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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

pshufd said:
I run browser, email, notes, calendar and a bunch of other things on the iMac during the day. If I had 24 GB of RAM, I could run it all on the mini. I have a Windows desktop on my secondary desk and it has 128 GB of RAM so I could run my Windows VM on that system. I would have to walk over to my other desk to do that though. I use less than half the RAM on the iMac when I'm not running the VM. The rest is used for cache.

I hit reply and it put the other stuff in there so I just responded to it. I just saw the first query and answered it and then saw the second.
Click to expand...
Your setup is similar to mine. I run a 2017 iMac with 24 GB RAM, will all my personal stuff on it, and a separate 2014 Mac mini for work, side-by-side. Having copy and paste span across computers in macOS is quite helpful.

I will replace my 2014 Mac mini with an M2 / M2 Pro with 16-24 GB RAM. Initially I will run just my work stuff on it, but eventually, it could replace my 2017 iMac. Currently I'm running my Mac mini with 30" 2560x1600 Cinema HD Display which is a non-Retina screen, but I really like the screen nonetheless. While not as crisp as Retina, I like the larger default font sizing, which works well for my work, esp. the VPN into my Windows desktop at my workplace. I've just never liked Apple's chosen 218 ppi for desktops including on my 5K iMac. The older 30" is 101 ppi which means a Retina version would be 202 ppi. I would love to be able to buy a ~200 ppi 5K Apple Retina screen.

However, I'm going to stick with the iMac along with the Mac mini for now, even after I get the M2 / M2 Pro Mac mini to replace the 2014 Intel model. The iMac 2017 will get Ventura and security updates for a couple of years after that, and I'm in no rush to consolidate everything into one machine.
 
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EugW said:
? Your 2014 iMac supports 32 GB RAM.


That machine will run a patched version of 10.13 High Sierra pretty well, at least if you install an SSD and have sufficient RAM (4 GB bare minimum, but 6-8 GB preferred).

However, why aren't you running at least 10.11 El Capitan?
Click to expand...
I have some older programs such as Adobe CS 5.1 among others. I was concerned that if I go past 10.6.8 then maybe some of my programs won't work. I'm also very low on hard drive space.
 
crowe-t said:
Does anyone think Apple will announce a new Mini this month? I'm in desperate need of a new Mini and can't wait much longer.
Click to expand...
Honestly, if we do get one, it could be announced in as little as just over a week to sometime mid-November (M1 Mac mini was announced on Nov 10 in 2020). I am impatiently waiting myself for some news ;) Though my need is less dire. 2018 mini works fine for me, it just doesn’t support 5k or 6k displays without an eGPU, which I don’t love the idea of buying at this point.
 
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2022 Mac mini lineup

M2 Mac mini
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 8GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $999

M2 Pro Mac mini
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 16GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1499
 
Boil said:
2022 Mac mini lineup

M2 Mac mini
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 8GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $999
M2 Pro Mac mini
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 16GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1499
Click to expand...
No binned variant of M2 Pro?

Also, if we add memory upgrades:

M2 Mac mini
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 16GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1199
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 24GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1399

M2 Pro Mac mini
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 24GB LPDDR5 SDRAM <--- Would Apple release this configuration?
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1699
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 32GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1899 <-- This seems pointless

So, I'm thinking it could be something more like this:

$899 M2 8 GB
$1099 M2 16 GB
$1299 M2 24 GB

$1299 M2 Pro (binned) 16 GB
$1499 M2 Pro (binned) 24 GB (or not)
$1699 M2 Pro (binned) 32 GB

$1499 M2 Pro 16 GB
$1699 M2 Pro 24 GB (or not)
$1899 M2 Pro 32 GB
 
Boil said:
2022 Mac mini lineup

M2 Mac mini
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 8GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $999

M2 Pro Mac mini
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 16GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1499
Click to expand...
Where did you get this information?
 
EugW said:
No binned variant of M2 Pro?

