The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[Boyd01]

You know, I'm still quite happy with my 2018 Mini. For the past month it's been pushed to the limit 24/7 running GIS software in a 32gb Windows 10 VM. After downloading about 4500 geodata files (~2.4 terabytes) from the USGS, I do lots of processing that generates several more terabytes of data. Am now approaching the final goal which consists of about 20 million .png map tiles (~600gb) that will be added to a 3d map in my web app. The Mini handles this like a champ for the most part, even as I continue to work in MacOS. Sure, a dedicated (expensive) windows box would be faster but I would really miss the integration with MacOS in Parallels.

I plan to keep this setup for another two years or so, I really can't afford frequent upgrades anymore now that I'm retired. But I also just couldn't do this on Apple Silicon today. So, I'm happy to just wait and see what the future holds. When I finally do upgrade, you're gonna be jealous of my new m6 Mini! I just hope they finally get back to space grey by then. 🤣

 

[i486dx2-66]

You know, I'm still quite happy with my 2018 Mini.

What OS version are you running?

My 2018 Mini went from "This thing is going to last me forever" to "I'm going to have to replace this soon" over the last few major OS versions. And it's not a perception change over time - it's that I held off updating for a long time (work projects needed stability), then skipped a couple versions when I finally updated, and bam it was (and has been) a totally different machine. Going back is not an option - the security risks just aren't worth it.

 

[weaztek]

I'm still happy with mine as well. I'm a photo professional and found that adding an external gpu (EGPU) made a huge performance difference using my photo editing apps.

 

[Chuckeee]

I'm still happy with mine as well. I'm a photo professional and found that adding an external gpu (EGPU) made a huge performance difference using my photo editing apps.

I did not know that you could still do that with Apple Silicon.

 

[sublunar]

I did not know that you could still do that with Apple Silicon.

Probably referring to the 2018 Intel Mac which can use EGPU

 

[Boyd01]

What OS version are you running?

Catalina was pre-installed when I bought it. Eventually upgraded to Monterey and still there, will probably continue until they stop providing updates (later this year?).

 

[weaztek]

Probably referring to the 2018 Intel Mac which can use EGPU

Correct. I replied to Boyd01's comment.

 

[Corefile]

Looks like new M3 Minis are almost certainly coming at WWDC in June.

 

[Boil]

Looks like new M3 Minis are almost certainly coming at WWDC in June.

What a sudden reversal of thought towards a possible M3/M3 Pro Mac mini; post two "Winky Face" emojis if you're under duress...

 

[Cape Dave]

What a sudden reversal of thought towards a possible M3/M3 Pro Mac mini; post two "Winky Face" emojis if you're under duress...

 

[Kentuckienne]

The video output died on my 2012 mini last fall, and I’ve been limping along with my 2017 MBP. Waiting for a new mini, will probably buy a mini and apple display instead of a Studio. The wait is distressing. I might take the dead mini apart to see if the video is fixable. I do have a retired electrical engineer on standby to help. Maybe use it as a media server. How do you all manage to distract yourselves from impatience? Winky emojis aren’t enough.

 

[anthonylambert]

The next one will be M4...

I can't believe I've been following this thread for 11 years!

We have had some great new Mac minis in the last few years

 

[Boyd01]

I might take the dead mini apart to see if the video is fixable. I do have a retired electrical engineer on standby to help.

IMO, the 2012 Mini's have gotten so cheap that it doesn't make sense tinkering with a dead one unless you enjoy that kind of thing. At MacSales (OWC) you can get the base 2012 Mini for about $60 including a limited warranty (I'm sure there are other places to find them too). If you max it out as a 2.6ghz quad with 16gb RAM and a 256gb SSD, that's still only $280 in "excellent condition" with warranty. I paid $1300 for that exact same machine from MacSales in 2016!

Mine still works fine, but is now only used as a file server and time machine destination. I wouldn't put any time or money into a 2012 or 2014 Mini these days though. I've got a sick 2014 in the closet that doesn't seem worth the effort to fix.

 

[sublunar]

The video output died on my 2012 mini last fall, and I’ve been limping along with my 2017 MBP. Waiting for a new mini, will probably buy a mini and apple display instead of a Studio. The wait is distressing. I might take the dead mini apart to see if the video is fixable. I do have a retired electrical engineer on standby to help. Maybe use it as a media server. How do you all manage to distract yourselves from impatience? Winky emojis aren’t enough.

No video through either the Thunderbolt/MDP or HDMI? Can you screen share on to the Mac mini or is it just dead?

 

[sublunar]

IMO, the 2012 Mini's have gotten so cheap that it doesn't make sense tinkering with a dead one unless you enjoy that kind of thing. At MacSales (OWC) you can get the base 2012 Mini for about $60 including a limited warranty (I'm sure there are other places to find them too). If you max it out as a 2.6ghz quad with 16gb RAM and a 256gb SSD, that's still only $280 in "excellent condition" with warranty. I paid $1300 for that exact same machine from MacSales in 2016!

Mine still works fine, but is now only used as a file server and time machine destination. I wouldn't put any time or money into a 2012 or 2014 Mini these days though. I've got a sick 2014 in the closet that doesn't seem worth the effort to fix.

Didn't think they had gotten so cheap, still more fun than a raspberry pi I imagine.

I have been thinking of resurrecting my old 2006 Core Duo Intel Minis with some form of 32 bit linux - reading up on them they only had a SATA 1 port so it doesn't seem worth pulling apart to put an SSD in even as a tinkering project. They are currently on Snow Leopard but haven't fired them up in ages.

 

[sublunar]

What a sudden reversal of thought towards a possible M3/M3 Pro Mac mini; post two "Winky Face" emojis if you're under duress...

