An extender from the audio jack in back (that Apple has provided) that you can run to the front (where Apple has not provided a jack). Apple is not going to read this comment thread and redo the design of the Mac Studio.
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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With respect - are you not reading my posts before replying?
That's not the solution I was advocating for.
Also - whether Apple reads anything here is beside the point
It's a discussion forum.
We cover all matter of desires, wishes, frustrations, etc
(btw: I know for a fact - direct knowledge - that Apple employees are here a lot - just FYI)
„Both“ would make little sense imho - both optically and financially. And a front audio jack is only relevant for a minority these days. Wireless is convenient and ubiquitous.
Someone who is using wired headphones day in, day out, would probably keep ‘em plugged in all of the time anyway, so it’s no fuss to turn around the Studio once and be done with it. Casual users would probably prefer wireless for convenience. That does not leave much of a target group for a front audio port.
And why should the majority have such a port on the front (or even pay for it in the “two-port scenario”), if they don’t need it at all? After all, Apple still keeps an eye on design, even in this newfound “form follows function” era at Apple.
Cost vs small target audience. I personally don't consider this to be a big deal. They have an audio port, and have the a very inexpensive USB-C to audio dongle available too. It would be a waste of money to have two such audio ports, especially since Apple has made a strong push toward wireless headsets.
Courage!
EDIT:
@Neodym beat me to it.
BTW, sort of off topic, but sort of on topic too...
One thing that still annoys me with my 12" MacBook is the single USB-C port. There are two ports on that machine, but only one is USB-C, and the space that could have been used for a second one is "used up" by an audio port. Having just a single USB-C port is quite limiting, especially since that one USB-C port is also needed for charging. I would have MUCH preferred no audio port at all (esp. since I use AirPods) and two USB-C ports. If I wanted to use wired headphones, I can convert USB-C to an audio port with a genuine Apple OEM $10 dongle. However, I can't convert its audio port to a charging port or USB port.
All I wanted to do is charge my machine and use an external USB-C device at the same time, without having to deal with flaky 3rd party multi-function dongles with pass-through charging.
I guess even better though would have been two USB-C ports with a single audio port.
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Not for studio work (this is the Mac Studio product after all), where instant plug in zero latency and high quality headphones are very normal
They designed an all new product.
It would have been unbelievably trivial to add a front jack in the process.
Because it's convenient for some folks.
Same reason very controversial things like HDMI / USB-A keep coming back and/or sticking around.
I guess what we are telling you is that in 2022, the target market for including a front audio port, on a desktop which already has a rear audio port, is much smaller than it was 15 years ago.
It's interesting...
I've seen a number of posts now that say that while the DAC in the Mac Studio and MacBook Pro is better than in most consumer products, and "good enough" for some stuff esp. with its support for high impedance headphones, it's still not good enough for very serious studio work. But they also say that's OK, because they'd be using their own professional DACs anyway for serious studio work. Some posts also go on to say it's a decent feature to have for mobile work, since on the road a lot of people wouldn't want to lug around an expensive and bulky external DAC. However, the Mac Studio is not a mobile device of course.
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I still don't understand why programmers need a whole bunch of high efficiency CPU cores. I asked @farciar before but never got an answer.
Do you mean high performance CPU cores?
Most low/zero latency setups in audio seem to have the headphones/monitors attached to the actual audio interface, not the computer itself (because the computer introduces too much latency)...?
Good design does not add elements because it‘d be trivial to add them. Good design adds elements when they can fulfill a defined task for the (relevant) majority of the target group.
HDMI and USB-A have a way bigger potential target group than a dedicated front audio port. And they can fulfill a defined task in providing still-relevant ports to the users, beyond convenience.
A front audio port is _only_ a convenience thing, because the Studio does already offer the standard audio port - just not in the place where you (and a small minority) would prefer it to be.
Back to "The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming"...
Predicting new 2022 Mac minis, A15-based M2 & M2 Pro SoCs...
M2:
Predicting new 2022 Mac minis, A15-based M2 & M2 Pro SoCs...
M2:
- 8-core CPU (4P/4E)
- 10-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 16GB LPDDR4X SDRAM
- 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
- 16-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 32GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
How could the Mini look any more like the Studio? They are nearly identical as it is. One is just taller.
Going from 16Gb RAM to 32Gb RAM on an Intel i5 Mini costs $400 so we have a known update pricing from Apple. Apply this to an M1 Mac mini with the same 512Gb SSD as the base M1 Max Studio CPU and you have the following:
$1099 - M1 16Gb RAM, 512Gb SSD
$1199 - M1 16Gb RAM, 512Gb SSD, 10Gig Ethernet (to match the Studio)
$1599 - M1 32Gb RAM, 512Gb SSD, 10Gig Ethernet - this spec doesn't exist obviously
Now, we add a mythical CPU upgrade for M1 Pro, there's no known Apple jump from M1 to M1 Pro so I will assign a not unreasonable $200 to it (difference between i5 and i7 Mini).
