An M1 mini pro/max would be a huge step forward compared to the old Mac Pro. My mid 2010 has pretty much sat unused for the best part of 2 years since buying the 2018 i7 mini and I think we are all waiting to see what Apple comes up with.
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.
When will Apple release the Pro Mini?
- Thread starter Cape Dave
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
An M1 mini pro/max would be a huge step forward compared to the old Mac Pro. My mid 2010 has pretty much sat unused for the best part of 2 years since buying the 2018 i7 mini and I think we are all waiting to see what Apple comes up with.
Prosser render - no thanks
Appleinsider render - no thanks
The whole "vent has been moved to the bottom" & "have an underside with two rubber feet for support", just a really poor design in regards to any airflow whatsoever...! Actually, with the ports on the rear (which means the mobo runs to the back edge of the chassis), how is that bottom vent even functioning, THRU the mobo...???
Look at the 2021 16" MBP active cooling system, now tell me how something similar can fit into (and breathe properly) in the render designs...?!?
I await the Mac mini in my sig,,,!
Yeah, not sure they would move the vent to the bottom. Makes no sense. I know it's just a render but still.
Both this and the Prosser render seems a bit vague on airflow as mentioned elsewhere.
The AppleInsider render doesn't take into account what all the current minis have at the moment, the ports are connected directly to the motherboard - when you remove the motherboard the ports comes out with it so a different motherboard could have different ports.
The other difference between the M1 Mini and the 14" ARM Macbook Pro is the missing additional Thunderbolt port - this could be a major differentiator leading to Apple needing 2 genuinely different motherboard SKUs and potentially a different case (for cooling considerations as well as other matters).
The M2 that replaces the M1 might be due in October with the refreshed MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13", and base mini. The fact that CPU availability of the M2 should theoretically be staggered up against the M1 Pro/Max models expected to be in the upper SKU mini makes keeping the line a little questionable.
I'm now expecting the 13" MacBook Pro to release on a 2 year cycle which is 1 year out of step with the 14" MacBook Pro due in part to the different CPUs they use. My question is over how Apple will use M1 Pro/Max CPUs in any Mac mini upper SKU replacement. Would Apple really expend design resources to create and machine tool 2 different cases for a low selling product?
The render also missing the SD port which the ARM MacBook Pro 14" and 16" has but I guess Apple could easily trade that SD port for the additional USB-A port.
So my compromise would see one case being designed, with hopefully slide out motherboard (with the requisite ports) to allow colocation guys to clean the insides, but also to allow 2 different motherboard SKUs to eventually be used within.
The M1 Mini would continue until the M2 replaces it and then it would start to use this new case as well.
I agree about the airflow. Im not sure I follow you on the ports though. As per an interview with an apple exec on Rene Richie’s channel, these chips are not exactly tied to specific port specs. They just have a specific bandwidth - and it’s on hardware engineering to decide what ports are to be implemented based on the chip bandwidth. So the MacBook and mini could have different ports. They assuredly are not sharing the same motherboard either.
I wonder if the bottom vent is actually an air-intake vent. But I also think those renders are total BS because the thunderbolt ports are way too close together and there is no second vent (either as an intake or outward vent).
It seems prossers render is based on a sketch that went around about a year ago and Apple Insider just copied this.
This is what they’re all basing it off of:
In addition to this thread, check the Buyers guide, MacRumors Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy iPhone, Mac, iPad. It urges caution on buying a mini now.
I bought a base M1 mini on a big sale in November and purposely did not go with larger drives and memory since I assumed something better would be out in Spring/Summer.
I bought a base M1 mini on a big sale in November and purposely did not go with larger drives and memory since I assumed something better would be out in Spring/Summer.
Last edited:
I think its a real shame what happened to the Pro. I loved my 2010 Pro but after the Trashcan and mile high entry price of the 2019, I had to rethink what I was going to do computing-wise. I picked up a 2018 i7 and have a complete fire hazard cables, dongles, docks, and wall warts just trying to emulate what the Pro used to do.
It certainly has far better CPU capabilities for single core and about the same multicore but where it shines is not being a space heater during the summer.
Oh, and the on chip video encoding is nice.
Many of us have held on to the old Mac Pros because they were such good machines but I no longer think they are viable or sensible for all but a small percentage. The i7 mini is a decent little machine as a stop gap and I'm happy to wait until the right silicon mini appears.
I think the port configuration is probably a marketing thing if the engineers have declared bandwidth and just configured them as directed. Clearly they could just go with 4 Thunderbolt ports and call it a day but I'm guessing the backlash from the Touch Bar era Intel MacBooks might have given Apple's marketing guys a reason to ask for something else.
Putting it in Intel terms, it's like Apple engineers saying that they have the equivalent of 16 full PCIe 4.0 lanes for M1 Pro/Max machines (which have full Thunderbolt 4.0 ports).
Assuming 1 Thunderbolt port = 4 lanes, then for the M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pros let's say the marketing guys asked for 3 TB ports (taking up 4 lanes each for 12) plus the remaining 4 lanes to be used for 2 USB-A plus HDMI and SDXC ports.
Obviously all of these present a different back panel to that made available for the M1 Mini which has 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports plus 2 USB-A and a HDMI port.
At this point, you can now see the flexibility of having 4 Thunderbolt 4.0 ports and leave users to attach dongles to get the ports they need but the marketing folks probably rightly saw the friction from users who moaned about having to use dongles.
The compromise clearly is to bring back USB-A (for keyboards and mice) and maybe even SDXC ports for people who need to use camera cards. You'd hope that the engineering folks have designed a case that eliminates wifi/bluetooth issues and a motherboard that gets rid of the HDMI/sleep issues.
