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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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The numbers say the Mac mini is just as popular as the Mac Studio...
The numbers also say the Mac Pro is 11 TIMES as popular as the Mac Mini or Mac Studio.
Who knew?
Those numbers are clearly questionable with the Mac Pro making up such a huge percentage.
Not necessarily. For enterprise customers whose workflows are (still) optimized for Intel hardware, I could see them placing their final "top up" and replacement orders while they can still get an Intel platform (this might also help explain the Mac Studio's numbers).
Maybe so. May or may not happen……. but the new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.
Max Tech predicts so many things that he may perchance be right on the odd occasion.
Rumors have been saying M2 Max has 96GB ceiling, then it would mean M2 Pro has 48GB, in line with the 24GB on M2 now. And the M2 Pro mini will inherit the port layout of the Intel space grey mini so the base Studio will have even less advantage (just two more type-C ports, more thermal headroom, and 10GbE default).
I think I’ve said this in lot of other threads in this forum but I’ll say it here.
I have a M1 Mini and it’s a great machine and for all intents and purposes powerful enough for most things I do with the computer.
The only thing I would wish for and that would make me upgrade this year if it was released is a Mini with a little beefier GPU side, like the Pro or Max.
The thing is I do not need more CPU, just wish for a bit more GPU. And a dream for me would be a Mini formfactor AS mac with just a bit more *umph* GPU wise.
So ponder a Mini, supposed to not cannibalize the Studio, to use binned chips with 4p and 4e cores like the current M1 offering, but with GPU cores more aking to the amount found in the Pro and Max chips.
Surley this would need a redisign of the cooler (I mean current mini is just a block of finned aluminium), but the current mini formfactor does have the headroom for components with more thermal output then the M1 chip.
I have a M1 Mini and it’s a great machine and for all intents and purposes powerful enough for most things I do with the computer.
The only thing I would wish for and that would make me upgrade this year if it was released is a Mini with a little beefier GPU side, like the Pro or Max.
The thing is I do not need more CPU, just wish for a bit more GPU. And a dream for me would be a Mini formfactor AS mac with just a bit more *umph* GPU wise.
So ponder a Mini, supposed to not cannibalize the Studio, to use binned chips with 4p and 4e cores like the current M1 offering, but with GPU cores more aking to the amount found in the Pro and Max chips.
Surley this would need a redisign of the cooler (I mean current mini is just a block of finned aluminium), but the current mini formfactor does have the headroom for components with more thermal output then the M1 chip.
Seems a bit too soon, but I really do hope it is true. Not to mention his very sketchy track record. An M2 Pro mini with 24GB RAM *chef's kiss*.
I have already waited so long for a new Mac that I may have talked myself into buying an RTX 4090. Any longer and a 7950X3D may also magically end up in my hands....
To eliminate the overlap they may bump the base Studio to 64GB or, worse, artificially limit the mini to 24GB.
There's no overlap. The $2000 Mac Studio is a very different beast.
A base $2000 Max Studio and a $2000 Mini Pro is a definite overlap. There is not that much difference between a PRO and a MAX chip for most users. https://www.macrumors.com/guide/m1-pro-vs-m1-max/
If you take the price difference between the 16GB core M1 Pro and M1 Max version of the MacBook Pro ($600 to $800 depending what version of the M1 Pro you use) and back track from the price of the Mac Studio ($2000) you get $1400.
The current Intel Mac Mini (previously the mid & upper tier options for the Mini) upgraded to 16GB costs $1300-$1500 depending on whether you choose i5 or i7.
So a 16GB M1 Pro Mini at around the price point of the current Intel Mini would be perfectly plausible.
The problem is, that's the M1 Pro. If you go to a M2 or M2 Pro it's going to start beating the M1 Max in the Studio on single-core CPU and GPU benchmarks, plus some of the rumours give the M2 Pro an extra CPU core (and the M2 already has an extra GPU core) and the M2 Pro could end up supporting more than the 32GB RAM of the base Studio.
Above everything else, though, the MacBook Pro is a more important product to Apple than the Mini so I suspect the MBP will have an "exclusive" on the M2 Pro/Max chips for a while. Apple could have made a M1 Pro Mini a year ago, or a M2 Mini in the summer, so I fear we're back to "the M2/M2 Pro Mac Mini is almost certainly coming" for the forseeable future.
I have a really hard time believing that $6000 serious-callers-only Mac Pros are selling in similar numbers to $1300 consumer oriented 24" iMacs (as seen in your local Buy More store), which throws those results into question. Also, ISTR Mac Studios were in pretty constrained supply last summer. Original source article is paywalled, so we can't check their methodology.
Also, in 2017 Apple were saying that their sales were 80% laptop to 20% desktop and I'm surprised that figures have drifted towards desktops rather than the other way (given that the 2016/2017 MBPs with butterfly keyboards were pretty widely hated c.f. the rather popular - and proportionately more powerful - M1 Pro/Max MBPs). Also, that MBAs are outselling MBPs.
