Will the Mac mini be rebranded Mac Neo?

[saintmac]

Other people have said that USB-C isn't flexible enough to deliver the varying peak power demand, portable products use battery for power and drain from that and use USB-C to charge the battery by my understanding. That's why the small electricals that Apple deploy use the C7 'figure of 8' plug and built in PSU.

And the Neo only has 1 USB-C port at USB3 speeds, with a further one at USB2 speeds. Not very impressive IO there.

Far better would be to buy a refurb Mini with M class CPU or wait for the many deals going from third party retailers.

I think this could easily be solved by a small battery.
I think the apple tv having a PSU is useful because you plug it to something that doesn’t provide power.
But apple has no problem selling an iMac with an external PSU (which im yet to find an explanation for, except maybe if you also plug Ethernet)

 

[sublunar]

I think this could easily be solved by a small battery.
I think the apple tv having a PSU is useful because you plug it to something provide power.
But apple has no problem selling an iMac with an external PSU (which im yet to find an explanation for, except maybe if you also plug Ethernet)

I won't link THAT thread - but I think we're all agreed here that a niche product with a niche battery is a BAD idea 😛

I think a Mac mini M4 form factor is small enough - there's just not enough of a market for what's been described here.

 

[WebHead]

The Apple TV is the Mac Neo, hiding in plain sight.

Speaking of which, where's that dang update!!

 

[chrono1081]

I don't think so. The mini isn't a comparable product to the Neo. It's more akin to a "Desktop Air". Minis are actually crazy powerful.

I feel like the Neo is in its own class and for people who just want a small, lightweight machine for regular computing tasks or for travel/school.

 

[theluggage]

But apple has no problem selling an iMac with an external PSU (which im yet to find an explanation for, except maybe if you also plug Ethernet)

I think they just wanted to make the iMac super-thin for cosmetic reasons. Not sure its even deep enough to fit an ethernet jack... AFAIK the ethernet interface is built in to the computer, they just put the connector in the PSU.

As for the original "Mac Neo" question - I agree with others that they wouldn't want to change an established, still-current brand. The MacBook Neo was very much a new entry in the range (the closest equivalent was maybe the 11" Air, 10 years ago).

They must have at least considered calling the MacBook Neo just the MacBook (which has been the entry-level laptop brand in the past) - and ISTR old debates here on calling either the Mac Mini or the iMac just the "Macintosh" but, honestly, it's much clearer to have everything called a "Mac something" or "MacBook something" and keep Mac/MacBook as generic terms.

 

[Moonjumper]

I don't think apple would rebrand mini into neo.

However I'd be super interested if they launched a Mac neo that would be even smaller than the mini and would be powered by usb-c. You could plug it into any modern display and it would just work.

Would just need one usb-c (thunderbolt 3+ ideally) port.
Could have a M5 chip or an A19 pro.
No internal power. No or tiny battery. Possibly no fan.

Who else would be interested ?

I'd want more ports so that any monitor or TV could be plugged in, which would mean it being separate to the power supply.

A Mac could be very small using an A series chip. Even with more SSD space, it could be smaller than an iPhone as it has much the same chip needs, but no battery (or a small battery as discussed for smooth out the power demand) or screen. A pocketable Mac could be very useful.

 

[WebHead]

The reason for the original question is that Apple's product lineup is starting to get unwieldy again: Air, Neo, mini, Studio etc. Also, whether a Mac Neo is technically more powerful than a MacBook Neo probably means little to the Joe Public target audience.

 

[Basic75]

A Mac could be very small using an A series chip. Even with more SSD space, it could be smaller than an iPhone as it has much the same chip needs, but no battery (or a small battery as discussed for smooth out the power demand) or screen. A pocketable Mac could be very useful.

Nice as the choice would be, I don't think Apple will put macOS on the Apple TV.

 

[sublunar]

Nice as the choice would be, I don't think Apple will put macOS on the Apple TV.

No but the ability to dual boot into tvOS would be handy - especially if macOS was going to stop being supported on older M series hardware.

 

[Moonjumper]

Nice as the choice would be, I don't think Apple will put macOS on the Apple TV.

I wasn't talking about an Apple TV. It was about how small a Mac could be based on how small the components are now, and how that could increase the use cases.

 

[Starfia]

The Apple TV is the Mac Neo, hiding in plain sight.

(Blinks)

Apple tried gaming on the apple tv, and it landed with a thud. I don't see them turning apple tv into some sort of console

…

(Blinks)

 

[PBG4 Dude]

I don't see the point of making a Mac Mini absolutely tiny as long as it still needs to plug into the mains power socket.

Same. Make it a USB-powered portable compute unit.

 

[Mousse]

You only rebrand a failed product or if you want to a paradigm shift. Rebranding for the sake of rebranding more often than not, result losing customers. Look at some recent rebranding: Jaguar, Aberdeen, and Twitter/X.

 

[WebHead]

You only rebrand a failed product or if you want to a paradigm shift. Rebranding for the sake of rebranding more often than not, result losing customers. Look at some recent rebranding: Jaguar, Aberdeen, and Twitter/X.

Mac mini sales are basically a rounding error as it is so I doubt much could go wrong. Another reason for rebranding might be to re-simplify the product lineup.

 

[sublunar]

Mac mini sales are basically a rounding error as it is so I doubt much could go wrong. Another reason for rebranding might be to re-simplify the product lineup.

Wouldn’t work as you’re either further fracturing the lineup by adding a desktop Neo line that contains just Ax series cpus or you’re renaming the entire line which could contain an m4 pro cpu.

Either way the people who want a cheap computer for 299 (which is where I think this is going) would balk at having single usb c 3.0 port plus a usb c 2.0 port.

Anyone wanting a 299 Mac would be best off scouring used listings for m1 or m2 devices.