Also, if we add memory upgrades:

M2 Mac mini
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 16GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1199
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 24GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1399

M2 Pro Mac mini
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 24GB LPDDR5 SDRAM <--- Would Apple release this configuration?
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1699
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 32GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1899 <-- This seems pointless

So, I'm thinking it could be something more like this:

$899 M2 8 GB
$1099 M2 16 GB
$1299 M2 24 GB

$1299 M2 Pro (binned) 16 GB
$1499 M2 Pro (binned) 24 GB (or not)
$1699 M2 Pro (binned) 32 GB

$1499 M2 Pro 16 GB
$1699 M2 Pro 24 GB (or not)
$1899 M2 Pro 32 GB
Click to expand...
YES PLEASE! Inject that right into my veins.
 
EugW said:
No binned variant of M2 Pro?

Also, if we add memory upgrades:

M2 Mac mini
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 16GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1199
  • M2 SoC (N5P)
  • 8-core GPU (4P/4E)
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 24GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 100GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1399

M2 Pro Mac mini
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 24GB LPDDR5 SDRAM <--- Would Apple release this configuration?
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1699
  • M2 Pro SoC (N5P)
  • 12-core CPU (8P/4E)
  • 20-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Media Engine
  • 32GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
  • 200GB/s UMA bandwidth
  • 512GB SSD
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • $1899 <-- This seems pointless

So, I'm thinking it could be something more like this:

$899 M2 8 GB
$1099 M2 16 GB
$1299 M2 24 GB

$1299 M2 Pro (binned) 16 GB
$1499 M2 Pro (binned) 24 GB (or not)
$1699 M2 Pro (binned) 32 GB

$1499 M2 Pro 16 GB
$1699 M2 Pro 24 GB (or not)
$1899 M2 Pro 32 GB
Click to expand...

M2 Pro SoC should go up to 48GB RAM...?

M2 Pro Mac mini can take one upgrade, but more than that and one might as well move up to the Mn Max Mac Studio...

With this in mind, maybe Apple goes to:
  • M2 Mac mini
  • M2 Pro Mac Studio
  • M2 Max Mac Studio
  • M2 Ultra Mac Pro
  • M2 Extreme Mac Pro
crowe-t said:
Where did you get this information?
Click to expand...

Speculative reasoning...
 
EugW said:
No binned variant of M2 Pro?
Click to expand...

It could be a thing, like in the M1 Pro MacBook Pro laptops...!

Lower cost binned variants should allow pricing room for memory/storage subsystems upgrades without pushing up on the base Mn Max Mac Studio...?
 
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ILoveCalvinCool said:
Still do not understand what "binned" means. :( I will keep asking.
Click to expand...

Chips are made from wafers and wafers can have defects on them. So you may make a chip with ten cores but some of the chips may have a defects on one or two cores. So you sell them with two of the cores disabled at a lower price. The customers gets less performance at a lower price and the seller gets some money instead of discarding the whole chip.
 
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I wonder if Apple offer an M2 Pro Mac Mini, how many of you would buy that instead of an intended Mac Studio purchase?
 
crowe-t said:
My current Mac Mini is a 2009 model with OS 10.6.8. I can't even get on to most web sites. I know I'm way behind but finances kept me with this Mini for a while. I don't think I can go far enough forward on an OS upgrade and it's such an old machine.

I'd hate to buy an M1 Mini now and then in a few weeks newer models are announced. I believe Apple makes announcements in October. I'll wait a couple more weeks and then I have to order something.
Click to expand...
This is my Mac Mini too. I really only use it for one thing now - but within those parameters, it's still as good as it was when I got it in 2009. To paraphrase the catchphrase, it isn't broke, so I'm not looking to fix it.
 
Pezimak said:
I wonder if Apple offer an M2 Pro Mac Mini, how many of you would buy that instead of an intended Mac Studio purchase?
Click to expand...
Nobody knows what the exact specs of the M2 Pro are - or even if there will be an M2 Pro. However, a hypothetical M2 Pro with 8 performance cores, 2 economy cores and 16 GPU cores all using the newer M2 CPU and GPU core designs is going to be faster than the M1 Max at CPU-heavy tasks and give the lower-end 24 GPU M1 Max a run for its money on graphics. Even more so if Apple squeeze in another GPU or CPU core.

So, all else being equal I think most people would go for a M2 Pro Mini/Studio over the 24 GPU core M1 Max Studio, if they were available side by side.

