The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[opeter]

Update to M2 comes maybe in October or November (or not). Only Apple knows.

I can also imagine, that they will simply discontinue the Intel Mac mini (that they are still selling) in a few months and that's it. No Mac Mini M1 Pro for you guys/gals who desperately need one.

Want more power? Open you pocket and buy a Mac Studio. 💰💸

 

[Maximara]

Update to M2 comes maybe in October or November (or not). Only Apple knows.

I can also imagine, that they will simply discontinue the Intel Mac mini (that they are still selling) in a few months and that's it. No Mac Mini M1 Pro for you guys/gals who desperately need one.

Want more power? Open you pocket and buy a Mac Studio. 💰💸

I have this feeling too. I found it interesting that apple kept the i5 while dropping the i7 mini. Sure the i5 has that Turbo Boost option but itn't the i7 a slightly faster Intel than the i5? More over aside from the ports all the options that are the same on the i5 and the M1 the older i5 is $200 more expensive.

 

[jouster]

Update to M2 comes maybe in October or November (or not). Only Apple knows.

I can also imagine, that they will simply discontinue the Intel Mac mini (that they are still selling) in a few months and that's it. No Mac Mini M1 Pro for you guys/gals who desperately need one.

Want more power? Open you pocket and buy a Mac Studio. 💰💸

I too think this is accurate. I didn't and still don't see a case for a Mini with a Pro. That's the Studio and that's what you're going to have get if you want a more capable processor.

 

[EugW]

Pro not needed now that 24 GB is an option and ProRes is supported with M2.

I just hope it comes with plenty of ports.

 

[dandeco]

My best guess is that Apple might be waiting until they develop an M2 Pro chip until they release a new Mac Mini. This way, they can finally replace the remaining high-end Intel Mini as part of completely overhauling the Mac Mini line with M2 and M2 Pro-enabled models. Hope that will be this autumn! (And if that's the case, I would definitely want to go for a Mac Mini with the M2 Pro system!)

 

[tubular]

I have this feeling too. I found it interesting that apple kept the i5 while dropping the i7 mini.

The i7 is still available BTO, which is how I bought my i7 mini in January 2019.

 

[iAssimilated]

I have this feeling too. I found it interesting that apple kept the i5 while dropping the i7 mini. Sure the i5 has that Turbo Boost option but its the i7 a slightly faster Intel than the i5? More over aside from the ports all the options that are the same on the i5 and the M1 the older i5 is $200 more expensive.

You can still upgrade to the i7 when purchasing the Intel mini.

EDIT: @tubular beat me to it 😂

 

[EugW]

My best guess is that Apple might be waiting until they develop an M2 Pro chip until they release a new Mac Mini. This way, they can finally replace the remaining high-end Intel Mini as part of completely overhauling the Mac Mini line with M2 and M2 Pro-enabled models. Hope that will be this autumn! (And if that's the case, I would definitely want to go for a Mac Mini with the M2 Pro system!)

As some of us have suggested though, Mx Pro is no longer as critical if you can get an M2 Mac mini with 24 GB RAM and ProRes support. M2 basically solves the two of the biggest deficiencies of M1. No, 24 GB is not 32 GB RAM, but for all intents and purposes at this price point, it's good enough.

However, for others, the third big concern is how many monitors it supports. It only "needs" to support two 5K Thunderbolt displays to be truly viable IMO for many higher end users. Right now the M1 Mac mini can already support 2 monitors but it's kind of a kludge since you need to run Thunderbolt + HDMI, and the HDMI one is only up to 4K. Yeah that Thunderbolt monitor can be a 6K Pro XDR, but I think more people would be happier with 5K+5K than 6K+4K.

And to sound like a broken record, at this point my main concern is the number of ports available. The monitor support is also partially related to this actually. You'd want at least 3 Thunderbolt ports if you're going to support two Thunderbolt 5K monitors.

 

[frou]

That's why for my desktop Mini, I'm going to be using the 2018 + eGPU setup for the long haul. I have three 5K monitors which are regular DisplayPort. No way I'm giving up any nice monitor(s) just to bend to Apple's idea of how they want to segment their Apple Silicon line's capabilities.

 

[Burai]

My best guess is that Apple might be waiting until they develop an M2 Pro chip until they release a new Mac Mini. This way, they can finally replace the remaining high-end Intel Mini as part of completely overhauling the Mac Mini line with M2 and M2 Pro-enabled models. Hope that will be this autumn! (And if that's the case, I would definitely want to go for a Mac Mini with the M2 Pro system!)

At this point, I think it's quite clear that the remaining Intel Mac Mini isn't a "high-end" option awaiting replacement but an Intel option for people who still need an x86 machine because their workflow requires it. It just happens to be high-end because developers, etc. aren't going to buy a low-spec machine to work on.

Once Apple are happy that the transition is as good as done, it'll be quietly retired.

 

[Maximara]

You can still upgrade to the i7 when purchasing the Intel mini.

I was just looking at the base models and going to that i7 adds another $200 to the price tag. Unless you need the Intel CPU, more ports, and/or more ram option there just isn't much there for the same about of money compared to an M1 mini.

