The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[philipma1957]

With all my usual stuff running + 2 VMs, the "Memory Pressure" graph is still green though it appears to be around 50% (I'm not sure exactly how this metric is calculated). Swap Used is ~430 MB. I rarely look at either of these metrics so I'm not sure how that stacks up. Would this imply 16 GB could be fine?

I would push to the Mac Studio with 32gb ram and 1tb ssd.

I am hoping to buy one via the veteran program for about 2080

 

[Saurav Shrestha ⚡️]

Actually it was still writing to the SSD when I snapped that screengrab.

I tried to export the unmodified originals of my entire 50000 pic Photos library but for some strange reason this is an extremely difficult task for Photos (even though $20 third party apps can do it with no stress on the system whatsoever). It ran like that for about 45 minutes gradually accumulating swap memory usage before finally crashing. Never once did the memory pressure hit red.

Photos seems to be fundamentally broken for this function. My final solution in Photos was to limit the exports to only about 3000 pix at a time, but it does make me worry about the future viability of Photos as our image libraries further increase in size.

Its a lock-in mechanism utilized by Apple. You can check in any time you like but you can never leave, etc etc.

I bit the bullet and actually store my 170k photos on a nice custom-built windows PC and use ACDSee Photo Ultimate to manage everything. The photos that I do want on my phone I export straight into the Windows iCloud Photos directory.

 

[Micky Do]

No joy today, but don't fret. The new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.

 

[Corefile]

No joy today, but don't fret. The new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.

But when? Tim Apple didn't reveal one today.

 

[Populus]

But when? Tim Apple didn't reveal one today.

Probably in spring of next year, just like this year.

 

[Crosscreek]

No joy today, but don't fret. The new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.

I have to agree that The New Mac mini is almost Certainly coming.

 

[MBAir2010]

The new mac mini is certainly coming….
yes this Wednesday before 3pm, for me!

 

[EugW]

I wonder if the M3 Pro Mac mini will start at 18 GB RAM too.

 

[Populus]

I wonder if the M3 Pro Mac mini will start at 18 GB RAM too.

I’ve read that the M3 Pro has fewer (3 billion less) transistors than the M2 Pro, while the M3 has 5 billion transistors more than the M2, and the M3 Max has 26 billion transistors more than M2 Max. If this gets confirmed, it’s pretty weird…

 

[Micky Do]

But when?

An oft echoed sentiment in this thread.

 

[Micky Do]

The new mac mini is certainly coming….
yes this Wednesday before 3pm, for me!

Well done.... if you need one now, get one now. I have no regrets replacing my early 2009 mac Mini with an M1 model a couple of years ago, only a month or two before the forecast M2 was announced.

 

[EugW]

Well done.... if you need one now, get one now. I have no regrets replacing my early 2009 mac Mini with an M1 model a couple of years ago, only a month or two before the forecast M2 was announced.

I did the same, from a 2014 8 GB Core i5 to a 16 GB 1 TB M1, but I bought mine used for several hundred $ off.

 

[deconstruct60]

I’ve read that the M3 Pro has fewer (3 billion less) transistors than the M2 Pro, while the M3 has 5 billion transistors more than the M2, and the M3 Max has 26 billion transistors more than M2 Max. If this gets confirmed, it’s pretty weird…

The M3 Pro has lower memory bandwidth the the M2 Pro. ( 150 GB/s vs 200 GB/s ). It has one less memory package.

Apple unveils M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, the most advanced chips for a personal computer

M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max feature groundbreaking technologies that deliver dramatically increased performance and unleash new capabilities for Mac.

www.apple.com

If you 'loose' those additional memory channels, then pragmatically also loose the "system cache" Apple would use the 'front' those memory controllers. (with cache drop go many millions of transistors ) I think this is paritally a rebalancing of the memory system to the new GPU core count/configuration. M3 Pro diverges way farther from the M3 Max than previous generations did. It looks like it worked on by a deliberate team with different objectives than the Max team. (i.e., doesn't look the "Max lite"/"Max scaled down on GPU cores" anymore. )



M2 has a symmetrical 4 packages.

Apple unveils M2 Pro and M2 Max: next-generation chips for next-level workflows

Supercharging MacBook Pro and Mac mini, M2 Pro and M2 Max feature a more powerful CPU and GPU, up to 96GB of unified memory, and power efficiency.

www.apple.com

There are some rumblings that Apple may try to stuff the M3 Pro into an 'extra big' iPad Pro (13-14" ). Perhaps this 'squarer' package fits better in an iPad. Or Apple is goosing the profit margins on the packages somehow this way.
It is different. A major contributing factor to why the memory capacities look 'funky' compared to the first two generations.

 

[Populus]

The M3 Pro has lower memory bandwidth the the M2 Pro. ( 150 GB/s vs 200 GB/s ). It has one less memory package.

