The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[Maximara]

That's almost 2 months ago, in what world is that too short? Just look at the history of patches they typically are 2 months apart, and you'll also see they have always updated the 3 OSes at the same time: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

This very much feels like it could be the end of Catalina.

Looking at pass OSes three years from first release is about when the OS security updates stop. Safari 15, which runs on Catalina got an security update Aug 2022. For the most part you can go the later OS until nearly the 10 year mark (from original release) on hardware. I would say that is a good run.

You don't want OSes being supported for 12 years like Microsoft did with Windows XP because it encourages businesses to do stupid things — namely not upgrading anything resulting in "Outdated technology costs businesses more than it saves"

Another article claims "A recent survey found that U.S. businesses may be losing up to $1.8 trillion in wasted productivity due to outdated technology"

Three years is a sane run for an OS and 9 to 10 years a good run for hardware. Anything beyond that is crazy.

 

[reallynotnick]

Really changing the topic with those edits. All I said was it's no longer supported as I (and I'm sure others) are waiting for a new Mac Mini to replace their aging 2012 models that are stuck on Catalina. So hopefully Apple releases a new model soon so we can once again be running supported machines.

10 years is a good run, but I need something new to upgrade to to last me the next 10 years. So bring on the M2, my wallet is ready!

 

[Maximara]

Really changing the topic with those edits. All I said was it's no longer supported as I (and I'm sure others) are waiting for a new Mac Mini to replace their aging 2012 models that are stuck on Catalina. So hopefully Apple releases a new model soon so we can once again be running supported machines.

10 years is a good run, but I need something new to upgrade to to last me the next 10 years. So bring on the M2, my wallet is ready!

I'd rather Apple wait and do it right then repeat the piece of jaw dropping goofy they did with the LCII back in the day (allow you to upgrade to 12 MB but only could use 10 MB). One thing I did that improved my old 2013 iMac is boot from an external SSD (1TB). It is so much faster now though I am hitting the 8 GB on this machine. Going to see how long I can go before I upgrade (will likely go with a Mini — it's more cost effective).

 

[mr.steevo]

Huh? Security Update 2022-005 (Catalina) was put out Jul 20, 2022. How frequently do you want security patches?! Just because the other OS versions got a security patch doesn't mean all the versions need one. Sure security patchs doesn't seem to occur after the 3 year mark but for the most part you can go the later OS until nearly the 10 year mark (from original release) on hardware.

I just looked at the release dates and the iPhone 5s got an update two weeks ago.

 

[Maximara]

I just looked at the release dates and the iPhone 5s got an update two weeks ago.

iOS 12.5 is 4 years old now so looks like Apple is supporting iPhone and iPad OS a little longer then the Mac OS as I haven't found a security update to a MacOS past the 3 year mark.

 

[EugW]

iOS 12.5 is 4 years old now so looks like Apple is supporting iPhone and iPad OS a little longer then the Mac OS as I haven't found a security update to a MacOS past the 3 year mark.

iOS 12.5.6 was to address a specific critical security bug. It looked like Apple had stopped regular updates of iOS 12 in 2021, but then it got a one time 2022 update for this critical bug.

 

[Boil]

Hoping to see both the M2 SoC and the M2 Pro SoC appear in a new Mac mini soon...!

Expecting chassis to be changed for better WiFi/Bluetooth, possibly a change to bottom intake; both like the Mac Studio...?

 

[opeter]

Hoping to see both the M2 SoC and the M2 Pro SoC appear in a new Mac mini soon...!

Expecting chassis to be changed for better WiFi/Bluetooth, possibly a change to bottom intake; both like the Mac Studio...?

You are expecting too much.

You/We can be happy, if the Mac mini gets an M2 SoC at all this year.

Apple is concentrating it's "power" on the Mac Pro... that's all for now. Maybe the Mac Studio and the Macbook Pro(s) 14"/16" gets the M2 treatment.

 

[sublunar]

Hoping to see both the M2 SoC and the M2 Pro SoC appear in a new Mac mini soon...!

Expecting chassis to be changed for better WiFi/Bluetooth, possibly a change to bottom intake; both like the Mac Studio...?

As @opeter said - I doubt Apple would change anything now, especially where M2 pro is concerned. No changes would make the co-location guys happy. And they probably don’t care for any radio issues.