At a guess, looks to me like a biassed sample of resellers - skewed towards specialist pro audio/video suppliers with disproportionate number of high-end customers. Given that Apple don't release sales breakdowns it probably excludes sales from Apple online & physical stores, too... which is a problem.
Even at $999, Apple would already get $300 just for a more powerful chip compared to the M1 Mac mini. Even with all the extras you might want the Mac mini "Pro" will not cost $2000. It's still a naked computer without display, keyboard and mouse.
$900 price difference between the base M1 Max Mac Studio & an equally equipped 14" M1 Max MacBook Pro; then adjust the 14" MBP for a full-die M1 Pro SoC, $2300...
So a (hypothetical) full-die M1 Pro Mac mini would be $1400, with 16GB RAM & a 512GB SSD...
Add $100 for the jump to M2 Pro SoC, $1500...
RAM pricing is weird with Apple; going from 16GB to 32GB (a 16GB increase) in the 14" MBP is $400; but going from 32GB to 64GB (a 32GB increase) in the Mac Studio is, wait for it, $400...
So if we want to go from 16GB to 48GB it could be anywhere from $400 to $800, let's just call it $600...
Storage upgrade; 512GB to 1TB is $200 for both machines...
So a (full-die) M2 Pro Mac mini, with 48GB of RAM & a 1TB SSD could be $2300...
Keep in mind, the (binned) M1 Max Mac Studio comes with 32GB RAM & a 512GB SSD; so to have the same RAM & storage specs of the M2 Pro Mac mini, the Mac Studio would run about $2500, depending on how Apple prices the RAM upgrade...
Add another $100 when Apple refreshes the Mac Studio to the M2 Max SoC, so $2600...?
But with the $200 difference between the M1 Max Mac Studio & the M2 Pro Mac mini, one gets 10Gb Ethernet, double the UMA bandwidth (400GB/s versus 200GB/s), eight more GPU cores, a larger PSU, and a better cooling system...?
TL;DR = The M2 Pro Mac mini only makes sense if it is stock or only has minimal upgrades...?
So a (hypothetical) full-die M1 Pro Mac mini would be $1400, with 16GB RAM & a 512GB SSD...
Add $100 for the jump to M2 Pro SoC, $1500...
RAM pricing is weird with Apple; going from 16GB to 32GB (a 16GB increase) in the 14" MBP is $400; but going from 32GB to 64GB (a 32GB increase) in the Mac Studio is, wait for it, $400...
So if we want to go from 16GB to 48GB it could be anywhere from $400 to $800, let's just call it $600...
Storage upgrade; 512GB to 1TB is $200 for both machines...
So a (full-die) M2 Pro Mac mini, with 48GB of RAM & a 1TB SSD could be $2300...
Keep in mind, the (binned) M1 Max Mac Studio comes with 32GB RAM & a 512GB SSD; so to have the same RAM & storage specs of the M2 Pro Mac mini, the Mac Studio would run about $2500, depending on how Apple prices the RAM upgrade...
Add another $100 when Apple refreshes the Mac Studio to the M2 Max SoC, so $2600...?
But with the $200 difference between the M1 Max Mac Studio & the M2 Pro Mac mini, one gets 10Gb Ethernet, double the UMA bandwidth (400GB/s versus 200GB/s), eight more GPU cores, a larger PSU, and a better cooling system...?
TL;DR = The M2 Pro Mac mini only makes sense if it is stock or only has minimal upgrades...?
I see that the HP Z2 comes in several configurations:
HP Z2 Mini Workstation - High Performance Desktop PC - Configurations
The HP Z2 Mini workstation delivers high-end performance in the world’s most powerful and quietest insanely small desktop mini PC.
Here is a review of one of the higher end configurations:
HP Z2 Mini G9 Review
HP's redesigned G9 version of its Z2 Mini workstation punches well above its weight, with desktop-class CPUs, replaceable graphics, and excellent connectivity.
None of Apple's products makes any sense (financially) when you buy all memory and storage upgrades. You can always double the price. That's necessary so that irresponsibly rich people know what to buy. There's still a huge gap between the Mac mini and the Mac Studio.
Mac mini with M1 $699 − $1,699 for 8-core/16GB/2TB
24" iMac with M1 $1,299 − $2,499 for 8-core/16GB/2TB
13" MBAir with M2 $1,199 − $2,499 for 10-core/24GB/2TB
14" MBPro with M1-Pro $1,999 − $5,099 for 16-core/32GB/8TB
14" MBPro with M1-Max $2,899 − $5,899 for 32-core/64GB/8TB
16" MBPro with M1-Pro $2,499 − $5,299 for 16-core/32GB/8TB
16" MBPro with M1-Max $3.099 − $6,099 for 32-core/64GB/8TB
Mac Studio with M1-Max $1,999 − $4,999 for 32-core/64GB/8TB
Mac Studio with M1-Ultra $3,999 − $7,999 for 64-core/128GB/8TB