Apple unveils M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, the most advanced chips for a personal computer

M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max feature groundbreaking technologies that deliver dramatically increased performance and unleash new capabilities for Mac.

www.apple.com

If you 'loose' those additional memory channels, then pragmatically also loose the "system cache" Apple would use the 'front' those memory controllers. (with cache drop go many millions of transistors ) I think this is paritally a rebalancing of the memory system to the new GPU core count/configuration. M3 Pro diverges way farther from the M3 Max than previous generations did. It looks like it worked on by a deliberate team with different objectives than the Max team. (i.e., doesn't look the "Max lite"/"Max scaled down on GPU cores" anymore. )



M2 has a symmetrical 4 packages.

Apple unveils M2 Pro and M2 Max: next-generation chips for next-level workflows

Supercharging MacBook Pro and Mac mini, M2 Pro and M2 Max feature a more powerful CPU and GPU, up to 96GB of unified memory, and power efficiency.

www.apple.com

There are some rumblings that Apple may try to stuff the M3 Pro into an 'extra big' iPad Pro (13-14" ). Perhaps this 'squarer' package fits better in an iPad. Or Apple is goosing the profit margins on the packages somehow this way.
It is different. A major contributing factor to why the memory capacities look 'funky' compared to the first two generations.

Hmmm… I don’t like that, but I guess I’ll wait for the benchmarks before jumping into any conclusion.

Thanks for the detailed information, I’ve been sleeping since the introduction of the M3 and it’s great to wake up with this great explanation.

 

[MBAir2010]

Well done.... if you need one now, get one now. I have no regrets replacing my early 2009 mac Mini with an M1 model a couple of years ago, only a month or two before the forecast M2 was announced.

that certain purchase is just for Monterey an the m1 is fast!

and
thanks for the encouraging reply!

 

[MBAir2010]

I did the same, from a 2014 8 GB Core i5 to a 16 GB 1 TB M1, but I bought mine used for several hundred $ off.

Hello EugW!
didn't we help and save may older Intel Macs last year with Dosdude and OCLP info?
then you received a M1 and said im done and will enjoy the rest of mt Mac days/
I am in the same boat but still offer advice on older MacBooks.
there are 3 of them that get used daily now.
hope to see more of you on there forums!

 

[EugW]

Hello EugW!
didn't we help and save may older Intel Macs last year with Dosdude and OCLP info?
then you received a M1 and said im done and will enjoy the rest of mt Mac days/
I am in the same boat but still offer advice on older MacBooks.
there are 3 of them that get used daily now.
hope to see more of you on there forums!

I still have a lot of Intel Macs. I sold my 2014 Mac mini though.

 

[MBAir2010]

I still have a lot of Intel Macs. I sold my 2014 Mac mini though.

my mini 2012 conked in April, after a successful Monterey install!
luckily I final found a Mac mini M1 for $400ish Saturday mint condition!

im happy I dont have to deal with older OS as a main source anymore.

I might sell the MBP '12 bacuse someone got $600 for theirs this weekend on CL
and probably a law suit since they claimed that was a newer version.
buyer beware, but deceit is a crime too!

 

[harriska2]

OK, so my 2018 mac mini seems to be getting the “slow down” treatment by Ventura. Forcing me to find a way to go backward or upgrade. It is incredibly slow with 32 GB and 1 TB SSD. I’m not buying another one. Either a MBP M3 with 30+GB and 1 TB SSD or studio pro.

 

[Boyd01]

Guess I'm the outlier, my 2018 i7/64gb/2tb Mini is still working great with Monterey, will probably wait until they stop security updates next year to upgrade. I use Windows 10 in a 32gb Parallels VM heavily for GIS software (to make maps) and would hate to give up the MacOS and Windows integration on the same computer.

I got my 2018 Mini in 2020 and planned to use it for 5 years. At this time, I see no reason not to stick with that plan - and, frankly, I can't afford to upgrade any more often than that.

 

[Boil]

I use Windows 10 in a 32gb Parallels VM heavily for GIS software (to make maps) and would hate to give up the MacOS and Windows integration on the same computer.

So when you eventually get an ASi Mac mini, you could reconfigure the 2018 Intel Mac mini to boot into Windows 10 and use it to run your GIS software, no VM needed...?

 

[smulji]

Probably in spring of next year, just like this year.

there are rumblings of a redesign coming summer 2024

 

[Boyd01]

So when you eventually get an ASi Mac mini, you could reconfigure the 2018 Intel Mac mini to boot into Windows 10 and use it to run your GIS software, no VM needed...?

Yeah, but then I lose all the advantages of having everything on the same computer. Who knows what will be possible when I'm ready to upgrade in 2025? I'll just figure it out then.

 

[Boil]

Yeah, but then I lose all the advantages of having everything on the same computer. Who knows what will be possible when I'm ready to upgrade in 2025? I'll just figure it out then.

Triple stack; 2018 Intel Mac mini, ASi Mac mini, KVM switch with Mac mini-sized footprint...?

 

[Boyd01]

Single stack 2018 Mini: does everything I need and doesn't cost anything.