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Why can't apple give us A mini with the I9 of the 2020 iMac?

fourthtunz

fourthtunz

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 23, 2002
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The 2020 iMac with the I9 is actually a great deal for an Apple.
Why can't Apple give us the mini with the latest i9?
Why do Apple feel they have to hobble their computers?
People that want a bigger screen buy the Imac
People who want a laptop buy a laptop
Why can't those of us who want to use our own monitor but don't want
to spend $6000 have something like a mac mini pro?
I'd spend $2500 for the mini with the latest i9.
Ok maybe Apple is waiting for their own silicon but for now sell it with an i9?
 
They most likely haven’t updated the processors in the Mini line up because it is going to be one of the first to be moved to ARM. Why update it just to update it again right after?

If you notice, the 21.5” iMac, base MacBook Pro and Mac Mini are the only ones still on 8th gen processors. That suggests to me that they will be the first three to get Apple Silicon this year.
 
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Apple just recently removed the “New” designation for the Mac Mini at the Apple Store. I have a feeling Apple will continue to sell it basically as is for some time. With it’s original 2018 Pro paint job and Pro array of ports it could be eventually marketed as the OP said, a more affordable AS Mac Mini Pro.
 
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It will be one of the first new machines to feature Apple silicon. No need for Apple to design a new logic board with 10th gen chips since the all Apple one is right around the corner. I mean, the developer kit IS a Mini with an ARM chip, so...
 
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fourthtunz said:
The 2020 iMac with the I9 is actually a great deal for an Apple.
Why can't Apple give us the mini with the latest i9?
Why do Apple feel they have to hobble their computers?
People that want a bigger screen buy the Imac
People who want a laptop buy a laptop
Why can't those of us who want to use our own monitor but don't want
to spend $6000 have something like a mac mini pro?
I'd spend $2500 for the mini with the latest i9.
Ok maybe Apple is waiting for their own silicon but for now sell it with an i9?
Click to expand...

1. The Mac Mini would need a significantly larger power supply for the i9 processor.
2. Apple would also have to add additional cooling to keep temps low and prevent overheating of the system.
3. The Mini is not intended for "pro" levels of performance, so why would they break their existing lineup by adding an i9?
4. Putting an i9 in a Mac Mini would be like putting a Ferrari engine in a Ford Fusion - the chassis and internals wouldn't be able to handle the engine without significant changes to the design.
 
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weaztek said:
I'm a working photographer using my i5 Mini (with eGPU) for huge Photoshop files and video editing.

I'm curious to know what you need an i9 for?
Click to expand...
I have the I7 Mini for audio. Be nice to have more horsepower for larger sessions
with Virtual instruments.
 
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Boil said:
This would be a non-issue if Apple brought back the Cube...!
Click to expand...

Apple enthusiasts have been asking for years for an "X-Mac"... basically a computer in-between the Mini and the Mac Pro that had one or two PCIe slots, upgradeable RAM, hard drives, and CPUs. Especially now that the base Pro starts at 6 grand. Unfortunately, Apple either doesn't think there's a market for such a product, or simply doesn't want people sticking off the shelf parts in it's computers unless they pay the Mac Pro tax.

Hell, even an updated version of the trashcan would've been nice...
 
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Boil said:
I am of the mind that Apple will drop three Apple silicon Macs at once, all with the same SoC & logic board; Mac mini, 14" MacBook, 24" iMac...
Click to expand...

I think that is likely, for no other reason that they want to give an opportunity for users of laptops, iMacs and Minis the chance to start converting, all groups of users as it were. It clearly wouldn't be a big deal for the Mac Mini as they have already done the conversion to ARM as we know from the developer kit.
 
Cookie18 said:
They most likely haven’t updated the processors in the Mini line up because it is going to be one of the first to be moved to ARM. Why update it just to update it again right after?

If you notice, the 21.5” iMac, base MacBook Pro and Mac Mini are the only ones still on 8th gen processors. That suggests to me that they will be the first three to get Apple Silicon this year.
Click to expand...

I’ve read that too. But it makes me wonder why the minis get the the early shot at the new ARM? Are iMacs going to get a external make-over for the ARM?
 
jazz1 said:
I’ve read that too. But it makes me wonder why the minis get the the early shot at the new ARM? Are iMacs going to get a external make-over for the ARM?
Click to expand...