 

[theluggage]

Another reason for rebranding might be to re-simplify the product lineup.

Why? Are Apple going bankrupt again like they were at the turn of the century when that diagram was produced? Do they have to justify axing a range of undistinguished beige boxes called "Performa string-of-numbers" or riskier projects that they can no longer afford to invest in (Newton, Quicktake...)?

Jobs: Let's just focus on these 4 clear product categories and ditch everything else.
Also Jobs: Hey, why don't we make a personal audio player and start a music store?

Trying to fit everything into 4 boxes would be horribly limiting. You can fill 4 boxes with just laptops: e.g. Economy/Netbook (Neo), Ultrabook (Air), General purpose (Mx MBP - that's the one I think needs renaming) and mobile workstation (Mx Pro/Max MBP)... and then you'd have to accomodate small vs. large screens.

Even with desktops you've got all-in-one/iMac, Mac Mini (which could easily be split into Mx and Mx Pro) and Mac Studio (...which also has a huge split between Mx Max and Mx Ultra).

Which of these do you want to cut just to get closer to a 1998 PowerPoint slide?

Mac mini sales are basically a rounding error as it is so I doubt much could go wrong.

If they were a "rounding error" Apple wouldn't be making them. Renaming the Mac Mini the Mac Neo isn't going to kill it, but what's the point? Would the $1500+ Mx Pro Minis make sense as "Neos"?

As others have said - the niche for a Mac Neo would be, effectively, MacOS on an AppleTV at an impulse-buy price point - an introduction to Mac for anybody with a HDMI TV and any old cheap mouse/keyboard. I don't think that's likely but it would be a... coherent product. That wouldn't/shouldn't replace the Mac Mini any more than the MB Neo replaced the Air.

 

[throAU]

No, they might make a Mac neo as a lower tier mini (as above, maybe appleTV size/based) but killing the mini product/brand would kill 20 years of brand recognition, and the mini brand is super well liked.

 

[theluggage]

Same. Make it a USB-powered portable compute unit.

YMMV.
I think the internal PSU and lack of power brick/wall-wart is a positive feature of the Mini (and the Apple TV if that's your model for a Mac Neo).

Might work with the base MX model (65W). The Mx Pro Mini models (140W) would be too picky about what USB-C power supplies they could use & wouldn't work with a lot of USB-C displays.

A Mini would need to be permanently connected to power so the USB-C port would be unusable for everything else unless you pair it with a powered hub or USB-C display with a hub. That's adding an extra expense to what is supposed to be an economy product.

...I think the option to power the Mini from a USB-C port (if you had, say, a new-model Studio Display that could power it, save a cable, and give you downstream ports) would - if technically feasible - be fine, but not at the expense of internal power.

 

[IvyKing]

The reason for the original question is that Apple's product lineup is starting to get unwieldy again: Air, Neo, mini, Studio etc.

I disagree, the lineup is still pretty straightforward:

Desktops:
Mini Mx or Mx Pro processors
Studio Mx Max or Mx Ultra, more memory better thermals than Mini

Notebooks (Laptops):
Neo Low Cost, Ax processor, minimum memory (does not directly compete with low end Air)
Air Thin and light weight, Mx processors, more memory
Pro Thicker and heavier than Air, more processor options and more ports

I'm glad that Apple moved away from the 2017 MacBook Pro being a MacBook air with a fan to a more useful form factor with more ports requiring fewer dongles.

 

[Mrbobb]

There is nothing "neo" about the current M Mac, it's as powerful as any non Pro user would need. I recently ran the SSD benchmark and is lightening fast. I can only, maybe, complaint to the absence of TB5 port, but then we wouldn't want it to tramp over the Studio do they.

 

[IvyKing]

There is nothing "neo" about the current M Mac, it's as powerful as any non Pro user would need. I recently ran the SSD benchmark and is lightening fast. I can only, maybe, complaint to the absence of TB5 port, but then we wouldn't want it to tramp over the Studio do they.

The M4 Pro Mini's have 3 TB5 ports on the back. Prices for loaded M4 Pro Mini's are pretty close to Studio territory.

 

[Inhalant]

Mac mini sales are basically a rounding error as it is so I doubt much could go wrong. Another reason for rebranding might be to re-simplify the product lineup.

Gosh its gotten a little more complicated than this hasn't it... especially with the iphone

Maybe they will offer a Mac mini with a phone chip (sorry lost count of what A number we're on) and an m5 as an upgrade, and then studio with m5 pro and ultra?

I mean, the MacBook line now has a low, mid and high tier and are we sure they're gonna drop the air?

Apple has the balls of the consumer computer market in a vice right now, a USD $299 "Mac nano" would seal the deal

don't know if they'd call it a "Neo" I just feel the naming might get too complicated. Maybe just a mini with iPhone chip.

 

[xraydoc]

I'd much rather see them keep an M4 option (or even an M3) as a super-budget tier Mac mini when the M5 Mac mini comes out than see them create a Mac Neo with an A-series chip. Kind of like how Apple always keeps a previous gen iPhone on sale to help with the budget market.

 

[IvyKing]

I suspect the recent run on Mac Minis and Mac Studio's have dried up the parts needed to make the base M4 Minis. Several posts on the M4 Mini/Studio shortage have pointed out the M4's use different RAM from the M5 and offered plausible arguments about Apple dropping the high end RAM builds of the Mini and Studio to conserve the supply of RAM for the M4.

 

[eifelbube]

"Mini" is the brand within the brand. It has instant recognition, and is also a descriptor for the device. I find it hard to believe Apple would rebrand the Mini to Mac Neo.

Indeed.
Mac Neo = Mac New
Mac mini = Mac small

AppleVision Neo > smart glasses? If $999 or less?