Typically have an external power brick as big as there computer box too.
Just saying
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Mac Mini Expected to Receive First Major Redesign Since 2010 Very Soon
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Just saying
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I'd gladly take an ejected power brick for a couple of internal m.2 slots than an embedded power supply and no slots but a "cute, smallest ever" case. That freed-up space in the existing Mini design offers plenty of room for probably 2 (maybe 3) or more sticks INSIDE. Just imagine what could be done if the focus wasn't so relentlessly on "another record quarter..."
If it's hard for anyone to imagine, go shop Mac Mini-like PCs and look what they are fitting into little cases. Yes, "yuck, it's Windows" but Apple could certainly engineer in customer value features just like those little PCs... if they were motivated to do so. Instead, "we" just celebrate whatever Apple opts to do, including being excited about shrinking the case instead of maybe taking advantage of the open space within by filling it with more utility.
Shareholders rejoice. 💰💰💰
If it's hard for anyone to imagine, go shop Mac Mini-like PCs and look what they are fitting into little cases. Yes, "yuck, it's Windows" but Apple could certainly engineer in customer value features just like those little PCs... if they were motivated to do so. Instead, "we" just celebrate whatever Apple opts to do, including being excited about shrinking the case instead of maybe taking advantage of the open space within by filling it with more utility.
Shareholders rejoice. 💰💰💰
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I mean this is cool and all, but I'm still waiting on the Mac Mini embedded into a slim keyboard.
these commenters...what's so hard to understand about a product being small with the word "Mini" in it
unbelievable
unbelievable
There's small and then there is too small. One of the bonuses of the current size of the Mini is that the fan needed for cooling can run at a low speed and still provide adequate cooling - my M1 Mini is the quietest desktop computer that I've owned. Another is providing room for connectors as requiring an external hub defeats the purpose of as small computer, not to mention how to provide enough power to make use of USB-C's options for higher power delivery. Worse yet would be supplying power via USB as there wouldn't be a lot left when supplying a max'ed out M4 Pro system being pushed to its limits.
I agree, but USB C could be possible. The M2 is based on a 5nm node. But the M4 is based on a 3nm node. The Mac Mini M2 Pro pulls about 185W max sustained load. So an M4 Pro should pull less, which puts it closer to the typical passthrough USB C PD territory, particularly for the non-pro variant which currently does 150w.
USB-C PD can support up to 240W so Apple could create a 180w or 240w charger for the top BTO specs if they wanted/needed to keep the power supply external.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I actually think this would be a fantastic product... a perfect accessory for Vpro as an on-the-go laptop alternative... even more so if it could have a big battery to power both. People are already somewhat doing this by buying MBs with damaged lids and removing the lid...
At a desktop, they plug in one thunderbolt cable to use a monitor, etc. On the road, this works with Vpro for an any-size screen "laptop" MINUS all of the weight that would come with an actual laptop with screens bigger-to-much-bigger than 16".
Yep exactly! Just a bit smaller like a Magic Keyboard. Imagine it with the Vision Pro as well. You could go headless basically.I actually think this would be a fantastic product... a perfect accessory for Vpro as an on-the-go laptop alternative... even more so if it could have a big battery to power both. People are already somewhat doing this by buying MB with damaged lines and removing the lid...
At a desktop, they plug in one thunderbolt cable to use a monitor, etc. On the road, this works with Vpro for an any-size screen "laptop."
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
With the max PD of 240W, that would leave about 80W for all the peripherals connected to the Mini on the other USB-C ports. The 240W requires a cable designed to handle 5A at 48V, and the USB-C PD standard states that the power sending port is prohibited from sending more than 20V unless the cable identifies itself as being able to handle 48V. OTOH, this would work nicely with a Nano machine intended for an upgradable iMac as the displays are slower to go obsolete than the CPU - I'm sitting in front of a Thunderbolt display bought abut 10 years ago as I type this.
The flip side of the coin is that even 150W is a substantial amount of heat, and will require some serious cooling in order to keep Tj under 100C at sustained load. The leads me to hope that the M4 Pro Mini may stay with the current Mini form factor. A near Apple TV sized enclosure would get pretty loud trying to remove 150W and keeping Tj under 100C. FWIW, silicon power semi's can run with Tj reaching 175C with little ill effect other than horrendous reverse recovery for high voltage devices.
One other thing, the PD scheme for USB 2.0 is much simpler than USB-C (the USB-C PD docs run to 1100 pages), so installing a couple of USB 2.0 Type A ports would require less resources than a USB-C (3.0) port.
Or Sol-20 - which predates the Apple II.
I can see that it would have many uses, especially if it has an HDMI port as well as other options for video.
One thing I like about a keyboard just being a keyboard is that the hit from spilling a beverage on it is just the cost of a keyboard. for 33 of the last 42 years, my desktop computers have had a detached keyboard with a numeric keypad.
I will be honest and say I never thought someone with a mac mini wants a larger screen than 24". I come from an era where 17' was large (imac 2002) . I thought any one with need for a larger screen will go with something beefier like Mac Pro or Mac Studio.
As I said, for work. Specifically people who work from home, because people who work in offices have their work computers over there.
Again all this is work, people who work from home .