I think Apple is just going to keep the same ports as the i7 mac mini: 4x TB, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI. That's what all the rumors have said, and it makes the most sense. Many users like myself don't have their mini in a convenient spot for an SD card reader to make any sense, whereas the Macbook is much more accessible for the user. The only question I have is if the ethernet port will be separate from the power cable, but I would imagine so if they want 10G ethernet (Which they would as these are somewhat meant to be severs in addition to personal computers).
Maybe for you. I have an i7 Mac mini, with 4TB and 2USB ports. I use all of them, and I also have 3 hubs (each with 4 USB ports). It’s literally not an option for me to buy an M1 mini.
That would be the most consistent answer, especially as the M1 mini doesn’t appear to have SD port in its current incarnation.
It might feel a bit unfair for the mac mini to have an additional thunderbolt port when the laptops with similar CPUs don’t have a fourth port though.
And I have a feeling the sacrifice of one Thunderbolt port for the SD and HDMI port could be genuine rather than down to lack of space on the case. Remember the Intel mini only has two controllers between 4 thunderbolt ports.
The 14 and 16” MacBook Pro’s appear to have 3 for each of the 3 thunderbolt ports plus my understanding is that the remaining lanes are split between the HDMI and SD ports (plus webcam) on the MacBook Pro’s while the mini probably will use the SD bandwidth on the additional USB-A ports and reserve another Lane for optional 10 gig Ethernet.
I could easily see a Mac Pro gaining 6 thunderbolt ports just like the old trash can unless they can’t solve how each might carry DisplayPort Info to drive a monitor.
We won’t have long to wait though.
I guess I don't follow. I mentioned the ports on the Intel Mini (4 TB, 2 USB) which can be daisy chained to 127 USB ports per port (762 total). What do you need to do that can't be accomplished with the ports on the next-gen M1 Mini (assuming they are the same as the Intel Mini)?
When you say M1 mini, you are referring to 2 thunderbolt ports? If you mean M1 Pro/Max or M2 mini, then I would specify what you mean as it gets confusing what you’re talking about. The M1 Mac mini comes with 2TB ports.
My mini has 4 thunderbolt ports. And I would rather not use a million hubs as they are not as reliable as using a native port on the machine, and bandwidth is also effected depending on the hub. I’ve also had drives disconnect because they were on a hub that got loose. I only have peripherals like keyboards and mouse connected via hubs. Things that are critical to my everyday are plugged directly into the machine.
If we all just used hubs, By that Logic why not just have one thunderbolt port and call it a day then? Who needs more than 127 USB ports?
Last edited:
Like someone posted in another thread, they’ll take the place of the higher end mini. Since even a 16GB M1 Mini with 512GB SSD is around $1100, I would expect maybe $1800 to be a price point for it. They will probably not be cheap.
It should start at $1,299 IMO as this is what the current i5 model is priced at when you add 16GB of ram.
When Apple transitioned to Apple silicon, they haven’t raised prices unless the screen size got bigger. The only two products that saw a price increase were the 24” iMac and 14” MacBook Pro. These both saw major redesigns with larger screens than their Intel counterparts. All other macs have retained their price point.
This would mean if you want to upgrade from an M1 to an M1 Pro, you have to pay $200 extra which is consistent with Apple’s processor upgrade pricing from the past (going from i5 to i7 is $200). They may add an extra $100 to widen the gap between the devices, but even then this is below your suggested price.
I hope you are right. I was under the impression that it would be more expensive.
I think you're spot on. Either $1299 or $1499
I came to the same range as well based on the mac Mini m1 with 16gb and 512 gb of Ram.
Also the 13" Macbook Pro with the same exact specs is $1699.00 and the Air is $1,449.00.
The only Reason I asked is because I opted for the 16" Macbook Pro M1 max instead and i was doing the math to feel how much cheaper it would be for the Mac Mini specs. I did trade in a macbook that apple gave me $860 for.
So worst case scenario if the price starts at $1299, a similar configured mac mini with M1 Max 32 core 64GB, 2TB would be around $3499 based on the current configurations of the Macbook Pro 14"/ 16" and a potential 10gb ethernet option.
I ended up paying $3460 for the macbook Pro 16" and gained portability and an awesome screen versus an extra thunderbolt that the Mac mini would really offer.
On the other hand...I am trying to replace a Mac Pro 2010 3.46 x2 Xeon lol
Apple aren't going to price it based on a model with an obsolete i5 CPU. People expecting a $1299 Mini are very
I've said things before but the clues on already released products will inform the price of the upper SKU mini replacement are, in my opinion:
1. The 14" MacBook Pro got a $200 price increase over the 13" Touch Bar Intel model.
2. No SKU of the M1 Pro Macs comes with 8Gb RAM - it's all 16Gb RAM SKUs for now. It makes sense that off the shelf M1 Pro SKUs come with broadly the same 16Gb/512Gb base spec rather than Apple try to go spec for spec.
3. Chip shortage may have an impact, this will either affect shipping times for minis as lower profit margin devices after initial shipments run out or Apple could go for higher profit margins. A case redesign, plus spec bump, and higher base spec could be their justification - and if they can ensure it runs silently why wouldn't they?
Apple could have replaced the upper SKU of the Mac mini with a 16Gb/512Gb storage M1 SKU and called it a day in 2020 making the Mini a low spec device updated in parallel with the MacBook Air.
For me, the high SKU mini is going to be starting at $1499 with 16Gb RAM and 512Gb storage - compare with the $1999 14" MacBook Pro and I think $1499 is rather generous - it could easily be $1599.
I will believe that a pro Mac mini exists when I actually see one.
This is a product that so many of us have always wanted and I just can’t get over the fact that I think we are using a lot of wishful thinking and hoping here.
This is a product that so many of us have always wanted and I just can’t get over the fact that I think we are using a lot of wishful thinking and hoping here.