Your vastly upgraded M1 Mini now costs $1799 which is only $200 short of buying an M1 Max Studio. You can argue that you have no use for the 10Gig ethernet but the fact is you also get the high impedance headphone jack, 2 more Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 more USB-C ports, and a superior cooling system. Plus, for people in the know, I assume Apple will have sorted the wifi/bluetooth issues from the classic Mini form factor.
Just like moderately upgrading the Mac Studio M1 Max, at some point you may as well spend the extra few $$$ and get the Ultra.
The argument should really be for Apple to upsell people who want 32Gb of RAM to the M1 Max Studio which has lots of extra bells and whistles - the pricing has to tempt people into calculating at some point that a Mac Studio is the better purchase.
The M2 will have a couple more graphics cores and probably slightly higher CPU benchmarks from being a generation newer but won't threaten the M1 Max at all. If Apple wanted to fill the $1099 price point they could achieve that by selling a 16Gb RAM/512Gb SSD M2 SKU as the 'upper' Mini.
They may be letting the Intel mini linger on for unspecified reasons. For example the co-location guys may want the Intel/M1 form factor to carry on not only because their data centres are configured for those form factors but I realised that Apple would have to continue making spare parts for the units if they carried over the existing mini with an M2 in October.
If Apple don't deem it a priority to 'fix' the Mac mini form factor could they actually be persuaded to carry over the Mini form factor because they want to be able to offer spare parts for repairing units in data centres? Only they will have the data on this.
And it just occurred to me latterly that Apple could even let the M1 continue for a generation in the MacBook Air and base mini (as base models in Apple's range) and offer the M2 in the MacBook Pro 13" and the upper SKU mini as a reason to upsell people. [I'll also be cheeky and suggest it would also upset people here too
]Future upgrades could then see the M2 drop to become the base model when the M3 comes out as upper SKU.
It would be equally Apple to go with the smaller form factor Mini that we've seen sketched if they wish to miniaturise and refresh the range too but such a miniaturisation would almost certainly rule out an M1 Pro.
It is quite likely the new mini will get similar air intake holes at the bottom, and then perhaps front facing ports also. Other than that I do think the chassis dimension will be kept the same as always.
Mainly thinking of the Mac Studio base, which is distinctively different from the Mac mini base...
Tough call on front ports; less ports on the Mac mini than the Mac Studio, so might be an eyesore if the front ports were always populated by snaking cables...
RAM upgrade pricing tiers can also be deduced from the MacBook Pro & Mac Studio RAM pricing options...
We know if comparing equal specs (16GB RAM & 512GB SSD) between the 13" MBP & the 14" MBP, there is a $300 difference, so $200 to go from the M1 SoC to a M1 Pro SoC seems correct...
A Mn Pro Mac mini could still make use of the 10Gb Ethernet port; the advantage of the Mn Pro over the Mn is the increased CPU core count; the advantage of the Mn Max over the Mn Pro is the increased GPU core count & the increased UMA bandwidth...
A Mac mini with a refreshed external design (see above) & refreshed active cooling system, designed around a M2 Pro SoC; that would be a solid replacement for the current 2018 Intel Mac mini, and would most likely include all the above, excepting the additional two USB-C ports...
A Mn Pro Mac mini with a refreshed design could have the new antennas from the Mac Studio, and maybe even the WiFi 6E & Bluetooth 5.2 standards are implemented...?
That is not an "upper mini", that is an upgraded base mini...
Just as the Mac Studio has a "base Mn Max" & a "base Mn Ultra"; the Mac mini needs a "base Mn" & a "base Mn Pro"...
The Mn Pro needs a desktop home, the current M1 Pro is only available in the 2021 MacBook Pro laptops...!
Again, the Mn Pro SoCs need a desktop home, and the current dimensioned Mac mini chassis (but with the design refresh as mentioned above) would be a fine fit...
The Mn Mac mini would share the same chassis and there would be an array of color options like with the 24" iMac...
Adding a Space Gray option would be really, Really, REALLY cool though... ;^p
Mac mini - $1999
- M2 Pro SoC
- 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
- 16-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 32GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 200GB/s UMA
- 1TB NVMe SSD
- 10Gb Ethernet (RJ45) port
- WiFi 6E / Bluetooth 5.2
- (4) Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 (USB-C) ports (up to 40Gb/s)
- (2) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (USB-A) ports (up to 5Gb/s)
- HDMI 2.1 port
- 3.5mm/optical audio out jack
- Space Gray
I mean both. But better high performance CPU cores than slow performance CPU cores.
I think neither of those two things will happen. MAYBE the latter will happen for the M3.
Regarding "the latter" (the 1TB NVMe SSD), seems like you might assume I was talking about a base configuration; I was not...
Interesting how all the rumors and leakers were so wrong. What happened to the smaller chassis with a "plexiglass-like" top ?
I suspect that Apple throws stuff out there and they can also change their minds quickly.
The jack output is not supposed to be connected to the amplifier/speakers. Even in an amateur-audiophile setup, not to mention the STUDIO. Better use Bluetooth and best, some digital output.
The analog, jack output is for a good audiophile headphone, especially now when they advertised high-impedance DAC/amplifier built-in in the STUDIO.