at the latest) before A15/M2 comes out. They could give iMac Pro and Mac Pro a pass until M2X next year.

On your specific use case, if you can't get a quality monitor in the South Seas I'd say an iMac sounds like the compromise candidate if the screen size looks right for you.
 
sublunar said:
Actually, the I'd wager the co-location guys probably had a hand in keeping the Mac mini they way it is now - with a power supply and enclosure that's clearly way over spec for what you get with the M1 CPU. They will have wanted the form factor to stay exactly the same to fit it in their data centres.

Which benefits the home user as peripherals can stay the same and Apple can keep parts the same for the 2018 model.

If the TDP of the entire M1 SoC is under 25w there's scope to double everything without breaking a sweat for the existing mini case if Apple wanted to spec up the higher SKU mini replacement.

What if we had M1X with 8+4 Compute cores and potentially up to 16 GPU cores? And these CPUs were binned versions of high end CPUs that didn't make the grade for iMac Pro? For example, I'm sure we'd all be more than satisfied if the top SKU mini came with 6+4 Compute cores and 12 GPU cores plus 4 Thunderbolt ports.

One big clue is returning the regular M1 Mac mini to a silver case - silver is also available for the newly launched iMacs but there's a conspicuous lack of space grey which is the only colour available for the Intel iMac Pro.

Clearly later this year as part of the transition we could be getting higher core count variants of the ARM CPUs but I've been thinking that if the ARM CPUs launched on an annual basis for phones we could be seeing annual updates for the M series CPUs.

There could be scope for Apple to decide that odd numbered M series CPU were power efficient ones (based on A14, A16 etc), and even numbered ones (based on A15, A17 etc) would be the power house CPUs. This would allow them to do a 2 year upgrade cycle on Mac hardware.

We'd all really want annual upgrades every year though and I'd say that in that case Apple probably would need to get every M1 variant launched by July (October at the latest) before A15/M2 comes out. They could give iMac Pro and Mac Pro a pass until M2X next year.

On your specific use case, if you can't get a quality monitor in the South Seas I'd say an iMac sounds like the compromise candidate if the screen size looks right for you.
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50w Mac mini M2/3 chip? YES PLEASE! Ooft, my mouth is watering at the thought. I'm really excited to see what the M1X/M2 chip will look like (hopefully at WWDC).
 
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gusping said:
50w Mac mini M2/3 chip? YES PLEASE! Ooft, my mouth is watering at the thought. I'm really excited to see what the M1X/M2 chip will look like (hopefully at WWDC).
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Indeed, the same argument has been made for the PSU in the M1 iMac 24" being overspec for the CPU. The speculation there is that the part will be re-used in a future machine (eg iMac) which suggests that an M1X CPU SoC would also be used in an ultra thin larger screen iMac.

It could therefore be thicker to cool any local dimming zones/mini LED backlight in a 30" iMac (for the sake of argument) but also suggests that the thin case theme will continue.

And then we have the Mac mini upper SKU which I think will comprise of M1X CPUs with cores deactivated that don't make the grade for the 'better' iMacs. I'd be happy for that if it meant that the mini would be reasonably priced.

Especially if there's going to be a a 'mini pro' coming maybe next year which could be cube sized with a better cooling solution to take the Mac Pro mantle into the ARM era.

The only issue I would have then is how Apple space out the ARM CPU releases - if they go tick-tock or feel happy enough to put out a full gamut of cores/graphics for each generation after the A series CPU releases in the iPhone.
 
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The HTPC crowd (yes, small market) is still waiting for the HDMI 2.1 support. 120Hz, eARC, Dolby Atmos. While we're at it - 10Gb ethernet port standard.

Video playback should be future proofed to support anything the iPhones can produce for at least 3+ years. (Ideally at least 5) - yes, they actually should have internal roadmaps for this. :)

Need a new space grey / black keyboard with Touch ID for Apple Pay for the coffee table. :)
 
I just hope they keep the current enclosure whilst making it more powerful overall. I love the Mini for my needs.
 
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My ulterior motive here is that I've got a 2018 hexcore Intel Mac mini that is serving me just fine, and is probably the best Mac I've ever had to tell the truth, so I can afford to wait and watch.
 
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My feelings exactly, my 2018 i7/64gb/2tb Mini is my favorite too, and I go all the way back to the 512k Fat Mac. Replaced my old Windows PC with Parallels, which is actually faster. Also run my expensive legacy CAD, 3D and database software in MacOS Mountain Lion and Sierra machines. I'm good for several more years at least. :)
 
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Just to be clear, my 2018 Mini does meet all my needs, but I wouldn't say no to better performance with a fraction of energy usage and heat generation. 🙂
 
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tubular said:
My ulterior motive here is that I've got a 2018 hexcore Intel Mac mini that is serving me just fine, and is probably the best Mac I've ever had to tell the truth, so I can afford to wait and watch.
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Boyd01 said:
My feelings exactly, my 2018 i7/64gb/2tb Minis my favorite too, and I go all the way back to the 512k Fat Mac. Replaced my old Windows PC with Parallels, which is actually faster. Also run my expensive legacy CAD, 3D and database software in MacOS Mountain Lion and Sierra machines. I'm good for several more years at least. :)
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Nütztjanix said:
Just to be clear, my 2018 Mini does meet all my needs, but I wouldn't say no to better performance with a fraction of energy usage and heat generation. 🙂
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To be sure, but nothing lasts for ever, so still nice to know that the new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.
 
Maximara said:
The Mac Mini was the least popular because it generally had the slowest CPU in base configuation in Apple's line up. That is no longer true. Also in the past Apple would have a higher end Mini as an option.
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Apple have kept the old high-end Intel Mac Mini on sale at the high-end price. I am hoping it will be replaced with a higher performance Apple Silicon chip. As Apple seemed to have put (almost, but not quite) the same M1 chip in machines that had different performance levels when using Intel, I think we might see one higher spec chip (perhaps called M1X) to cover a range of devices including the top-end 14" MBP, all 16" MBP, all large iMac, and top-end Mini.
 
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