I'd have thought that such a low volume device as a mini would be the perfect test platform for M4 CPU although they'd have to sell an M4 Pro to continue the top of the line spec.

Costco continue to put M1 Max Mac Studios on sales in the UK for £1299 - that includes sales tax for the US folks and obviously gives the M2 Pro Mini a run for its money.

It's a great deal if you need the power and connectivity but the potential end to support comes that bit sooner as Apple technically discontinued that model in June 2023 and the clock is therefore ticking.

 

[EugW]

IMO, the 2012 Mini's have gotten so cheap that it doesn't make sense tinkering with a dead one unless you enjoy that kind of thing. At MacSales (OWC) you can get the base 2012 Mini for about $60 including a limited warranty (I'm sure there are other places to find them too). If you max it out as a 2.6ghz quad with 16gb RAM and a 256gb SSD, that's still only $280 in "excellent condition" with warranty. I paid $1300 for that exact same machine from MacSales in 2016!

Didn't think they had gotten so cheap, still more fun than a raspberry pi I imagine.

Interesting, I just checked, and it seems some of the 2014 Mac mini models have dropped by a third to almost half compared to just 18 months ago.

Here in Canada, I see a 2014 Core i5 2.6 GHz for sale at CA$125 (or $143 with shipping) with 8 GB RAM and 480 GB SSD (not sure if SATA or NVMe), with 1 month warranty. That's ~US$$91 (or ~US$105 with shipping). I sold that same configuration (with 500 GB NVMe SSD) locally to a used Mac shop for CA$200 / ~US146, something like 15 months ago.

 

[sublunar]

Interesting, I just checked, and it seems some of the 2014 Mac mini models have dropped by a third to almost half compared to just 18 months ago.

Here in Canada, I see a 2014 Core i5 2.6 GHz for sale at CA$125 (or $143 with shipping) with 8 GB RAM and 480 GB SSD (not sure if SATA or NVMe), with 1 month warranty. That's ~US$$91 (or ~US$105 with shipping). I sold that same configuration (with 500 GB NVMe SSD) locally to a used Mac shop less than 18 months ago for CA$200 / ~US146.

it doesn’t really help when Apple cuts support for OS updates for anything older than 3 versions and the hardware also gets cut off from support eventually. With intel there was always the windows option but with final updates for windows 10 coming in October 2025 for anything with sky lake or less you‘re left with Linux if you want up to date OS, and probably struggling if you don‘t have a 64 bit cpu.

i guess we will then be left hoping that microsoft make a decent fist of windows on arm or get a Linux that works. Maybe the Intel Macs had value because of the abundant alternative OSs but with ARM it’s not so good?

 

[Miat]

The next one will be M4...

I can't believe I've been following this thread for 11 years!

We have had some great new Mac minis in the last few years

Just checked, and it has been almost ten years for me since my first comment on this thread (July 2014).

Moved to an M2 Air in late 2022 (and very happy with it), so don't have much to say about Minis of late. But still follow this thread to keep in touch as I might go back to one some day, and they are great little computers. A refurb Mini is an excellent value desktop for the average consumer, IMHO. I got 9 trouble-free years out of my refurb 2012 i7 Mini, running almost 24/7. Easily the best value computer I have ever owned.

 

[Populus]

I started to “wait” when the MacBook Pros were expected to come with Intel 10nm processor, after Skylake. But then, they got stuck in the 14nm+, 14nm++, 14nm+++… and I lost interest on the MacBook platform. That’s when I acquired a second hand 2014 Mac mini (2.60 GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB SSD) for just 400€, and I’m still using it today with Monterey.

It works pretty well, and I was tempted to get an M2 Pro Mac mini. But I managed to wait a bit more, and having an M4 Mac mini would be awesome. I’ll wait to see how the M4 is, and then decide if I get the M4 or wait for the M5. But the M4 seems like it will be a good chip to jump in. With all the AI stuff, it seems like it will have a good support down the line.

 

[weaztek]

But the M4 seems like it will be a good chip to jump in. With all the AI stuff, it seems like it will have a good support down the line.

Or not. We have no idea what the software companies will do. I'd assume cloud-based to support tablets, phones, and legacy computers.

 

[Micky Do]

But the M4 seems like it will be a good chip to jump in.

If you need a new computer it's a good time to jump in. If not, why bother? The sooner you buy, the sooner it will become obsolete.

I replaced my early 2009 Mac Mini with an M1 Mac Mini in 2022, and reckon on it seeing me through to the end of the decade or beyond.

Just had the battery replaced in my 2018 MacBook Air (old model, not the one with the problematic keyboard and no MagSafe power connector). It is slow compared to the M1 Mac Mini, and has reached the end for MacOS updates, but still serves my occasional needs when away from my desk. Hope to get another three or four years out of it.

Might then revert to taking the Mini with me when I need to travel, supplemented with an iPad.. I hate using laptops...... Viva la Mac Mini.

 

[Populus]

If you need a new computer it's a good time to jump in. If not, why bother? The sooner you buy, the sooner it will become obsolete.

I replaced my early 2009 Mac Mini with an M1 Mac Mini in 2022, and reckon on it seeing me through to the end of the decade or beyond.

Just had the battery replaced in my 2018 MacBook Air (old model, not the one with the problematic keyboard and no MagSafe power connector). It is slow compared to the M1 Mac Mini, and has reached the end for MacOS updates, but still serves my occasional needs when away from my desk. Hope to get another three or four years out of it.

Might then revert to taking the Mini with me when I need to travel, supplemented with an iPad.. I hate using laptops...... Viva la Mac Mini.

Definitely, the longer I wait, the better.

 

[macguru9999]

The M4 Mac Mini is almost certainly coming !

 

[Guenter]

Now when the m4 is out i expect the m4 mini at WWDC.