…which is why I don’t think we’ll see a M2 Pro Mini/Studio until/unless the whole Studio line gets updated to M2 Series processors - if at all (Apple could have made a M1 Pro Studio back in March - I don’t think they see a gap for a M? Pro headless desktop).

(whether such a machine is called “Mini” or “studio” seems pretty irrelevant - a M2 Pro would need the extra ports of the Studio so It seems a bit silly to design a new enclosure. It’s possible that the Studio name will get dropped in the future if the Studio M2 Ultra becomes the new Mac Pro).
 
theluggage said:
Nobody knows what the exact specs of the M2 Pro are - or even if there will be an M2 Pro. However, a hypothetical M2 Pro with 8 performance cores, 2 economy cores and 16 GPU cores all using the newer M2 CPU and GPU core designs is going to be faster than the M1 Max at CPU-heavy tasks and give the lower-end 24 GPU M1 Max a run for its money on graphics. Even more so if Apple squeeze in another GPU or CPU core.

So, all else being equal I think most people would go for a M2 Pro Mini/Studio over the 24 GPU core M1 Max Studio, if they were available side by side.

…which is why I don’t think we’ll see a M2 Pro Mini/Studio until/unless the whole Studio line gets updated to M2 Series processors - if at all (Apple could have made a M1 Pro Studio back in March - I don’t think they see a gap for a M? Pro headless desktop).

(whether such a machine is called “Mini” or “studio” seems pretty irrelevant - a M2 Pro would need the extra ports of the Studio so It seems a bit silly to design a new enclosure. It’s possible that the Studio name will get dropped in the future if the Studio M2 Ultra becomes the new Mac Pro).
Click to expand...
For what it’s worth, I don’t think the suggestion of an M1 Pro / M2 Pro Mac mini are mere wishcasting or even enthusiast perception of a gap in the desktop lineup that Apple could address.

For myself, at least, I’ve only considered the Mx Pro Mac mini a possibility because others have claimed to have information that it’s in the works (Gurman, 9to5Mac). Now, if, in terms of timing, Ming Chi Kuo is correct (he hasn’t mentioned a “Pro” variant that I can tell other than the Mac Studio turning out to be the ”higher end” version of the mini), we won’t see the mini updated until 2023; in which case, it might be more likely to be updated alongside the Mac Studio.

To your point about an M2 Pro outperforming an M1 Max: there’s always the possibility we see an M2 Mac mini this fall and an M2 Pro variant appears separately later on alongside a Mac Studio update in 2023 at some point. Or it could be that the supposed M2 Pro mini is actually a Mac Studio option that materializes with the an M2 refresh of the Studio.

We are still waiting for the Mac Pro to be unveiled as well— could be there’s still some shifting and refining of the desktop lineup to happen. (As often mentioned, there’s also still an Intel mini available that most of us generally expect may be replaced with something else since the Mac Studio doesn’t seem to have made it obsolete).

Also: I don’t see having a different I/O panel for a ”higher-end” Mac mini being that big of a deal, but maybe I’m missing something.
 
Boil said:
M2 Pro SoC should go up to 48GB RAM...?

M2 Pro Mac mini can take one upgrade, but more than that and one might as well move up to the Mn Max Mac Studio...

With this in mind, maybe Apple goes to:
  • M2 Mac mini
  • M2 Pro Mac Studio
  • M2 Max Mac Studio
  • M2 Ultra Mac Pro
  • M2 Extreme Mac Pro
Click to expand...
I didn't bother posting anything above 32 GB mainly for the sake of brevity.

BTW, since an $1899 512 GB / 32 GB Mac mini seems completely pointless, maybe they will have only 1 M2 Pro like you suggest (binned or non-binned), something like this:

$899 M2 8 GB
$1099 M2 16 GB
$1299 M2 24 GB

$1399 M2 Pro 16 GB
$1599 M2 Pro 24 GB (or not)
$1799 M2 Pro 32 GB

In this scenario, the M2 replaces the M1 at $899, but the M2 Pro gets a $100 price increase over the comparable Intel Mac mini, keeping enough space below the M2 Max 32 GB Mac Studio.