 

[Maximara]

At this point, I think it's quite clear that the remaining Intel Mac Mini isn't a "high-end" option awaiting replacement but an Intel option for people who still need an x86 machine because their workflow requires it. It just happens to be high-end because developers, etc. aren't going to buy a low-spec machine to work on.

Once Apple are happy that the transition is as good as done, it'll be quietly retired.

The funny thing is Intel is working on "Hybrid Chips That Combine ARM, RISC-V, and x86" with plans to move to ARM.

 

[iAssimilated]

At this point, I think it's quite clear that the remaining Intel Mac Mini isn't a "high-end" option awaiting replacement but an Intel option for people who still need an x86 machine because their workflow requires it. It just happens to be high-end because developers, etc. aren't going to buy a low-spec machine to work on.

Once Apple are happy that the transition is as good as done, it'll be quietly retired.

Then, I would guess, you haven't used the top of the line Intel mini with an eGPU. The thing is a beast!

 

[killawat]

Those of us looking for higher RAM limits on the Mini aren't looking for something new. Remember the old intel mini had 64 GB max ram vs the current M1 at 16 GB. The Mac studio is not a replacement even if the specced out Mac mini is close in price.

The 'get a Mac studio' argument would make sense if the Mac mini were historically capped to much lower limits (eg 4 8 or 16 GB) and users were forced to go to something like a Mac Pro for anything over 32 GB of RAM.

Desktop users shouldn't have to purchase Apple's fastest Mac ever to get 32+ GB of RAM in 2022.

Again we're not looking to stuff 192 GB or 1.5 TB of memory into a base Mac mini. Imagine a developer, scientist or digital artist on a Mac Pro constantly making use of 384, 768 GB, or 1.5TB of RAM. Would you expect them to embrace a new Mx Mac Pro that supports a max of 256 GB Memory? No. But thats exactly what happened with the mini and the Mac studio comparisons that are being made.

Taken another way, look at how many reviewers are struggling to use the power of Apple's fastest Mac ever. The compute of that unit is incredible. That's what we're trying to get across. Hey there are RAM intensive workloads that were perfect on the old Mac mini and would be even better on an M1, with just a tiny bit more RAM.

And at the end of the day Apple may never give the Mini more than 16 GB of RAM truly reducing its capabilities and audience. That's fine. Again, we're not asking for new capabilities. We're just asking for the new Mac mini to be at least as good as the old one. For some thats more ram, others eGPU, or it could be an extra couple of ports.

 

[EugW]

And at the end of the day Apple may never give the Mini more than 16 GB of RAM truly reducing its capabilities and audience. That's fine. Again, we're not asking for new capabilities. We're just asking for the new Mac mini to be at least as good as the old one. For some thats more ram, others eGPU, or it could be an extra couple of ports.

After yesterday, I'd be very surprised if the Mac mini doesn't get 24 GB support when it goes M2.

BTW, I still haven't decided what I'd get, 16 GB or 24 GB. I KNOW 16 GB would be sufficient for me for the foreseeable future on this machine, but given that the upgrade from 16 to 24 GB upgrade in a Mac mini is likely to be much cheaper than the 16 GB to 32 GB upgrade in a 14" MacBook Pro, I might be tempted to get 24 GB anyway, just because.

 

[killawat]

After yesterday, I'd be very surprised if the Mac mini doesn't get 24 GB support when it goes M2.

BTW, I still haven't decided what I'd get, 16 GB or 24 GB. I KNOW 16 GB would be sufficient for me for the foreseeable future on this machine, but given that the upgrade from 16 to 24 GB upgrade in a Mac mini is likely to be much cheaper than the 16 GB to 24 GB upgrade in a MacBook Pro, I might be tempted to get 24 GB anyway, just because.

agreed. hopefully the minimum will increase on the M2 mini. Did it increase on the M2 Air and Pro? I'll have to check.

 

[EugW]

agreed. hopefully the minimum will increase on the M2 mini. Did it increase on the M2 Air and Pro? I'll have to check.

24 GB on both M2 Air and M2 Pro.

P.S. I meant to say 16->24 GB in a Mac mini would be cheaper than 16->32 GB in a 14" MacBook Pro. Previous post corrected.

For cost reasons it's easier to justify 16->24 GB splurge on a whim than a 16->32 GB splurge when you know you would be fine with just 16 GB.

 

[now i see it]

It’s kinda weird that for the last 30 years at least - forum members have been moaning about insufficient RAM or its price.
Guess what? 30 years from now the same complaints will be voiced by new members.
The “RAM Conundrum” will exist forever.

 

[LeeW]

forum members have been moaning about insufficient RAM or its price.

Only in Apple products or the Apple cost to upgrade. Outside of Apple, RAM is cheap and plentiful.

 

[alessandroalessandro]

Update to M2 comes maybe in October or November (or not). Only Apple knows.

I can also imagine, that they will simply discontinue the Intel Mac mini (that they are still selling) in a few months and that's it. No Mac Mini M1 Pro for you guys/gals who desperately need one.

