The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[EugW]

I got tired of waiting and bought a Mac Studio this morning.

Of course if they launch it in the next 14 days ...

Thanks for taking one for the team. The M2 Mac mini has got to get released now.

Which one did you get?

 

[russell_314]

So I haven’t heard any rumors about the Mac mini lately… I was hoping it would come out in October, but it doesn’t look like it.

 

[pshufd]

Thanks for taking one for the team. The M2 Mac mini has got to get released now.

Which one did you get?

I bought it at my local Apple Store, and, as far as I can tell, the Apple Stores only carry the base Max and the base Ultra. My store doesn't carry the Ultra (I asked) so I got the Max. I plan to sell my iMac 27 and M1 mini and expect to get about $1,200 for them so the net cost is very mini-like. My current M1 mini just isn't enough - it needs more RAM and I can't run production, video editing and office at the same time. I run 4 monitors and have to use DisplayLink for one of the 4k monitors and it's sometimes quite laggy.

 

[pshufd]

So I haven’t heard any rumors about the Mac mini lately… I was hoping it would come out in October, but it doesn’t look like it.

We ran out of Tuesdays.

 

[EugW]

I think we will see prices in Canada jump 8-10% based on what we saw with the iPad. I suspect the studio will also jump in price when the new Mini announced.

That is what makes the decision difficult. I may end up ordering an existing M1 Studio just before the M2 mini announcement, just in case there is no Mini Pro. I can always return the Studio unopened but at least I will have locked in the lower price.

Well, the 9th gen iPad increased 4.7%, and the 10th gen iPad is actually cheaper in Canada than it is in the US.

So, there's hope it won't increase by 10%.

@hoodlum90, is this where you were coming from? Canadian exchange rates from a year ago:

2021-10-28: 1 CAD = 0.8096 USD
2022-10-28: 1 CAD = 0.7328 USD

That means since last year, the CAD has dropped 9.5% vs the USD. However, in reality, perhaps we should be looking at exchange rates from Nov. 10, 2020, when the M1 Mac mini was released.

2020-11-10: 1 CAD = 0.7692 USD
2022-10-28: 1 CAD = 0.7328 USD

That is a 4.7% decrease in value over the two years.

As mentioned before, to compensate for this, they could just simply increase the price point of the Mac mini CA$50 across the board. This would disproportionately affect the lower priced units, but then again, those are what sell the most.

8/256 - $899 --> $949 = +5.6%
8/512 - $1149 --> $1199 = +4.4%
16/512 - $1399 --> $1449 = +3.6%

Maybe I'm being too optimistic though.

 

[Maximara]

Windows devs tend to run multiple virtual machines, thus the high RAM.

Why Windows devs tend to run multiple virtual machines? If it is something to do with their development tools than the need for huge amounts of RAM on a Mac disappears thanks to Xcode and Swift.

Also most of the complaining I have seen about Macs having limited RAM comes from would be gamers (which unless you have been in a cave for the last decade makes no blasted sense)

 

[gusping]

I finally gave in and went with the Studio. It's sitting in a box in the basement right now while I try to think about how I will hook it up. I may need to buy a USB-C to DisplayPort or USB-C to HDMI cable or both. I was dragged kicking and screaming into the USB-C world. The mini has the same Bluetooth issues which is why I use a wired keyboard and a dongle-mouse instead of a Bluetooth mouse. The mini fans run at 1,700 RPM, faster than the Mac Studio fans. I am aware of the potential for a noise issue but I plan to put it behind a monitor or I could put it underneath my table.

I've been using USB-C to DP and HDMI cables on my 2018 mini. Works fine.

Regarding the fans, my i7 2018 mini is dead silent 99% of the time, whatever speed the fans are running. And I have a very quiet room. From everything I have read, I would almost certainly hear the Mac Studio fans at idle and definitely any coil whine. It's just too risky to buy for me, unfortunately.