 

[Boil]

As @opeter said - I doubt Apple would change anything now, especially where M2 pro is concerned. No changes would make the co-location guys happy. And they probably don’t care for any radio issues.

Never said to change the dimensions of the Mac mini, just adjust for Mac Studio-style WiFi/Bluetooth (colocation folk may not care, but the end user consumer will) and match the design language of the Mac Studio in regards to the perforated bottom air intake...

 

[sublunar]

Never said to change the dimensions of the Mac mini, just adjust for Mac Studio-style WiFi/Bluetooth (colocation folk may not care, but the end user consumer will) and match the design language of the Mac Studio in regards to the perforated bottom air intake...

Even a small redesign is a redesign - although an engineering change to ‘fix’ any lingering radio issues would be great I don’t think Apple will have anticipated a change in thermal cooling performance given that the existing chassis seems well capable of handling the M2.

It was, after all, designed to be capable of cooling an i7 Coffee lake desktop cpu.

 

[robertosh]

Im also in the queue for a M2 Pro mini, on the other hand, in case that this happens, what would be the price ? Because base studio with m1 Max has a great value already.

 

[pshufd]

Im also in the queue for a M2 Pro mini, on the other hand, in case that this happens, what would be the price ? Because base studio with m1 Max has a great value already.

The range is $699 to $2,000. Knock off $200 for 16 GB for base RAM instead of 32 GB and you get $1,800. So somewhere between $700 and $1,800 for the base M2 Pro. The M1 Max also gives you 5 displays instead of 3, more CPU and more GPU so maybe $1,000 - $1,100.

 

[EugW]

The range is $699 to $2,000. Knock off $200 for 16 GB for base RAM instead of 32 GB and you get $1,800. So somewhere between $700 and $1,800 for the base M2 Pro. The M1 Max also gives you 5 displays instead of 3, more CPU and more GPU so maybe $1,000 - $1,100.

I'm guessing if they do release such a beast, it could be a direct replacement of the Intel model, but starting at 16 GB RAM and going up by 8 GB increments up to 32 GB, so $1299 with 512 GB / 16 GB, $1499 with 512 GB / 24 GB, and $1699 with 512 GB / 32 GB.

However, they could make people pay for 16 GB increments, which would mean $1299 with 512 GB / 16 GB, and $1699 with 512 GB / 32 GB, with no 24 GB option.

And European pricing would be crazy high.

 

[pshufd]

I'm guessing if they do release such a beast, it could be a direct replacement of the Intel model, but starting at 16 GB RAM and going up by 8 GB increments up to 32 GB, so $1299 with 512 GB / 16 GB, $1499 with 512 GB / 24 GB, and $1699 with 512 GB / 32 GB.

However, they could make people pay for 16 GB increments, which would mean $1299 with 512 GB / 16 GB, and $1699 with 512 GB / 32 GB, with no 24 GB option.

And European pricing would be crazy high.

I think that they'd stick with 16 GB increments for RAM. If you want 24 GB, you get the M2 mini as that will span 8-24.

 

[Boil]

With the M2 SoC scaling up to 24GB, we should see:

• M2 Pro - 48GB
• M2 Max - 96GB
• M2 Ultra - 192GB
• M2 Extreme - 384GB

Unless Apple switches to LPDDR5X SDRAM for the ASi Mac Pro, then we could see:

• M2 Ultra - 512GB
• M2 Extreme - 1024GB (aka 1TB)

I (still) expect something along the lines of:

• M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
• 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
• 20-core GPU
• 16-core Neural Engine
• 24GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
• 512GB SSD
• Gigabit Ethernet
• $1499

 

[gusping]

With the M2 SoC scaling up to 24GB, we should see:

• M2 Pro - 48GB
• M2 Max - 96GB
• M2 Ultra - 192GB
• M2 Extreme - 384GB

Unless Apple switches to LPDDR5X SDRAM for the ASi Mac Pro, then we could see:

• M2 Ultra - 512GB
• M2 Extreme - 1024GB (aka 1TB)

I (still) expect something along the lines of:

• M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
• 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
• 20-core GPU
• 16-core Neural Engine
• 24GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
• 512GB SSD
• Gigabit Ethernet
• $1499

I would do ungodly things for a Mac mini with those specs you list, even if pretty close to the Mac Studio price (very likely in Europe). I think we'll get a M2 mini at best at the October event however.