Want more power? Open you pocket and buy a Mac Studio. 💰💸

hello everyone

just want to share my experience and why i'm disappointed from the mac studio-studio display instead of iMac 27.

I don't have special needs except some time to time i need to use Keyshot, illustrator and make renders. But 98% of my time is use web-apps on Chrome.

I've bought the Mac Studio...really a great machine , great power, great user experience EXCEPT i cannot stand the whine and flush coming from the big cooling system. So i've returned , and bought a mac mini maxed with 16gb of ram and 1tb HD.

Mac mini is ok and really close to the experience of mac studio while browsing and using Webapps...But it become suddenly slow and unpleasant while used under Keyshot/Illustrator...

Before, the iMac 27 Pro offered enough power with a silent machine.

Now it's not anymore the case...you can have the big power only if you accept the big noise. Or have a so-so but silent machine.

So there is a gap on the market at the moment IMHO...hopefully something will arrive...

 

[EugW]

just want to share my experience and why i'm disappointed from the mac studio-studio display instead of iMac 27.

I don't have special needs except some time to time i need to use Keyshot, illustrator and make renders. But 98% of my time is use web-apps on Chrome.

I've bought the Mac Studio...really a great machine , great power, great user experience EXCEPT i cannot stand the whine and flush coming from the big cooling system. So i've returned , and bought a mac mini maxed with 16gb of ram and 1tb HD.

Mac mini is ok and really close to the experience of mac studio while browsing and using Webapps...But it become suddenly slow and unpleasant while used under Keyshot/Illustrator...

Before, the iMac 27 Pro offered enough power with a silent machine.

Now it's not anymore the case...you can have the big power only if you accept the big noise. Or have a so-so but silent machine.

So there is a gap on the market at the moment IMHO...hopefully something will arrive...

Which Mac Studio did you get? Also, I wonder if there is inconsistency in the Mac Studio noise.

A friend of mine bought one and he says his is silent. He got the M1 Max with 32 GB RAM. He can't hear anything at all unless he puts his ear right up to it.

 

[alessandroalessandro]

Which Mac Studio did you get? Also, I wonder if there is inconsistency in the Mac Studio noise.

A friend of mine bought one and he says his is silent. He got the M1 Max with 32 GB RAM. He can't hear anything at all unless he puts his ear up to it.

i've bought the Max base with 1tb HD... honestly i've read a tons of post here about that issue.
My office is deadly silent and i can hear it clearly...or maybe i've been unlucky and there are differences in manufacturing... but i've send it to Apple Support and they told me that the Studio was ok for them...

that's why was too complicate and annoying try again the lottery of the noise..

 

[theluggage]

A friend of mine bought one and he says his is silent. He got the M1 Max with 32 GB RAM. He can't hear anything at all unless he puts his ear right up to it.

I have the Studio Max and it's definitely not silent - you can clearly hear it in an otherwise quiet room - but it's very unobtrusive white-noise-y fan sound, not a whine. C.f. the 2017 iMac it replaced, it's noisier at idle, but that's as loud as it ever gets (even when running something like cinebench or bouncing in Logic Pro) - on the iMac that would spin up the fans and become quite intrusive.

The "whine" people describe sounds like a random fault (whether or not Apple recognise it as such). Not good. I remember back in 2006 driving 50 miles back to the Apple Store to exchange my new Mac Pro tower because of a slight "tick" in one of the fans. I'd say it was worth trying at least one replacement. I'd put up with that sort of thing on a £500 Dell.... not a £2000+ Mac.

 

[theluggage]

As some of us have suggested though, Mx Pro is no longer as critical if you can get an M2 Mac mini with 24 GB RAM and ProRes support. M2 basically solves the two of the biggest deficiencies of M1.

Well, we'll have to wait and see what the M2 Pro has to offer - ISTR one of the rumours was that it will have 12 CPU cores. In the meantime, even the modest single-core speed-up on the M2 vs. the M1 could be more significant than having extra CPU cores which are barely used.

...you're right that people forget the I/O and displays issue with the Pro/Max (the main reason why I went for the Studio and not a Mini) probably because it comes down to "you either need it or you don't". Lots of people will be happy with dual displays and a couple of ports, those of us who want more will... help Apple make money

In a sense, pre-M1, I'd never even have considered a base Mini (knobbled by the integrated graphics or the cost and complications of an eGPU) so the cost of the Studio didn't seem so terrible.

 

[CWallace]

Desktop users shouldn't have to purchase Apple's fastest Mac ever to get 32+ GB of RAM in 2022.

With Apple pricing, I fully expect a Mac mini with an M2 Pro, 32GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD in the new case would have an $1899 price tag.

Unless single-core performance is critical to your daily workflow, I don't see many choosing that configuration over a base M1 Max Mac Studio at $1999.

A Mac mini with an M2, 24GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD in the new case would have, again IMO, a $1499 price tag. That is far enough away from the base Mac Studio to encourage customer differentiation unless one's workflow requires 32GB and no less.