YouTuber Modifies M1 Mac Mini to Be 78% Smaller

[monkeybongo]

Fun project, I like the custom case.

I don't doubt that Apple could make it smaller/thinner but I'd like the M1 Pro or M1 Max option so it would need the cooling anyway. Also, I'm too cheap to buy the extra apple storage so I'd have mine tucked away in a cabinet with extra external SSDs and HDs so size isn't an issue.

 

[Juanbond]

Yeah I’m not a big fan of this. It barely looks smaller (Mac mini is already pretty small and it will fit in most places the smaller one does) and loses the internal power supply. Not to mention, it is UGLY.

However it could be useful in some extreme cases, embedded devices, robotics projects and so on.

For people at home or office just looking to use a Mac mini, nah.

My current setup is an upgraded 5,1 Mac Pro. Apple could quadruple the size of the Mac Mini and it’d still be dramatically smaller than what I currently have. I agree with some of the other comments, I’d prefer a bigger Mac Mini with more features than mind-blowing engineering to make it as small as possible.

 

[nylonsteel]

should have wiped it down with windex before taking a picture of it

 

[Wanted797]

“A YouTuber has successfully made the M1 Mac mini78% smaller and added MagSafe in a unique DIY project, highlighting Apple's iterative approach to the current entry-level ‌Mac mini‌ ahead of the expected launch of a redesigned high-end model.”

“YouTuber Quinn Nelson aka SnazzyLabs has successfully…”*


Come on MR. Quinn has a name and a channel name. At least mention it when starting the article. You do it for Prosser on every bit of crap he rambles about.

 

[txscott]

A computer with the power of an M1 Mac that plugs in like a wall wart with 16gb ram and a 500gb hd and lets you choose periphrials would be excellent. Off the desktop and all most people need (including me).

Apple needs to figure out how to build systems for people with modest spec requirements, not necessarily modest incomes. I don't need the power of the largest Mac Book Pro (for example), but want the screen size. I think it is an untapped market for them.

 

[HowardEv]

It's no different than a MacBook Air logic board with an external power supply.

And no battery.

 

[dwaite]

Apple were asked to keep it the same size so it would fit in the same server racks.

AFAIK this is public information, so yes : exactly this!

Now, they may very well decide to redesign in the future, but today the same sort of people who might rack-mount a couple of Macs for testing purposes might also want the same setup to work with mixed Intel and M1 based Macs.

Thats not to say that Apple would never update the design, just that they will be cautious about "small" changes, and might make changes taking into account these customers (examples being smaller dimensions that fit well in a 1U rack grid enclosure, or a smaller design with external power that supports PoE).

 

[timidpimpin]

I bet 90% if the people who say they don't like it are feeling that way because it has no Apple logo.

 

[yabeweb]

Fun project, I like the custom case.

I don't doubt that Apple could make it smaller/thinner but I'd like the M1 Pro or M1 Max option so it would need the cooling anyway. Also, I'm too cheap to buy the extra apple storage so I'd have mine tucked away in a cabinet with extra external SSDs and HDs so size isn't an issue.

well removing the power supply could help, it produces lots of heath.

 

[MacWorld78]

Honey i shrunk the Mac Mini. ?

I like the idea stackable Mac mini for sharing CPU, RAM, SSD, graphic & audio - tall as tower should be done via magnet connection.

 

[mainemini]

Nailed it. Particularly the MagSafe thing.

That does make me think it would be cool to do a small battery in the Mac mini as a UPS, particularly in developing countries where consistent power delivery is a greater concern.

For those that want that, plug it into a UPS like I do. Putting a battery in all minis would be wasteful.

 

[vtrautia]

Very cool modification.

 

[pdoherty]

then I'm wrong

but again, I don't see it more than 80% smaller in each dimension..

Agreed it's confusing. It certainly doesn't look like it's 20% of the original size, which is what it sounds like when he says it's 78% (~80%) smaller. That makes it sound like it would take FIVE of his size to equal one original (20 * 5 = 100), and there's no way it's small enough for that.

