The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[Populus]

Why did you apply thermal paste 7 years ago, in 2017?

Because… I’m a geek, the Mac mini was used, and I was tearing it apart anyways because I was replacing the original HDD with an SSD (it was unusable with the mechanical drive). The 2014 model required you to literally pull out the mother board to replace the hard drive because it was really difficult to reach.

And I thought: “I want it to run like new, or even better than new”, so I purchased the best thermal paste I found in the market.

Also I don’t exactly remember the exact year, it was an estimation. Maybe 6, maybe 8 years ago…

Don’t worry people. I’m not going to replace the thermal paste to my future M4 Mac mini lol at least not during many, many years.

 

[EugW]

Because… I’m a geek, the Mac mini was used, and I was tearing it apart anyways because I was replacing the original HDD with an SSD (it was unusable with the mechanical drive). The 2014 required you to literally pull out the mother board to replace the hard drive because it was really difficult to reach.

And I thought: “I want it to run like new, or even better than new”, so I purchased the best thermal paste I found in the market.

Also I don’t exactly remember the exact year, it was an estimation. Maybe 6, maybe 8 years ago…

I understand where you’re coming from, but sometimes with Macs I take the stance of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’m curious though, which thermal paste did you use? I wonder if some of the best performing pastes in terms of thermal conductivity may have shorter life spans.

My 2014 Mac mini worked perfectly without overheating until I sold it in 2022. Mind you, even though I bought it used, it was in pristine condition (totally clean inside) without that much usage, so maybe its thermal paste hadn’t had a chance to degrade yet despite the fact it was 8 years old. OTOH, my 2009 MacBook Pro still works fine without overheating, and it’s on the original thermal paste. The one machine that has seen increased overheating issues is my 2008 MacBook.

BTW, for the 2014 Mac mini, I chose the NVMe SSD upgrade method since it didn’t require a full disassembly. It’s literally a 10 minute hardware upgrade. Furthermore, NVMe drives are way faster than SATA drives at the same price, aside from the extra cost of the NVMe adapter. I left the 1 TB hard drive in place as it still functioned fine. As you said, it was unbearable as a boot drive, but was fine as a bulk storage drive.

Here are the ports I would like to see carried over or added to the new mini...

Rear Ports:
1x USB-A Port (possible, but unlikely)
4x USB-C/Thunderbolt
1x HDMI
Ethernet (possibly in the power brick)
Magnetic charging cable

Front ports (I know - wishful thinking):
1x USB-C
SD Card Slot

I think USB-A may be dead on the Mac mini going forward. I would love to see 4 x Thunderbolt/USB4, but I suspect it’s going to be 3 x TB/USB4. FWIW, Gurman appears to agree. Yes there are supposedly four TB/USB4 controllers built into M4, but it may be that the fourth controller will be used for other stuff like HDMI and Ethernet. I don’t think there will be an SD Card slot.

For the M4 Pro Mac mini they could add two more TB/USB4 ports for a total of 5. This would be the sweet spot for me. However, I would prefer to see a 24 GB option. I don’t need 32 GB, nor do I want to pay for it, but I would prefer to have more than my current 16 GB. For most of my usage 16 GB is more than enough, but I plan on keeping an M4 Pro Mac mini for >5 years.

I do have a TB4/USB4 hub and it works well, but it’s still not quite the same as having built-in TB4/USB4 ports.

BTW, for HDMI I would prefer more than 4K 60 Hz.

 

[Populus]

I’m curious though, which thermal paste did you use?

If I’m being honest… I don’t remember. I’m not sure if it was the Artic Cooling…

BTW, for the 2014 Mac mini, I chose the NVMe SSD upgrade method since it didn’t require a full disassembly

This could’ve been useful back when I did the upgrade, but probably in a few months I’ll be jumping to a new M4 or M4 Pro mini so… thanks anyway! I think it required a proprietary, original connector for the NVMe, and I didn’t want to bother searching for one on eBay.

 

[WC7]

Buying plans ... I was going to trade in my 2023 entry level M3 iMac for the M4 iMac whenever it is to be introduced. (Usually, I don't trade before every 3 years) ... but after reading about Apple Intelligence I convinced myself to do a trade-in when it becomes available. Now we have rumors of a new new M4 Mac mini mini. So ... my plans have changed again. I will now buy both the M4 iMac and the M4 Mac mini mini when available.

 

[WC7]

Oh, before my iMac I was always in the Mac mini camp but when I left my work I didn't need the mini for work any longer. So I just thought I would purchase the iMac as replacement which I did. But now with Apple AI and AI in general I'd like to try running some things on new M4 machines.

 

[theluggage]

Magnetic charging cable

...if they're losing the internal PSU (boo!) then not switching to USB-C power so the Mini could be powered by a USB-C/TB display or dock would be a huge missed opportunity.

Front ports (I know - wishful thinking):
1x USB-C
SD Card Slot

...are all going to occupy space inside the case and on the logic board (I'm guessing they'll want to go cheap and mount the ports on the logic board rather than expensive Mac Studio-style replacable daughter boards).