 

[hoodlum90]

@hoodlum90, is this where you were coming from? Canadian exchange rates from a year ago:

2021-10-28: 1 CAD = 0.8096 USD
2022-10-28: 1 CAD = 0.7328 USD

That means since last year, the CAD has dropped 9.5% vs the USD. However, in reality, perhaps we should be looking at exchange rates from Nov. 10, 2020, when the M1 Mac mini was released.

2020-11-10: 1 CAD = 0.7692 USD
2022-10-28: 1 CAD = 0.7328 USD

That is a 4.7% decrease in value over the two years.

As mentioned before, to compensate for this, they could just simply increase the price point of the Mac mini CA$50 across the board. This would disproportionately affect the lower priced units, but then again, those are what sell the most.

8/256 - $899 --> $949 = +5.6%
8/512 - $1149 --> $1199 = +4.4%
16/512 - $1399 --> $1449 = +3.6%

Maybe I'm being too optimistic though.

I would only be interested in either a M2 Mini Pro or the Studio for my Lightroom Photography, so that is what I am comparing.

The existing M1 Mini is $1650 cdn for 16GB/1TB (my min config). So say we have a $50 exchange rate increase along with a $100 increase for the M2. That bring this M2 Mini cong to $1800 cdn. Now how much will they charge for the Pro config? On the MacBook Pro they charge $400 to go from Pro 8/14 core to 10/16 core, so I am thinking they could charge $500 cdn to go from non-Pro to Pro, bringing this config to $2300. Now Apple would liking do a base m2 Mini Pro 16GB/512GB for slightly less at $1999 cdn ($1499 US). I would go with 1TB so my config would be $2250 cdn in this scenario.

I fully expect the Studio price to increase $100-200 cdn when they announce the new Mini. The Studio was aggressively priced earlier this year at only 25% over the US, when the dollar was closer to 80 cents. The challenge is that the Studio is currently only $500 more than this projected M2 Mini Pro pricing and you getting the following for that.

32GB memory
Extra TB Ports
SD card slot

I expect there will be little difference between the processors. The Studio already has the faster memory from the M2 and while the M2 CPU will be a bit faster the Studio will still have more GPU cores.

This is why I will likely order a Studio a few days before the M2 Mini announcement to lock in the current price. The extra $500 seems worth it for the memory and future proofing. The built in SD card is a very nice convenience as a photographer. Hopefully they announce an M2 Mini Pro and if I am lucky the reviews will come out a week later before I have to return the Studio.

One one nagging item is the noisy fan from the Studio. While there are some workarounds if you have a noisy fan (tape on grill and slower fan speed) my decision would be a lot easier if this never existed.

 

[EugW]

I would only be interested in either a M2 Mini Pro or the Studio for my Lightroom Photography, so that is what I am comparing.

The existing M1 Mini is $1650 cdn for 16GB/1TB (my min config). So say we have a $50 exchange rate increase along with a $100 increase for the M2. That bring this M2 Mini cong to $1800 cdn. Now how much will they charge for the Pro config? On the MacBook Pro they charge $400 to go from Pro 8/14 core to 10/16 core, so I am thinking they could charge $500 cdn to go from non-Pro to Pro, bringing this config to $2300. Now Apple would liking do a base m2 Mini Pro 16GB/512GB for slightly less at $1999 cdn ($1499 US). I would go with 1TB so my config would be $2250 cdn in this scenario.

I fully expect the Studio price to increase $100-200 cdn when they announce the new Mini. The Studio was aggressively priced earlier this year at only 25% over the US, when the dollar was closer to 80 cents. The challenge is that the Studio is currently only $500 more than this projected M2 Mini Pro pricing and you getting the following for that.

I hoping for 1 of 2 scenarios for M2:

1. M2 replaces M1 across the board, at all price tiers, but there may be a CA$50 price increase from previous pricing.

or

2. M1 stays as the 8/256 option, but M2 replaces it at the 8/512 option. Again price tiers go up by $50.

I don't expect M2 Pro to be released at all in the Mac mini. However, if it were to be released, I'm thinking they could release the gimped version to keep pricing low.