 

[svish]

Smaller version - good. So very much possible for Apple to maybe add more ports in the current size.

 

[Arctic Moose]

Well this dude is getting a job at Apple.

Apple has already done a better job.

The Mac mini is 3.6 x 19.7 x 19.7 cm, which makes it roughly 1397 cubic centimeters.

The M1 11" iPad Pro is 24.76 x 17.85 x 0.59 cm, so roughly 261 cubic centimeters.

The iPad volume is less than 19% of the Mac mini, so more than an 81% reduction!

Sure, it doesn't have all the ports or run macOS, but on the other hand it has a huge screen, an all-day battery, cellular and a slot for a SIM card, four speakers, five microphones, a boatload of cameras, flash, LiDAR, accelerometer, gyro, barometer, light sensor, GPS and Face ID.

Adding a small dock provides more ports than the Mac mini has.

The OS is only a matter of flipping a switch. (More or less proven by the AS dev kit which was practically an iPad Pro in a Mac mini enclosure.)

It was very impressive, and actually creates an entirely new product category - a "submini" or "ultramini" computer, if you will.

Aren’t they called “phones”?

Besides, my RPi-based fully-capable [*] desktop PC is much smaller than this.

 

[Snake111]

That's quite ugly.

 

[Bodhitree]

Meh... make it 3x taller and encased in a clear acrylic outer shell that makes it look like it's floating.

Bring back the Cube. Resistance is futile.?

Great photo. I had forgotten what a wonderful design the Cube was.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Apple were asked to keep it the same size so it would fit in the same server racks.

Asked by who?
Apple is a three trillion dollar Company, who is well known for making designs that force people to change.
They almost rarely listen to requests, unless the noise is very loud.
The actual reason they kept the old design is because they did that with all of the initial M1 devices, probably to keep costs down since all of the designs had been being manufactured for years, and in the Mac Mini‘s case, over a decade.

 

[timidpimpin]

Asked by who?
Apple is a three trillion dollar Company, who is well known for making designs that force people to change.
They almost rarely listen to requests, unless the noise is very loud.
The actual reason they kept the old design is because they did that with all of the initial M1 devices, probably to keep costs down since all of the designs had been being manufactured for years, and in the Mac Mini‘s case, over a decade.

You seem totally unaware that the Mac mini's largest market by far is the server and supercomputer market's. Maybe you should stop pretending you know things. They keep it the same size so that these markets don't have to refit their rack mounting systems.

 

[Boil]

When Apple has the colocation dudes & Amazon ordering hundreds of Mac minis at a time, I would say those customers needs might have some influence on design decisions for the Mac mini...?

 

[zapmymac]

This is actually better. Aside from a smaller design, if an electrical failure happens in the power supply, it is easily replaced for presumably under $100. Even instantly swapped out. The alternative, with a built-in power supply, is that your computer needs to be repaired and is unavailable in the meantime, and may cost more because of labour.

tl;dr External power supplies are better.

This why I liked my 2nd gen AirPort Extreme: external -power supply. In fact, it did die, and I was able to buy another easily without little down time and $20. RIP AirPort Extreme ( in general )

 

[Jonathan__Swift]

If the new Mac Mini doesn't have an M2 chip, I'll keep procrastinating replacing my 2012 with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD, and 11TB of assorted USB Hard Disks.

 

[Boil]

If the new Mac Mini doesn't have an M2 chip

M1 Pro/Max Mac mini next week, M2 Mac mini in October...?

 

[chucker23n1]

I replaced my apartment with one that doesn't have a kitchen and bathroom built in, and it's 78% smaller!

(It's a fun project. But Nelson continues to use misleading clickbait-y titles. It's smaller because it does a lot less.)

 

[153957]

"I will now consider one of the air molecules which was in my Mac mini case to be 'the Mac mini'. I will take it out of the case and let it float around. Everything else is now just an external part which happens to do everything. However, this one molecule is what we consider to be 'the Mac mini' now, so it is 99.999999…% smaller ? "

– ?