Yes there are supposedly four TB/USB4 controllers built into M4, but it may be that the fourth controller will be used for other stuff like HDMI and Ethernet.

The other Minis and Studio Max seem to be able to use all 2/4 TB controllers provided by the M2/pro/max chips and provide HDMI (sometimes 2.1) and (up to 10G) Ethernet. The SoCs clearly have some extra PCIe and/or USB lines.

One of the rumours said "Apple is said to have tested ‌Mac mini‌ models with at least three USB-C ports on the back, as well as an area for the power cable and an HDMI port". That "at least" could be read as "we haven't decided whether to use USB-C for power yet" - claiming 4 TB ports could be a bit iffy if, out-of-the-box, you needed to "waste" one on the power brick.

I can see why they might prioritise HDMI over Ethernet if they're aiming for the low end - most TVs would make a good display for a base Mini.

 

[Populus]

Regarding future plans, lately I’m reading and learning about what Whiskey can do to allow me to play Windows games (DirectX 11 & 12) easily on Apple Silicon. And I’m wondering if the M4 GPU is a lot better than the M1 or M1 Pro, or just a minor improvement over the previous M3 GPU…

I feel like the GPU on the Apple Silicon chip will play an important role to make Windows games run well through Whiskey on macOS. And I suspect the M5 is going to come with a much more powerful GPU, faster LPDDR6 RAM, and all of those improvements will reflect on the gaming experience I can achieve through Whiskey.

So, I’m a bit hesitant to postpone the purchase one more year, because 1) we’re not sure if there’s going to be an M5 Mac mini, maybe they will jump from the M4 gen to the M6 gen, and 2) if there’s an M5 mini in a year, I’ll be again hesitant to buy the M5 because the M6 will be on the horizon built on the new 2nm TSMC process, which will probably be a huge improvement over previous chips’ performance.

So… I think I’m not waiting more, but rather going with the M4 Pro if it has substantially more GPU cores and I can afford it.

I just hope that such a powerful little box doesn’t melt or have temperature issues, especially being a gen 1 of a new design.

 

[Micky Do]

Regarding future plans

I’m a bit hesitant to postpone the purchase one more year,

So… I think I’m not waiting more

Get a new Mac Mini when you need one, or merely want one.

Sooner or later it be out of date because the new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming,

But rest assured that will not be a biggie because steps between the generations tend to be incremental rather than exponential.

 

[WC7]

So, it looks like Apple is preparing a new mini Mac mini. Could Apple be bifurcating the mini Mac mini even from the Studio version? Maybe, the mini Mac mini would be more closely identified with an Apple TV? I have no objections to a smaller design since I am a lite user. In fact, since ditching my mini I still have the screens, keyboards, and mice to fully support one.

 

[colinsky]

Mini squared.

 

[DesertSurfer]

Mini squared.

Mini cubed.

 

[sublunar]

So, it looks like Apple is preparing a new mini Mac mini. Could Apple be bifurcating the mini Mac mini even from the Studio version? Maybe, the mini Mac mini would be more closely identified with an Apple TV? I have no objections to a smaller design since I am a lite user. In fact, since ditching my mini I still have the screens, keyboards, and mice to fully support one.

That works if Apple are intending to push the pro cpu into the studio line leaving the mini once again without a high end pro sku. Remember apple put an m3 into the 14/16 MacBook Pro after eliminating the 13 inch pro.

If they did this then it allows apple to retire the mini and bring out the Mac Nano. 😀

 

[bearcatrp]

Mini cubed.

Mini joke!

 

[theluggage]

That works if Apple are intending to push the pro cpu into the studio line leaving the mini once again without a high end pro sku.

Since the M3 Pro, the status of the "pro" CPU has shifted somewhat. M1/2 Pro was crudely speaking the same "8 peformance cores, 4 efficiency cores" die as the Max with a strip of GPU cores . M3 Pro is a unique die with a more low-power focussed 6 performance/6 efficiency core CPU vs. the M3 Max's 12p/4e CPU. Other improvements mean that the M3 Pro is still faster than the M2 Pro, but relative to the M3 and M3 Max it has taken a downgrade. We'll see if the M4 series continues this trend & whether there's going to be an "M4 Ultra". (CPU aside, I'd make a wild guess that the M4 Max will have 6+ TB4 controllers, since it looks like even the M4 now has 4)

Practical upshot: the M4 & M4 Pro could be seen as "efficiency" chips while the M4 Max (& maybe Ultra) as the "performance" chips - so M4 & M4 Pro in a new super-Mini vs. M4 Max & Ultra in Studio format would kinda make sense. I fear the Studio will see a price bump - the M3 Max MBP already looks like it got a $100 bump vs. the M2 Max (but you get an extra 4GB RAM at Apple's delusional $200-per-8GB rate).

The M4 series chips are likely to be all-round more efficient though - If Apple sticks with the current Mini design it would probably be possible to do a M4 Max Mini - but the rumored mini-mini would probably restrict it to regular and "pro".

Remember apple put an m3 into the 14/16 MacBook Pro after eliminating the 13 inch pro.