So, in my pricing scheme:

M2 16GB/1TB = CA$1699
M2 24GB/1TB = CA$1949

M2 Pro 16GB/1TB = CA$1949
M2 Pro 24GB/1TB = CA$2199

That's give or take $50-$100, and even if they do released a gimped M2 Pro, I don't know if they'd offer the 24 GB option.

 

[pshufd]

I've been using USB-C to DP and HDMI cables on my 2018 mini. Works fine.

Regarding the fans, my i7 2018 mini is dead silent 99% of the time, whatever speed the fans are running. And I have a very quiet room. From everything I have read, I would almost certainly hear the Mac Studio fans at idle and definitely any coil whine. It's just too risky to buy for me, unfortunately.

I have not opened the box. If the noise is a problem, then I will either figure something out (like a noise-absorbing partition between the Studio and my desktop) or I will return it. Another option would be a 14 inch Max though it would cost a lot more. And the fallback would be to get another M1 mini with 16 GB of RAM where 2x mini = Studio. I really hope that the Studio works out. I do do video creation at my desk and a loud whine would be really annoying to deal with.

I live pretty close to an Apple Store so returning is pretty easy. I live about 20 minutes from a second Apple Store and 30 minutes from a third Apple Store.

 

[radow]

Why Windows devs tend to run multiple virtual machines? If it is something to do with their development tools than the need for huge amounts of RAM on a Mac disappears thanks to Xcode and Swift.

Also most of the complaining I have seen about Macs having limited RAM comes from would be gamers (which unless you have been in a cave for the last decade makes no blasted sense)

- Windows Subsystem for Linux
- Android Development
- Well…Electron and a bunch of Chrome tabs.

 

[gusping]

I have not opened the box. If the noise is a problem, then I will either figure something out (like a noise-absorbing partition between the Studio and my desktop) or I will return it. Another option would be a 14 inch Max though it would cost a lot more. And the fallback would be to get another M1 mini with 16 GB of RAM where 2x mini = Studio. I really hope that the Studio works out. I do do video creation at my desk and a loud whine would be really annoying to deal with.

I live pretty close to an Apple Store so returning is pretty easy. I live about 20 minutes from a second Apple Store and 30 minutes from a third Apple Store.

Fingers crossed. Make sure to test it in the first 14 days so you can easily return it if needed. Although, people have developed coil whine over time, so a good inital unit doesn’t rule out issues down the line.

 

[hoodlum90]

I hoping for 1 of 2 scenarios for M2:

1. M2 replaces M1 across the board, at all price tiers, but there may be a CA$50 price increase from previous pricing.

or

2. M1 stays as the 8/256 option, but M2 replaces it at the 8/512 option. Again price tiers go up by $50.

I don't expect M2 Pro to be released at all in the Mac mini. However, if it were to be released, I'm thinking they could release the gimped version to keep pricing low.

So, in my pricing scheme:

M2 16GB/1TB = CA$1699
M2 24GB/1TB = CA$1949

M2 Pro 16GB/1TB = CA$1949
M2 Pro 24GB/1TB = CA$2199

That's give or take $50-$100, and even if they do released a gimped M2 Pro, I don't know if they'd offer the 24 GB option.

The existing top end Mini with intel 3.2ghz 6-core cpu and 16GB/512GB will cost $1900 cdn and Apple will want to replace that with something close to the same price. That would dictate an M2 Mini Pro ($1999cdn/1499US)

They will want to drop the Intel Mini this year and they will still want a top end mini option so a mini M2 Pro seems like the most likely scenario. Apple would have dropped the Intel Mini by now if they were not intending to have a direct replacement.

 

[pshufd]

Fingers crossed. Make sure to test it in the first 14 days so you can easily return it if needed. Although, people have developed coil whine over time, so a good inital unit doesn’t rule out issues down the line.

