What if the Mini wasn't so tiny, but the size of a loaf of bread?

[user_xyz]

I’m funny how? I mean funny, like I’m a clown?

"The Way you tell the Story"

 

[Ploki]

I think we are getting closer to the key issue. Apple in the 90s bent over backwards making many options. And it nearly killed the company. Steve came back, laid out a tidy 2x2 grid and saved their bacon.

Apple is a trillion dollar company. They could offer at least as many models as Dell. But most of apples leadership was around or at least aware of Apple during the dark days and is afraid of going back.

So they play it safe. They stick with models or at least categories that Steve blessed and don’t go over. The good news is mini being blessed means it stays around. The bad news is, no xmac.

They do?
the iPad lineup is a hot mess of sizes and generations.
so is the iPhone lineup.

and so is the MacBook lineup.
12", passively cooled
13" MBA, little chunkier than 12", actively cooled, kinda like:
13" nTB MBP, except this one has better screen and CPU, but still worse than:
13" TB mbp, a tinsy bit heavier than 13" MBA, but tons better, also passively cooled when used lightly

when the first MBA came out, 13" MBP was a clunky fat bastard.
Now they're 10% of weight difference or so.

Can't say it's not full of options. you have 4 laptops packed so tightly together with only real difference being CPU power.
On the other hand, desktop Mac has had one upgrade last year.
- The Mini. and that's it.

 

[Cheapassmac]

There's a huge gap between the integrated video and full sized GPUs. The Mini wouldn't have to internally accommodate the fastest GPUs but could use something in between. HP offers a number of SFF systems which utilize SFF GPUs which offer performance easily exceeding the integrated GPU of the Mini but not having the size / power / cooling requirements of the high end GPUs.

What he is describing is the previous version of the Mac Pro. The current Mac Pro has constraints which limit, if the options were available, how much it could be upgraded.

You literally mention HP offers many SFF systems that can utilize better performance before questioning the current mac pro upgrade options. Apple could update the current Mac Pro if they wanted to, but chose to give it up for something else later this year.

 

[saulinpa]

I think some are missing something basic

What if the Mini wasn't so tiny, but the size of a loaf of bread?

Answer: It wouldn't be called a Mini anymore.

 

[Cheapassmac]

Honestly, if the intent was to allow a mac to add a full size video card, it would be bigger then a loaf of bread anyway. It would probably be more akin to those eGPU enclosures. You need room for a power supply, bays, and ventilation.

It certainly wouldn't be a mac mini anymore, maybe "mac', "xmac", "iCube", "mac mini pro" or something.