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Who's buying the new Mac Mini this week?
- Thread starter Macalway
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I currently have a 2018 Mini, purchased in January 2019.
So... it's about time to consider a replacement.
BUT... although the m4pro Mini looks interesting, I won't be buying one "right off the bat". Rather, I'll wait at least a few months. I want to see reviews, see if any serious problems arise, and wait for them to begin selling in the Apple online refurbished store.
Then, I'll piggyback the Apple veterans' discount on top of the refurbished price, and pick up a 32gb/1tb model that way...
So... it's about time to consider a replacement.
BUT... although the m4pro Mini looks interesting, I won't be buying one "right off the bat". Rather, I'll wait at least a few months. I want to see reviews, see if any serious problems arise, and wait for them to begin selling in the Apple online refurbished store.
Then, I'll piggyback the Apple veterans' discount on top of the refurbished price, and pick up a 32gb/1tb model that way...
Tempting and will definitely follow the Mini announcement for a desktop machine here, but my 14" MBP M1 Pro 10c/16c/32GB/2TB still serves me very well, including in clamshell mode with a 27" 4K Dell Monitor.
I will have to wait on feedback from end users, on how it handles high resolution, high frequenzy displays, before I make the jump.
Edit: It appears it officially supports 120hz at 8k, so that's very nice!
Edit2: That appears to be wrong, as Apple has retconned that unfortunately.
Edit: It appears it officially supports 120hz at 8k, so that's very nice!
Edit2: That appears to be wrong, as Apple has retconned that unfortunately.
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I´ll wait until it´s since two weeks out in users hands, and we´ve seen some valueable infos from sayed users.
I possibly will, I was thinking of upgrading my Mac Mini M1 8gb for a Mac Studio M2 Max 32gb ram 512gb. Possible will get a similar spec Mini M4 ? Got to be speedier than a base level Studio .??
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I am.
I need to replace my 2013 27-inch iMac. I've held out for years waiting for a direct equivalent to come, but I can no longer wait. I will miss the tidiness and form factor of an all-in-one, but the flexibility of having a wide range of monitor options is a plus.
I need to replace my 2013 27-inch iMac. I've held out for years waiting for a direct equivalent to come, but I can no longer wait. I will miss the tidiness and form factor of an all-in-one, but the flexibility of having a wide range of monitor options is a plus.
I think the new Mini will have a base 16/256 for $799. Upgrade to 16/512 for $999.
Just fyi, there is a demand for the Intel Macs so apple is taking them in trade. I traded my 2018 i3 in for my new apple watch. They gave me $125 for it 2 weeks ago
BenQ is competing in the Mac user marketplace with their 27” and 32” displays.
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I’ve got a 2018 i5 with 32gb ram I’ve had since Fall of 2018, it still flies through anything. It’s a beast. My hope is to get a decade out of it, maybe more depending on software I use.
I’m curious is yours showing any limitations? Are you doing heavy lifting with it etc?
This is one of the problems with Apple's update schedule. The Studio comes so late in the generation, that something lower end is updated to the next generation not long after. Therefore the extra cost of the Studio only gives a significant advantage for a short period. I like the Studio, and it appears the right performance range for me. But the opportunities for it being worth getting are very infrequent.
I've been thinking about an M4 Pro Mini with at least 32GB to replace my 16GB/1TB M1 Mini. As with several other posters, my plan is to wait at least a couple of weeks for any issues with the new Minis before placing an order.
If Apple really screws u the re-designed Mini, I will probably wait for the M4 Studio.
If Apple really screws u the re-designed Mini, I will probably wait for the M4 Studio.
With M3 Pro / M3 Max though, they started to have a further differentiator between them in CPU and GPU power. Though this difference has not yet happened on the mini and the Studio yet since they both are still stuck at M2 gen. So this week when the 14" 16" are out we can start to grasp the performance difference between the M4 Pro and M4 Max to gauge this, despite the Studio may not come until next March according to Gurman.
Then on the other hand, the advances of these chips are at the pace that most software and use cases are not keeping up with. It means, a workflow that may have required a Mac Studio in 2022, may just be fine with a M4 Pro mini in 2024/25. In particular we don't yet know what I/O combination they are going to give for the new M4 Pro mini chassis. If it edges better than the M2 Pro mini and treads closer to the Mac Studio, then we will have a lot of buyers shifting down to the M4 Pro mini, especially if the RAM ceiling is higher than the 36GB on M3 Pro.