I set up my testing table with keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, power, Ethernet, cables and just need to open it to try it out. I'm trying to think of what I could run to crank up the CPU and GPU. Maybe 10 simultaneous 4k YouTube videos.

 

[gusping]

I set up my testing table with keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, power, Ethernet, cables and just need to open it to try it out. I'm trying to think of what I could run to crank up the CPU and GPU. Maybe 10 simultaneous 4k YouTube videos.

I can't imagine trying that on my intel Mac mini, haha. I'm sure it will breeze through that.

 

[saulinpa]

I have not opened the box. If the noise is a problem, then I will either figure something out (like a noise-absorbing partition between the Studio and my desktop) or I will return it. Another option would be a 14 inch Max though it would cost a lot more. And the fallback would be to get another M1 mini with 16 GB of RAM where 2x mini = Studio. I really hope that the Studio works out. I do do video creation at my desk and a loud whine would be really annoying to deal with.

I live pretty close to an Apple Store so returning is pretty easy. I live about 20 minutes from a second Apple Store and 30 minutes from a third Apple Store.

Return it and wait until Apple announces its 2022 holiday return policy. Should be anything bought after November 1st you can return the second week in January.

 

[pshufd]

Return it and wait until Apple announces its 2022 holiday return policy. Should be anything bought after November 1st you can return the second week in January.

Performance issues are costing me money now so there is some urgency in this. One factor is that I would have to wait a week or two to get another 16 GB mini (I think that it's crazy that they don't have them in the stores), while I was able to buy the Studio by just walking in the store. No reservation or purchase, just walk in and buy it. My store doesn't carry the Ultra and I might have bought that if they did carry it.

 

[gusping]

Return it and wait until Apple announces its 2022 holiday return policy. Should be anything bought after November 1st you can return the second week in January.

Oh!!! I never thought of that. Does that include items you open? I.e. could I buy a Mac Studio, use it for a month, and then buy an M2 mini (if they announce it)? Or does the 14 day window remain for opened items?

 

[macbetta]

I got tired of waiting and bought a Mac Studio this morning.

Of course if they launch it in the next 14 days ...

Heh this is probably going to be me next week when I get paid I've been sitting on my hands for a while now anticipating M2 refreshes. I'm also pretty tempted to jump on the 14" MBP discounts that have been going on lately. Its either a Studio or the 14" MBP if the discounts are still going on. (that $1,599 price point is hard to pass up) The base model 14" MBP is basically the perfect amount of performance I actually need, whereas the Studio would just be rad to have all that extra power. That's half of the reason I was just hoping for the elusive M2 Pro Mini because its the true perfect performance to price ratio for my needs.

 

[Neodym]

Regarding the fans, my i7 2018 mini is dead silent 99% of the time, whatever speed the fans are running. And I have a very quiet room. From everything I have read, I would almost certainly hear the Mac Studio fans at idle and definitely any coil whine. It's just too risky to buy for me, unfortunately.

Anecdotal data point:

I used to have a 2-3 monitor setup on my 2018 mini and it usually got quite warm to the touch. Adding some load reliably made the fans become clearly audible. Disclaimer: I had the 10G Ethernet module inside, which is known to contribute to the temperatures.

I have yet to find a load to make the Studio become audible in the same setting. In the beginning I occasionally had to get very close to the machine to hear the air being pushed ever so silently and reassure myself that the fans are working and the machine would not overheat.

 

[gusping]

Anecdotal data point:

I used to have a 2-3 monitor setup on my 2018 mini and it usually got quite warm to the touch. Adding some load reliably made the fans become clearly audible. Disclaimer: I had the 10G Ethernet module inside, which is known to contribute to the temperatures.

I have yet to find a load to make the Studio become audible in the same setting. In the beginning I occasionally had to get very close to the machine to hear the air being pushed ever so silently and reassure myself that the fans are working and the machine would not overheat.