Either way though, I personally am not paying for a 32 GB machine. It's gonna be either 16 GB or 24 GB for me, depending upon the products released and the pricing.

I'd prefer a fall 2022 release of course, but I'm willing to wait until spring 2023.

theluggage said:
…which is why I don’t think we’ll see a M2 Pro Mini/Studio until/unless the whole Studio line gets updated to M2 Series processors - if at all (Apple could have made a M1 Pro Studio back in March - I don’t think they see a gap for a M? Pro headless desktop).

(whether such a machine is called “Mini” or “studio” seems pretty irrelevant - a M2 Pro would need the extra ports of the Studio so It seems a bit silly to design a new enclosure. It’s possible that the Studio name will get dropped in the future if the Studio M2 Ultra becomes the new Mac Pro).
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was wondering about how Apple would deal with Mac Studio vs Mac mini releases going forward.

However, a mini doesn't need a new enclosure for more ports, if the ports are on the back. The back panel with all the ports is removable and not part of the main aluminum shell. This is how Apple managed the additional ports on the Intel high end Mac mini.

Keeping the existing Mac mini shell without front ports for an M2 Pro would also continue to provide product segmentation from the Mac Studio.
 
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rumz said:
Also: I don’t see having a different I/O panel for a ”higher-end” Mac mini being that big of a deal, but maybe I’m missing something.
Click to expand...
EugW said:
However, a mini doesn't need a new enclosure for more ports,
Click to expand...

...I wasn't suggesting that it would be rocket surgery to design a Mini with more ports - but it's another novel part to design & tool up for, plus a completely new mainboard with all the wiring to drive the new ports. Vs. what is probably a very minor change to the Studio Max mainboard to accept a Pro rather than a Max (if any - since with M1 the Pro chip essentially a Max with a bit sliced off).

...and its hard to call whether a M2 Pro Mini would need a bigger heatsink/taller case, since in theory the Mini case can accommodate an Intel i7 space heater and, by that standard, ought to easily cope with a Mx Max. The existence of the Studio with its giant cooler suggests that Apple have upped their standards for cooling and don't want to run Apple Silicon at the toasty temperatures of former Intel Macs.

EugW said:
Keeping the existing Mac mini shell without front ports for an M2 Pro would also continue to provide product segmentation from the Mac Studio.
Click to expand...
I'd be skeptical about that if Apple hadn't already produced two versions of the 24" iMac differing only by a couple of USB ports and the "why on earth is this still here?" 13" MBP. However, I think both the 2-porter iMac and the 13" MBP are produced for specific market niches - and they're both "entry level" models that can be upsold from (one is the cheapest complete desktop+display option, the other is the cheapest "MacBook Pro").

So I'm not sure what the target market of a M2 Pro Mac Mini would be - up against a cheaper (future) M2 Mini with up to 24GB RAM and a (future) Studio Max with a much better GPU especially if it didn't have the Studio's extra ports.

I'm not saying it's impossible - but I just think that Apple would prefer people who wanted more power than an already very capable M2 Mini to stump up for a Studio Max, and the the M? Pro chip could remain a mobile-only product for applications where the power saving justified the knobbled GPU.
 
theluggage said:
I'm not saying it's impossible - but I just think that Apple would prefer people who wanted more power than an already very capable M2 Mini to stump up for a Studio Max, and the the M? Pro chip could remain a mobile-only product for applications where the power saving justified the knobbled GPU.
Click to expand...
Yes Apple would love people to jump up to the Mac Studio. The problem is it costs too much for many people. Given the choice of M2 24 GB / 512 GB for $1299 vs Mac Studio 32 GB / 512 GB for $1999, a LOT of people would compromise and get the M2.

To capture the in-betweeners, Apple either needs to lower the price of the Mac Studio significantly with the M2 Pro, starting at 16 GB RAM, or else offer an M2 Pro Mac mini. Given these options, I’d guess Apple would rather scale up the mini than scale down the Studio, for marketing reasons. An M2 Pro mini would also be cheaper to produce, ship, and store. As a bonus, it would also be easier to stick in a rack mount. Of course, Apple could instead just decide to ignore this group though, if they think it’s too niche.
 
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