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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

Just for context:
1646852318827.png
 
Moonjumper said:
Decibels are on a logarithmic scale, so the difference is more than it would seem when thinking about the more common linear scales such as distance (decibels is also a scale that doesn't start at zero). I've worked with audio staff who would object to either, but 13dB is the volume of a light bulb hum, probably the loudest thing in a room where the easy adjustments have been made, so that extra bit more could stand out. It is certainly a consideration for some.
Click to expand...

If your required noise-floor is that low, I would imagine everything that makes noise would be outside of the studio area.

I'm thinking more situations like the one Apple used as an example:

Studio.png
 
Nütztjanix said:
Would have been strange to see M2 before each iteration of M1 has been shown, though. At least confusing for the non-savvy.
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If the non-tech-savvy are confused by M2 vs M1 Pro, they are more likely to choose the M2 which is probably the appropriate chip for them anyway. If you have performance needs that require an M1 Pro/Max/Ultra you are likely technical enough to be able to evaluate the differences and choose appropriately.
 
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Nütztjanix said:
Would have been strange to see M2 before each iteration of M1 has been shown, though. At least confusing for the non-savvy.
Click to expand...

Tagbert said:
If the non-tech-savvy are confused by M2 vs M1 Pro, they are more likely to choose the M2 which is probably the appropriate chip for them anyway. If you have performance needs that require an M1 Pro/Max/Ultra you are likely technical enough to be able to evaluate the differences and choose appropriately.
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Now that Apple has finished the rollout of the M1 generation... we can finally make sense of it.

"M" is the product name... the number is the generation... and the suffix is the level of performance:

M1
M1 Pro
M1 Max
M1 Ultra

And I'm guessing someday we will have:

M2
M2 Pro
M2 Max
M2 Ultra

Other companies have similar naming schemes. Here's Intel:

11th-gen Core i3
11th-gen Core i5
11th-gen Core i7
11th-gen Core i9

12th-gen Core i3
12th-gen Core i5
12th-gen Core i7
12th-gen Core i9

And here's AMD:

3000-series Ryzen 3
3000-series Ryzen 5
3000-series Ryzen 7
3000-series Ryzen 9

5000-series Ryzen 3
5000-series Ryzen 5
5000-series Ryzen 7
5000-series Ryzen 9
 
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If reports are to be believed, we already have the code names for the M2 SoC family:

M2 - Staten
M2 Pro - Rhodes Chop
M2 Max - Rhodes 1C
M2 Ultra - Rhodes 2C
 
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Icaras said:
While I am following your logic, my only question is, why then keep the high end Mac mini around at all? Surely it has to be a place holder for something, or else shouldn’t it have been axed alongside the 27” today?
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It is possible that the M2 will support more than 16GB of RAM and more than 2 screens. If so, that would be a replacement for the Intel Mini. Alternately they could just stick the M1 Pro in there and be done.
 
CWallace said:
If reports are to be believed, we already have the code names for the M2 SoC family:

M2 - Staten
M2 Pro - Rhodes Chop
M2 Max - Rhodes 1C
M2 Ultra - Rhodes 2C
Click to expand...

But no Rhodes 4C...

This may be a clue that the Mn Ultra is the top-end "SoC" & the ASi Mac Pro will get Mn Ultra (dual Mn Max SoCs with UltraFusion) at the "low-end" and multiple Mn Ultra (somehow keeping the whole UMA thing going) for the high-end...?
 
Tagbert said:
It is possible that the M2 will support more than 16GB of RAM and more than 2 screens. If so, that would be a replacement for the Intel Mini. Alternately they could just stick the M1 Pro in there and be done.
Click to expand...

But if it did, that would arguably undercut the M2 Pro line.

Apple likes to bundle multiple features to provide an incentive to get users to pay their steep upgrade fees. 32GB is likely a big incentive for people to upgrade to the Pro just as 64GB is for the Max and (now) 128GB for the Ultra.

In my eyes, it makes more sense to offer an M1 Pro and 32GB as BTO options in the next Mac mini. Provides a cheaper alternative to the Mac Studio while still offering the Max / 64GB option as an incentive to buy a Studio over a mini.