All this combined with the Studio's update schedule just adds to the equation. If I get the M4 Pro mini this week it means I am getting the chip on day 1. If I get an M4 Max Studio next March I am already 5 months into the chip cycle since the same chip is going into the 14" 16" this week as well.
A decade of use would be feasible for me too except that I don't do mission critical work on unsupported hardware. So when Apple drops support for Intel Macs I will reluctantly give up my 27" iMac. I'm not convinced that a 23.5" display will be big enough, but I'll certainly look at the iMac again.
What mostly ticks me off is the massive increase in price that I'll be forced to pay. If I can get away with an iMac the cost will be around $1000 (Canadian dollars) more than I paid in 2019. If I find I can't live without a 5K display it will cost at least $1850 more to get a Mini & Studio Display. If I want support for Touch ID I'll have to add another $209 for a new keyboard. Further weakness in the Canadian dollar could easily see a replacement Mac cost twice as much as the unit it replaces.
I know that pain. I remember in 2007/2008 when a new 15” MBP was £1299, or I think about £1100 with HE discount (the HE discount used to be a lot better).
To get a 16” MBP now (which I think we all agree is the successor to the 15”) is £2399. Of course they’ve gone up in the US as well but nothing like the same amount. Damn that strong Dollar.
One of the problems I have had with Apple’s structure is exactly what you described.
i have been using mini because they are cheap & upgrading other parts of my setups at different times. I finally bought my first “real” Mac since my G3 desktop in the 90s & went for a MacBook Pro because i no longer had space for a desktop. Found out my eyes struggle with the small screen for much of what I use an actual computer for. Was able to fit in a desktop again & it’s only clamshell mode & now it’s time to replace my old monitor.
it $1500 for an apple display or $1500 for an iMac thats just 3” smaller. I could sell or trade in my MacBook Pro & pay for at least half of the iMac …
Lion wrote:
"I’ve got a 2018 i5 with 32gb ram I’ve had since Fall of 2018, it still flies through anything. It’s a beast. My hope is to get a decade out of it, maybe more depending on software I use.
I’m curious is yours showing any limitations? Are you doing heavy lifting with it etc?"
One of the reasons I bought the 2018 Mini was because it would be the last Mac I would own that could still run 32 bit software (initial OS was Mojave).
It's still running Mojave today (typing this reply on it).
Aside:
I also have a 2021 MacBook Pro 14" that uses Sonoma. And I occasionally boot the 2018 Mini from my external Sequoia "experimental" SSD.
When the replacement for the 2018 Mini arrives, it will get "moved to the back table" (where my 2012 Mini is now). Then it will be there for when I still need to use 32-bit software.
"I’ve got a 2018 i5 with 32gb ram I’ve had since Fall of 2018, it still flies through anything. It’s a beast. My hope is to get a decade out of it, maybe more depending on software I use.
I’m curious is yours showing any limitations? Are you doing heavy lifting with it etc?"
One of the reasons I bought the 2018 Mini was because it would be the last Mac I would own that could still run 32 bit software (initial OS was Mojave).
It's still running Mojave today (typing this reply on it).
Aside:
I also have a 2021 MacBook Pro 14" that uses Sonoma. And I occasionally boot the 2018 Mini from my external Sequoia "experimental" SSD.
When the replacement for the 2018 Mini arrives, it will get "moved to the back table" (where my 2012 Mini is now). Then it will be there for when I still need to use 32-bit software.
I doubt the Mini will go to 64GB. More likely top out at 32 or 36GB IMO.
The leaked MBP 14" was shown in one of the Russian videos to be running 2 external displays on top of the 1 internal of the MacBook itself. And now the iMac also does this with the unbinned M4, according to spec sheet.
On a mini, on would assume the "quota" of running that 1 internal is allocated to an extra external. This has been the case for M1 and M2 minis.
I only have an M2 Macbook Air currently.
If the rumors are true and it really is as tiny as an Apple TV, I think I might get one as a living room PC, primarily for Gaming (PC Retro Games via VM and Retro Console Games with OpenEmu and Dolphin).
If the rumors are true and it really is as tiny as an Apple TV, I think I might get one as a living room PC, primarily for Gaming (PC Retro Games via VM and Retro Console Games with OpenEmu and Dolphin).
I don’t need to upgrade from my M1 but I’m interested nonetheless. I wonder how much I can sell an M1 / 16 GB / 1 TB for here in Canada.
The rumours didn’t actually say it’s as small as Apple TV, and the initial leaks suggest it’s considerably bigger than Apple TV, as expected. One extrapolation from images suggests it’s about 5” wide or so but we shall see soon.
It won’t be that cheap.