...but the 13" MBP was always a regular M1/M2, not a "pro" chip. (Using "pro" as a designator for the M-series chips was dumb) - and going back to the Intel days, the entry-level "2 Port" MacBook Pros tended to use lower-TDP Intel chips and integrated GPUs that were slower than the 4-port (and certainly the 15/16") versions. Basically, since ~2016, the entry-level MacBook Pros would be better described as "just MacBooks" if Apple hadn't used that name for something else.

 

[kubad]

I'm thinking about price. How do think, is the price will be the same as now or will be more/less expensive?

 

[Chuckeee]

I'm thinking about price. How do think, is the price will be the same as now or will be more/less expensive?

I think the list price for the lowest new entry level M4 Mac mini will remain unchanged from the current list price of $599. But what you get (or don’t get) is a big question. How many ports, USB-C vs TB4, RAM, Ethernet?, binned? etc. It like candy bars, Apple will strive to keep the list price the same but what’s “under that wrapper” might shrink (but it will still be a new M4).

 

[Populus]

I think the list price for the lowest new entry level M4 Mac mini will remain unchanged from the current list price of $599. But what you get (or don’t get) is a big question. How many ports, USB-C vs TB4, RAM, Ethernet?, binned? etc. It like candy bars, Apple will strive to keep the list price the same but what’s “under that wrapper” might shrink (but it will still be a new M4).

I expect the base RAM to increase to 12GB (I know, I know…) but I think a binned M4 is a given.

Hopefully the M4 Pro model won’t be binned.

 

[Populus]

I’m curious though, which thermal paste did you use?

I just remembered: a Noctua compound (white).
People really praised them back then.

 

[Boil]

I’m curious though, which thermal paste did you use? I wonder if some of the best performing pastes in terms of thermal conductivity may have shorter life spans.

If I’m being honest… I don’t remember. I’m not sure if it was the Arctic Cooling…

I just remembered: a Noctua compound (white).

Arctic Cooling MX pastes are good, Noctua has good paste and includes it with their heat sinks, but IMHO Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is pretty great...!

 

[sublunar]

I expect the base RAM to increase to 12GB (I know, I know…) but I think a binned M4 is a given.

Hopefully the M4 Pro model won’t be binned.

You'd suspect that binned CPUs will be the order of the day for the Mini. With full fat ones available for a small upgrade, if the prices are reasonable then why not?

 

[theluggage]

but I think a binned M4 is a given.

Hopefully the M4 Pro model won’t be binned.

...yet that's the reverse of the current situation where the base M2 Mini has a full 8 CPU/10 GPU chip while the M2 Pro Mini starts with a binned 10/16 and has a 12/19 option. Not sure why Apple would "flip" with the M4 unless they are planning to introduce a (relatively) cheaper Mac Mini.

It's worth remembering that Apple's "entry level" for-the-masses system is not the Mac Mini, it's the $999 MacBook Air, which quite probably sells at 10x the volume (50x if you believe certain online sources more than a magic 8 ball). In the 2020s any desktop system is a bit niche. Having to manage too many permutations of each model increases logistics costs and could get uneconomical with a low-volume range. At MacBook Air volumes, that's less of a problem.

Also, the base Mini is not a cheap computer - it's the least expensive bits of a MacBook Air in a box. A headless box for $300 less than a complete laptop system may be OK, but it's hardly a steal. You're not going to get a comparable quality screen, keyboard, trackpad and mouse for that. There's a limit to how much penny-pinching people will take.

As for the 12GB, well, it's quite likely but far from certain - and it's still nickel-and-diming when 16GB base is rapidly becoming the norm for anything in an Apple-comparable price bracket. If Apple have the brass neck to make working 12GB iPads and artificially knobble them to 8GB (and not even offer a 12GB upgrade!) then they may think they can do the same with Mac Minis. Whatever is printed on the on-package chips, those iPads only promise 8GB and the upgrade option is 16GB, not 12. There is no official 12GB M4 SoC.

 

[Populus]

...yet that's the reverse of the current situation where the base M2 Mini has a full 8 CPU/10 GPU chip while the M2 Pro Mini starts with a binned 10/16 and has a 12/19 option. Not sure why Apple would "flip" with the M4 unless they are planning to introduce a (relatively) cheaper Mac Mini.

Okay, I didn’t remember that the binned chip was the M2 Pro. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Corefile]

So looks like some of the Mac experts are now saying 16GB of RAM in the standard M4 Mini. Would Apple really give us that base config in a 500$ base machine???

 

[Boyd01]

There was a front page article here a few days ago suggesting that all the new Macs will have 16gb minimum...

16GB of RAM Could Be the New Minimum in Apple's Upcoming M4 Macs

All of Apple's upcoming new Macs this year are likely to have at least 16GB of RAM pre-installed as standard, breaking a years-long tradition of...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Chuckeee]

So looks like some of the Mac experts are now saying 16GB of RAM in the standard M4 Mini. Would Apple really give us that base config in a 500$ base machine???

Just another useless MaxTech clickbait video