"Brain rotting social media" is/was the bigger user base of computers between 2004-2010 . People bought them for online chats (IRC, MSN) which is now Snapchat, Instagram. Browsing the web, which now they do on their phone screen. There are people who only use apps, if you are not on the instagram/snapchat/tiktok app or whatsapp (as a business) you do not exist to them. They won't even visit your site on a browser.
Outside of college kids, ask how people in a family own a personal smartphone vs computer. You will see. I know because I have family members who each had their own laptop and now they access the internet via the smartphone, they even do their travel bookings and banking via phone.
Yeah, I picked up a Windows 11 Mini PC from Amazon for under $300. It comes with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, both Onboard. The little guy is very quick although it's using an older GPU which can only do 4K @ 60hz.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Imagine if you put Mac money into one. That’s what I did, spending a little less than what Apple charges for the 8TB storage alone- not including the rest of the Mac, just the SSD upgrade. When nearly half of the money is NOT going solely to margin, one can buy a LOT of computer. True gaming card, 10TB of fast SSD, 32GB of fast RAM (all replaceable or expandable at any time), etc. 100% compatibility with Windows apps vs. hope-based compatibility through ARM Windows emulation. It runs everything.
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
There should be towards ZERO relationship between the two. See television screen sizes. Know anyone who won't pay anything for any TV signals- just over the air? Are their TVs tiny since they pay nothing? I know such people and they can have gigantic screens to watch only free TV and (also free) Pluto TV and similar. On the other hand, I know people with all of the latest Mac stuff that watches much of their TV on their tiny phone screen or iPad or Mac.
The screen(s) is where things get done on the computer. More screen gives you more space to spread out apps or use various apps together. I've got a Mac Mini attached to an 82" TV screen but a Studio Ultra attached to only a 40" monitor.
The screen doesn't display any better whether powered by Mac mini or an old VCR vs. a Mac Pro or Blu Ray player. It simply displays whatever is sent to it. Conceptually, people could put the bulk of their purchase into a gigantic screen and cheap out on the computer. That will work about as well as someone interested in the reverse.
You might want a bigger screen for common tasks, though a Mac mini these days can handle quite a lot more. 27” is not that expensive or uncommon anymore.
Of course, there’s also the cost, lots of people already have a monitor. And lastly there’s a group of people who would like to be able to switch out the monitor without ditching the entire computer should it ever break.
Actually, I believe the current iMac that only comes as a low end 24” model has a much smaller market than Mac mini.
Nice exaggerative bunch of drama there. My highly expandable/upgradeable mini pc sits on my desk without any of those made up problems. I look forward to replacing my M2 Pro Mac Mini with a smaller footprint M4 Pro Mac Mini.
Hogwash! Smaller might have meant something a decade ago, but today small/mini is the norm for everyone but Apple...
Yes indeed. I bought this mini pc about a year ago for under $500.00. It has an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor with 32gb ram which I can expand to 64gb for cheap, with M.2 2280 1TB PCIe4.0 SSD which I can also swap out for a larger capacity one for cheap. I also put a Samsung 870 EVO SATA III Internal 1TB 2.5” SSD in it. It also has plenty of both USB A and USB C ports. Doesn't matter if you like or hate Windows. The Windows world is doing something well that I hope Apple is going to do with the new Mac Mini. Mac, Windows, Chrome, Linux, and Android all live in harmony in my house.
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Per analytics firm CIRP, in the US the 24" iMac is the most popular desktop Mac at 4% of total Mac sales, followed by the Mac Pro at 3% and then the mini and Studio, each at 1%. I expect global percentages are not too different.
I imagine many do. First off, lately I've seen brand name, well-regarded 27" 4K monitors one can buy and have shipped from Amazon for $300 or less, likely with sales tax (U.S.). Unless someone is dealing with tight space constraints, getting a 24" monitor seems like needless sacrifice of potential space. I, too, date back to smaller sizes; I fondly remember my old Viewsonic 15" CRT monitor, a 17" CRT monitor, a flatscreen Dell 24" monitor for many years...now a 27" iMac.
Mac Pros are so obscenely expensive they might as well be sold on Mars as far as their relevance to the average consumer. Mac Studios start to look good when you decide to future-proof your Mac Mini by going to the Pro chip and 32-gig RAM, and realize the Studio for just a little more gives you more ports, a Max chip, etc...
I'll take a guess and say that a lower cost to produce the device (using less materials) means more profit.
My wife prefers to use a laptop over her phone for most internet related things, one reason is the much larger screen size. When making Zoom, Teams or FaceTime calls, I much prefer using my iPad or laptop over the iPhone as the screen is larger and the sound quality is much better. My preference for phones is something that will fit in a shirt pocket.
With respect to screen size - I remember going from 640 by 480 to 1280 by 1024 and never wanting to go back. A smartphone screen is a giant step backwards.
Except networking does not work correctly, VPNs are screwed up, Spell checking is not working, Safari only loads half a page, Firewall is not setable or does not remember the settings from the UI, etc. You need to check the news from someplace other then than here.
Nope it is called marketing and its for people that don't do anything other than edit some non-demanding video, play music, send emails and hang around on social media. If that is all you do, then sure it works great.Of course. That's how Apple became one of the most successful tech companies in the world, with 1 Billion active (and repeat customers)... selling screwed up messes. That makes so much sense!
Mess for Success!