Interesting. I'm a light user, I just have a lot of stuff open across two monitors (4K and 1440p). So that definitely helps keeps my fans off for the majority of the time. If this holiday return period is super flexible, then maybe that'll provide me with some extra comfort to test the Mac Studio.

 

[EugW]

Oh!!! I never thought of that. Does that include items you open? I.e. could I buy a Mac Studio, use it for a month, and then buy an M2 mini (if they announce it)?

Geez. Just wait...

Anecdotal data point:

I used to have a 2-3 monitor setup on my 2018 mini and it usually got quite warm to the touch. Adding some load reliably made the fans become clearly audible. Disclaimer: I had the 10G Ethernet module inside, which is known to contribute to the temperatures.

I have yet to find a load to make the Studio become audible in the same setting. In the beginning I occasionally had to get very close to the machine to hear the air being pushed ever so silently and reassure myself that the fans are working and the machine would not overheat.

Heh, one of the benefits of old Intel hardware: Last year I bought 2017 MacBook Air for the wife. It ran out of space on its 128 GB SSD, so I picked up an OEM 256 GB drive. When I opened it up for the SSD upgrade, I was momentarily surprised to see a fan. I had forgotten these old Intel MacBook Airs had fans, and I had NEVER heard it ramp up in the past year. I guess that's what you get from a 2015 Broadwell Core i5-5350 15 W chip. Granted, we don't push that Mac hard, but other more recent Intel machines could ramp up just from watching YouTube and what not. I guess back then, the TDP specs actually meant something.

 

[Steve156]

I’ve been following this thread with bated breath and second guessing the M2/M2pro mini release scenarios.

I finally came to the conclusion that with new product price rises and the inevitable exchange rate rises in the UK, which I expect to be sizeable in their own right, I was going to be looking north of £1500 for an M2 mini with at least 24GB RAM. I’m also not convinced it won’t still be a little light on ports, meaning I need to factor in an external hub.

So with that in mind I bit the bullet and ordered a base Max Studio from the Apple refurbished store for £1799, which given I suspect the Studio will get an exchange rate increase in the near future felt like a small premium from what I was originally planning.

I’m happy with 512ssd as my working Lightroom files and catalogue are on an external ssd as I’ll need to access it on my MBP also.

I know there’s some debate over the increased chance of picking up someone’s returned whining fan but as long as it harmonises with my tinnitus I’ll give it a go.

 

[CWallace]

Revisiting a display rumour from a couple of weeks ago:

Apple Rumored to Launch 27-Inch Mini-LED Display in Q1 2023

Apple is planning to launch an external monitor with a 27-inch mini-LED display in the first quarter of 2023, according to Display Supply Chain...

www.macrumors.com

Maybe Apple will wait until Q1 2023 and release the Mac mini with a new 27" display, as Ross Young is still claiming a 27" mini-LED display is coming?

Mind you, some might argue that screen might be better paired with a 2023 Mac Pro than an M2 Mac mini.

IMO, this will be marketed as a 27" Pro Display XDR monitor and will be announced alongside a refreshed (7K?) 32" Pro Display XDR and the Mac Pro. My guess is all three will be announced at the WWDC 2023 keynote.

 

[pshufd]

Anecdotal data point:

I used to have a 2-3 monitor setup on my 2018 mini and it usually got quite warm to the touch. Adding some load reliably made the fans become clearly audible. Disclaimer: I had the 10G Ethernet module inside, which is known to contribute to the temperatures.

I have yet to find a load to make the Studio become audible in the same setting. In the beginning I occasionally had to get very close to the machine to hear the air being pushed ever so silently and reassure myself that the fans are working and the machine would not overheat.

I have a friend that has a 2018 mini with i5 upgraded to 32 GB of RAM and he runs Think or Swim and Teams and a lot of office programs and he said that it runs very hot and the fans run loud. I suspect that thermals vary widely depending on load in the Intel chips. My 2015 MacBook Pro gets warm watching YouTube but not hot. But I can get it hot with adding one or two other programs. Multiple 4k monitors can get the Intel chips hot too.