And with Kuo now saying the 2022 MacBook Air will keep M1, maybe the Mac mini refresh will also stay on M1 and the M2 will only be for the iMac and 13.3" MacBook Pro. In such a scenario, offering M1 Pro as a BTO upgrade could make even more sense.
 
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Boil said:
But no Rhodes 4C...
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No, but William Ma said there will be a version of M3 (Ibiza) that will offer 40 compute cores like Jade4C-Die to complement M3 Pro (Lobos) and M3 Max (Palma).

Boil said:
This may be a clue that the Mn Ultra is the top-end "SoC" & the ASi Mac Pro will get Mn Ultra (dual Mn Max SoCs with UltraFusion) at the "low-end" and multiple Mn Ultra (somehow keeping the whole UMA thing going) for the high-end...?
Click to expand...

I could see Apple going to an "every other generation" SoC for the 40 core model since I don't see the Mac Pro being something that gets updated nearly as frequently. So Mac Pro would go M1 to M3 to M5 to M7 to...
 
Pages and pages in this thread talking about M2 this and M2 that while Apple has never mentioned a peep about it.
NOBODY knows anything about it.
 
Tagbert said:
It is possible that the M2 will support more than 16GB of RAM and more than 2 screens. If so, that would be a replacement for the Intel Mini. Alternately they could just stick the M1 Pro in there and be done.
Click to expand...
Here we go. This is what I’ve been hoping for: m2 pro for the mini!

www.macrumors.com

Updated Mac Mini Still Coming With M2 and M2 Pro Chips

Prior to yesterday's spring event, rumors suggested that Apple might unveil a new Mac mini, but instead we got the all-new Mac Studio, which is...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
 
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This makes the nth (lost count) consecutive event where I watched with my hands on the keyboard to order, awaiting the upgrade to the intel mac mini. I was less of a believer this time and so it disappointed me less. Here's my insanity. At $1800 I would have taken the binned Pro chip mini with 32GB and 1 TB. Can't figure why I'm balking at a Max chip with similar config for just a couple of hundred more (educ pricing). If you'd have asked me before the event, I'd have probably agreed to an extra $100 just to have a couple of ports on front (an actual real miracle that I did not dare dream)...and certainly would have then paid another $100 for a max chip over a pro. I think I'm just being childishly p.o.'ed about not getting, yet again, a Pro chip mini. I'll probably succumb after I hear from the folks that get theirs on the 18th or so.
 
Moonjumper said:
13dB is a noticeably quieter than 15dB.
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A 2db difference is on the borderline of detectable for most people.

Also easy enough to suppress by 2db, almost trivial, depending somewhat on the frequency range involved. Bass might need a touch more effort, but mid-highs are no problem.
 
roundski said:
I believe from a customer (price/efficiency/power) point of view the M? Pro is the sweet spot, I think Apple knows it too from MacBook Pro sales,
and a M1 pro Mac mini or an M2 Mac mini would kill Mac studio sales

price/efficiency/power

M1 Good
M1 Pro Best (sweet spot)
M1 Max Bad
M1 Ultra Worst

M2 Good +
M2. Best +
M2 Max Bad +
M2 Ultra Worst +
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Agree with value for money there, an m1 pro mini would cannibalise M1 max studio sales.

The alternative would be to get a 14” MacBook Pro.
 
sublunar said:
Agree with value for money there, an m1 pro mini would cannibalise M1 max studio sales.
Click to expand...
Yes and no. M1 Max Mac Studio is too expensive for most high end Mac mini users, with unnecessary extra performance too.

Phil Schiller's job would be price a M1 Pro Mac mini low enough that it would capture this crowd, but high enough so that some might succumb to the upsell temptation of M1 Max Mac Studio.
 
When comparing the base 14" 2021 MBP to the M1 Max Mac Studio, it is clear that there is a $900 price difference between the two, no matter the (M1 Max SoC model) configuration...

So by that metric (?), Apple could have a M1 Pro (8/14, 16/512) Mac Studio for $1099; starting price for a base model 2018 Intel Mac mini, huh...
 
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