I probably own more Mac Minis than the average person but I also own several NUCs. See how tiny the PSU is.
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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This looks like a third party high wattage PSU. The NUC PSUs are much smaller.
Bottom line is that when even Intel "out-Apples" Apple then you know Tim Apple isn't pushing his employees anymore.
Yeah it's a high-wattage 3rd party PSU.
I've read that NUCs need a lot of wattage for the two Thunderbolt ports as well as the mid to high-end Intel processors that are available inside those Thunderbolt-equipped NUCs.
So yes... the PSU in the image I posted might not be the typical NUC PSU.
Still though... it's kinda silly to say "look at how small the NUC is" without acknowledging the external PSU that is required.
Could Apple make a smaller Mac Mini? Absolutely. But they'd likely have to use an external power supply. Like the NUC.
Point is the NUC + tiny PSU is way smaller than the monster Mac Mini case. Apple design ideas died when Sir Jony Ive was chased out of Cupertino by Tim Apple.
When he was at Apple, post-SJ, there was much complaining that most of his designs were too much form over function. Now that he's gone, he's missed. So, which is it?
I think the summation is that Apple have run out of design ideas which is why the Mini is based on a 15 year old aging design. The NUC slaughters it.
The NUC is so amazing and successful that Intel ended up dumping it from their lineup and selling it to ASUS lol.
If my Mac Mini were half the size it would make precisely zero difference to my life. For a computer that plugs into mains electricity, optimising for size above all else eventually gets daft.
It wasn't a core contributor to Intel's bottom line so it was a distraction to them. We don't know how many Mac Minis that Apple sells. But, clearly, Intel invested in the design of the NUC over the year, something which Apple never does.
A lot of the newer mini PCs support USB C power delivery (e.g. Minisforum UM790 Pro). So if that's something you really care about when coupled with a capable USB C monitor, one cable can do video + power and no extra external PSU. You could also easily mount it on the monitor to have it even more out of the way.Yeah it's a high-wattage 3rd party PSU.
I've read that NUCs need a lot of wattage for the two Thunderbolt ports as well as the mid to high-end Intel processors that are available inside those Thunderbolt-equipped NUCs.
So yes... the PSU in the image I posted might not be the typical NUC PSU.
Still though... it's kinda silly to say "look at how small the NUC is" without acknowledging the external PSU that is required.
Could Apple make a smaller Mac Mini? Absolutely. But they'd likely have to use an external power supply. Like the NUC.
There's so much empty space in the base model Minis these days and the PSU is overkill 150W leftovers from the Intel Mac Mini days that they could probably chop the size by a third or more if they really cared.
And Intel dropped the NUC.
The NUC was so great ... that Intel ended it.
Sure, ASUS (and others) make small boxes, and ASUS is picking up the servicing of NUCs.
But again, you think the NUC is great... but Intel couldn't make it a profitable business.
And you have yet to comment on the noise of the NUC (and similar) devices.
Or the power consumption.
The fact is that many people and companies have made supporting devices for the Mac Mini form, and if Apple changed the masses would be screaming about it.
I gave an NUC a trial. It was the type shown, small and square. It had HORRIBLE fan noise. Insane. However, I now have the larger (slightly) Phantom Canyon box, and it is dead silent. A true thing beauty. Best computer I ever had, and I have had them ALL!
I’m glad Apple abandoned the 2006 Intel mini + external psu. Mini 2006 was bit smaller in his OWN but all the extra cabling and clunky psu, pffff … thank you very much!
The mini size is fine. Apple could put more ports in it. Looks how many ports can be crammed into a NUC. But silly me, why would they do something to benefit users?
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While I agree with you that with such big, clunky psu brick it is preferable to have it all inside a compact Mac mini, I think that today, in 2024, especially with how efficient are Apple Silicon chips, the power supply can be much smaller, and it can either be integrated inside a slightly smaller Mac mini, or be external, as an adapter such as the one used with the iMac, which by the way, could integrate the Ethernet port.
Annoying customers with an only „slightly smaller“ design that still renders existing addons and mounting locations (-> CoLo, computer farms) unusable, without significant benefit otherwise, is not worth the cost and hassle.
Those mac mini server farms kinda deserve to get disrupted as a reality check, because using consumer grade computers for servers is a bit of a joke.
You don’t really know what I mean with “slightly smaller”, maybe what I have in my mind is even smaller than what you thought I was meaning. And no, I’m not doing a render to show you. The one that made Prosser back in the day looked nice.
Anyways, standing my ground, I disagree with you as well, but I’m not calling you “annoying customer”.
You misread me. I meant that it is not worth for Apple to annoy customers with a smaller design without significant benefits.
I’m not really pushing for a redesign as I’m happy with the way it is, but…
when the Mac mini was released in the form factor it has now, it had a SuperDrive and was designed for it. A new design could free up desk space, provide better port access and same or better cooling with integrated power supply.
when the Mac mini was released in the form factor it has now, it had a SuperDrive and was designed for it. A new design could free up desk space, provide better port access and same or better cooling with integrated power supply.
Why would a smaller form factor provide better port access? Apple could put front ports in a current mini if they wanted to. And you can get docking units (like Satechi‘s) if you absolutely need/want those and don’t want a Studio.
Better cooling in a (significantly) smaller form factor with still the PSU integrated is theoretically harder to accomplish. At least, as long as noise is still considered a relevant factor.
And the hypothetically freed up desk space is probably negligible. It may even be outweighed by the disadvantage that a smaller and lighter case would be more prone to be moved/pulled by attached cables, so you would need to countermeasure that (either Apple directly by artificially adding weight or by the customer, constructing some kind of bolted-down fence or something).
Sorry, but I still fail to see a benefit of changing the form factor for the sake of change. Of course there will always be something smaller, be it a NUC or even a Raspberry Pi. But IMHO the package as a whole is well-rounded in the current mini design - which might be why Apple didn’t see the need to change it for many years now.