Yesterday Apple announced a new Mac, the Studio. This is pretty much what a lot of people thought would come out, something between a Mini and a Pro. The design guesses mostly were either a revamp of the Mini design with a thinner chassis and new top or an enclosure looking like a shrunken Mac Pro. There were some reports ahead of time that it would resemble to old Mac Cube, but these were pretty much dismissed.
On Monday Luke Miani showed renderings that pretty much nailed it. His renders showed a case that resembled that of the current Mini but much taller with intake vents around the base. The only thing he missed was the front I/O.
As a longtime user of iMacs and most recently, a maxed-out Intel Mini from 2018, the Studio would seem to be the logical step up for me. While I really do not need the extra power and capabilities it offers it fits my CURRENT usage nicely but that is changing. I am switching from a desktop to a laptop since I have retired and want to be able to use my computer anywhere around the house and on the road.
While I have always had some form of MacBook for these purposes it has always been just a travel convenience for me. While I can do almost all that these days with an iPad or my iPhone the laptop has been mostly sitting on the desk. That is changing as my living situation is going to change. I will be sharing my office soon and since I no longer work every day there is no reason I need the large monitors and other stuff on my desk. I can do most of what I want to do on the patio or in the living room on a laptop or iPad.
I am trading in my current Intel MacBook Pro for a maxed out M1-Max MacBook Pro with oodles of memory and storage. It will be far and away the most powerful computer I have ever had. It should arrive today and will become my main desktop computer using either the OWC Thunderbolt Dock or a TS4 Dock from CalDigit. I have both and I will see which one works best for me.
I am keeping my Intel Mini for a couple reasons. First off, it is the best Windows computer I own, edging out my Hades Canyon NUC since it can also run my beloved MacOS. I can run all my Windows applications just fine, even within the MacOS using Parallels. It will also be a backup to my new MacBook Pro as I move into the M1 architecture. While I have a base model M1 Mini, that was bought for other uses and is not really suited to be my main computer.
As for the Studio, I really like what Apple has done with it. It has a lot of I/O, which is very important to me. With the front panel having two USB-C or TB4 ports added to the mix of pretty much the same as my existing Mini’s rear ports, it would fit right in with my usage needs if I were still working.
I hope that Apple fixed the horrendous Bluetooth problem that the Mini has. If the Studio has decent BT performance that would be a huge selling point. Bluetooth is all but unusable on the Mini, both my Intel and M1 versions so I hope they fixed it on the Studio, that would be a game-changer down the road if I am deciding to get one or not.
There are a couple things I would have done differently on the Studio. First off I would have added an internal SSD slot so users could add additional inside storage. I know that with the System on a Chip arrangement the SSD and RAM are integrated with the processor but having the ability to add an additional storage drive that a user can install would be huge.
I also would have added a headphone jack to the front panel to supplement the existing rear one. The reach around to plug in headphones is a total pain.
Lastly, I would have liked to see a USB-A port on the front panel. I know they have included USB-C (or TB4 depending on configuration) on the front but there are still a boatload of USB-A thumb drives and other devices that the reach-around makes for a big problem.
I like the Studio and probably would have bought one, but the new MacBook just fits my needs better for now.
On Monday Luke Miani showed renderings that pretty much nailed it. His renders showed a case that resembled that of the current Mini but much taller with intake vents around the base. The only thing he missed was the front I/O.
As a longtime user of iMacs and most recently, a maxed-out Intel Mini from 2018, the Studio would seem to be the logical step up for me. While I really do not need the extra power and capabilities it offers it fits my CURRENT usage nicely but that is changing. I am switching from a desktop to a laptop since I have retired and want to be able to use my computer anywhere around the house and on the road.
While I have always had some form of MacBook for these purposes it has always been just a travel convenience for me. While I can do almost all that these days with an iPad or my iPhone the laptop has been mostly sitting on the desk. That is changing as my living situation is going to change. I will be sharing my office soon and since I no longer work every day there is no reason I need the large monitors and other stuff on my desk. I can do most of what I want to do on the patio or in the living room on a laptop or iPad.
I am trading in my current Intel MacBook Pro for a maxed out M1-Max MacBook Pro with oodles of memory and storage. It will be far and away the most powerful computer I have ever had. It should arrive today and will become my main desktop computer using either the OWC Thunderbolt Dock or a TS4 Dock from CalDigit. I have both and I will see which one works best for me.
I am keeping my Intel Mini for a couple reasons. First off, it is the best Windows computer I own, edging out my Hades Canyon NUC since it can also run my beloved MacOS. I can run all my Windows applications just fine, even within the MacOS using Parallels. It will also be a backup to my new MacBook Pro as I move into the M1 architecture. While I have a base model M1 Mini, that was bought for other uses and is not really suited to be my main computer.
As for the Studio, I really like what Apple has done with it. It has a lot of I/O, which is very important to me. With the front panel having two USB-C or TB4 ports added to the mix of pretty much the same as my existing Mini’s rear ports, it would fit right in with my usage needs if I were still working.
I hope that Apple fixed the horrendous Bluetooth problem that the Mini has. If the Studio has decent BT performance that would be a huge selling point. Bluetooth is all but unusable on the Mini, both my Intel and M1 versions so I hope they fixed it on the Studio, that would be a game-changer down the road if I am deciding to get one or not.
There are a couple things I would have done differently on the Studio. First off I would have added an internal SSD slot so users could add additional inside storage. I know that with the System on a Chip arrangement the SSD and RAM are integrated with the processor but having the ability to add an additional storage drive that a user can install would be huge.
I also would have added a headphone jack to the front panel to supplement the existing rear one. The reach around to plug in headphones is a total pain.
Lastly, I would have liked to see a USB-A port on the front panel. I know they have included USB-C (or TB4 depending on configuration) on the front but there are still a boatload of USB-A thumb drives and other devices that the reach-around makes for a big problem.
I like the Studio and probably would have bought one, but the new MacBook just fits my needs better for now.