 

[opeter]

The range is $699 to $2,000. Knock off $200 for 16 GB for base RAM instead of 32 GB and you get $1,800. So somewhere between $700 and $1,800 for the base M2 Pro. The M1 Max also gives you 5 displays instead of 3, more CPU and more GPU so maybe $1,000 - $1,100.

Then tell/write me, who would buy the base Mac Studio?
The gap wbetween the Mac mini and Mac Studio must be/stay wide from Apples point of view.

 

[Burai]

Then tell/write me, who would buy the base Mac Studio?
The gap wbetween the Mac mini and Mac Studio must be/stay wide from Apples point of view.

Yes, I reckon we're more likely to get an M2 Pro Studio than we are an M2 Pro mini.

An M2 Pro mini would be enough computer for most and would put people off of buying an M2 Max Studio, whereas an M2 Pro Studio will encourage people to pay a few extra hundred over a fully loaded M2 mini.

 

[reallynotnick]

The range is $699 to $2,000. Knock off $200 for 16 GB for base RAM instead of 32 GB and you get $1,800. So somewhere between $700 and $1,800 for the base M2 Pro. The M1 Max also gives you 5 displays instead of 3, more CPU and more GPU so maybe $1,000 - $1,100.

*Knock $400 off not $200 because that's apparently how much 16GB of RAM costs according to Apple...

 

[rumz]

Yes, I reckon we're more likely to get an M2 Pro Studio than we are an M2 Pro mini.

An M2 Pro mini would be enough computer for most and would put people off of buying an M2 Max Studio, whereas an M2 Pro Studio will encourage people to pay a few extra hundred over a fully loaded M2 mini.

What was stopping Apple from offering an M1 Pro spec for the Mac Studio, then?

That argument doesn't really make sense to me. Honestly, whether they call it Studio or Mini, Apple may well price an M2 Pro configuration roughly the same. Maybe they could make more profit on using the Mini enclosure. Reason alone for them to go that route. M1 Max apparently calls for more thermal headroom (or has it to make it more "pro" than a Mini).

Seems simple enough to me: +$200 for the M2 Pro over base M2, +$400 to get up to 32gb of RAM. Still lands you at $1699 and gets you another display output and more RAM, at least, than the M2 can accommodate.

 

[Boil]

Mac Studio chassis & PSU is overkill for the Mn Pro SoC, Mac mini chassis & PSU are a better budgetary fit...?

 

[opeter]

Seems simple enough to me: +$200 for the M2 Pro over base M2, +$400 to get up to 32gb of RAM. Still lands you at $1699 and gets you another display output and more RAM, at least, than the M2 can accommodate.

So... an M2 Pro Mac (mini) with 32 GB of RAM from $1699.

Who would than buy the base Mac Studio? Why would you pay $300 for almost the same specs?

 

[iCyprus]

I need a new mcb pro and ipad for work. I need to connect the mcb pro on a monitor to work at home.Since I will buy an iPad, I was thinking maybe it is a better idea to buy mac mini and stay with my 2015 mcb pro. What do you think? Any ideas?

 

[EugW]

I need a new mcb pro and ipad for work. I need to connect the mcb pro on a monitor to work at home.Since I will buy an iPad, I was thinking maybe it is a better idea to buy mac mini and stay with my 2015 mcb pro. What do you think? Any ideas?

Depends on what you need for performance. I bought a 2015 13" MacBook Pro for my daughter and it is an excellent machine in terms of the keyboard and trackpad feel and quality of the screen, but her needs are light. She's not doing any real heavy lifting on that machine. Plus, it won't be getting Ventura. OS support stops at Monterey (which is fine for her, and I knew that would likely be case when I bought it - cheap - last year).

Also, is it beneficial to have your primary machine with you at all times? If so, then obviously a new MBP is the way to go. For myself, I prefer to have my primary machine at home as a desktop, and then supplement that with a light duty laptop (and/or iPad). Currently I have a 2017 iMac as my primary personal desktop, and a 2014 Mac mini as my primary work desktop (which will eventually be replaced by an Apple Silicon Mac mini), supplemented by a 2017 MacBook and a 2017 iPad Pro. Having multiple machines can get expensive though.