Rumour has it that the 21.5” iMac will become a 24” iMac in an iPad Pro like body. That also makes sense why they just updated the 27”, they will release the shiny new 24” on its own and then probably release a 30” or whatever in the new design 6-12 months later. Similar to what they did with the original Retina MacBook.

The Mini is less likely to get an overhaul because it is often used in server racks and those are the main buyers of Minis. That’s why Apple kept the same shape and size when coming up with the 2018 Mini. It doesn’t mean they definitely won’t give it a new design but it is less likely.

The Mini being one of the first to move to ARM doesn’t make sense in a vacuum but when you consider that the iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini all moving to ARM at the same time (as in all three move first) makes up a large portion of the Mac buying market it makes sense. Each of those are entry level machines in each category that they sell.
 
jazz1 said:
I’ve read that too. But it makes me wonder why the minis get the the early shot at the new ARM? Are iMacs going to get a external make-over for the ARM?
Click to expand...

Many server farms are running off ARM-based processors now, even AWS has significant amounts of processing power on the ARM side of things. Regarding a makeover for the mini, the answer would be "no", for the same reason it could be among the first machines to get updated. Since Mac Minis are commonly used in server racks, keeping the form factor unchanged would be a necessity.

www.electronicdesign.com

Arm Introduces Chip Designs Dedicated to Data Centers

Arm Introduces Chip Designs Dedicated to Data Centers
www.electronicdesign.com www.electronicdesign.com

www.datacenterknowledge.com

A Huge Week for Arm – in the Data Center Too

Ampere is bringing to market a 128-core Arm server chip, and Bamboo is ready to launch a server based on its own “PANDA” Arm architecture.
www.datacenterknowledge.com www.datacenterknowledge.com
 
I don’t understand why they would keep the Mac mini form factor, without the baking hot Intel temperatures to clear. Yes, it was ’mini’ many years ago. Nowadays, it just isn’t. Bring it down to NUC level footprint.
Keeping form factor the same absolutely wouldn’t be a necessity. Changing it would be a great way to sell new trays or adaptors. Companies will always pay.
 
Yeah, just screw over one of your largest customers, make them get all new fixtures for multiple locations; "but look how cool the new case is...!"
 
EmlynDewar said:
I don’t understand why they would keep the Mac mini form factor, without the baking hot Intel temperatures to clear. Yes, it was ’mini’ many years ago. Nowadays, it just isn’t. Bring it down to NUC level footprint.
Keeping form factor the same absolutely wouldn’t be a necessity. Changing it would be a great way to sell new trays or adaptors. Companies will always pay.
Click to expand...

It’s not that Mini? What? Have you seen the state of Mini form factor computers? The Mac Mini is leagues ahead.
 
fourthtunz said:
I have the I7 Mini for audio. Be nice to have more horsepower for larger sessions
with Virtual instruments.
Click to expand...

Same here. Mine only has 16Gb of memory and I’ve been considering buying more, 32 minimum. How much memory does your have? Then again, with the new ARM mini’s coming out later, I want to see how they perform before dumping any more money into my 2018.

I agree that the physical size of the mini probably won’t change because it’s got to fit those racks, and currently the i7 makes mine plenty hot enough, can’t imagine how hot an i9 would make it. With how much cooler the ARM chips are running they wouldn’t have to change the physical size to add more horsepower.
 
macdos said:
Does your software utilize all cores? Audio is lightweight stuff, really.
Click to expand...

My mini (2018 i7 16Gb Mojave) is connected via Thunderbolt to a Presonus Quantum for multitrack drum recording. For a DAW I’m running Reaper, which I’ve read utilizes multi-core, Slate Trigger 2 on most tracks and one or two basic plugins on some tracks. It runs about as hot as I would trust a computer to do so for an extended period of time. No way I’d want a hotter CPU in there.
 
EmlynDewar said:
I don’t understand why they would keep the Mac mini form factor, without the baking hot Intel temperatures to clear. Yes, it was ’mini’ many years ago. Nowadays, it just isn’t. Bring it down to NUC level footprint.
Keeping form factor the same absolutely wouldn’t be a necessity. Changing it would be a great way to sell new trays or adaptors. Companies will always pay.
Click to expand...

So you want companies to shell out money to replace their racks, mounting hardware AND Mac Minis for no reason other than "just because"? That makes no sense on any level.
 
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