Who's excited for an ARM Mac mini?

[nick9191]

Forgetting about the developer transition kit for a second, the Mini is a small and often overlooked part of Apple's line up, but one that is much loved by all who own it. What are your hopes for a new Apple Silicon based Mac mini?

I think Apple's move to their own SoC presents a fantastic future for the mini if they choose to continue with the product. I think they may go quite wacky with it in terms of the sizing and possibly the power and graphics available due to the reduced size and heat constraints the switch brings.

For me, and I know this almost certainly won't happen, but I'd love to see the mini split into Mac mini and Mac mini Pro lines.

Mac mini:

• A really small design, not considerably larger than a Raspberry Pi
• Standard consumer level AXX chip
• Passively cooled, entirely silent
• 2 x USB 4 ports
• 2 x USB 3 type A ports
• 1 x HDMI port
• WIFI 6, I could see Apple dropping ethernet though, adapters are very cheap and I'd wager lot's of users use WIFI, might be quite controversial which Apple seems to love lately.
• Powered through one of the USB 4 ports, iPad style "charger" sufficient to power the unit

I'd love to see this back in the $499 range, which should be doable even with their usual markup. The Core i3 in the current mini currently retails at $133, bear in mind this is 2 years after it launched. Apple will receive a discount for bulk however the CPU alone is not the only outgoing cost to a third party.

Mac mini Pro:

• A larger design, but not considerably larger than the current Intel mini, if at all
• Faster SoC, we don't know what the silicon strategy will look like at this stage but something really speedy would be nice, same SoC from the high end ARM iMacs as an option?
• Actively cooled, but very quiet
• Up to 128GB RAM/4TB SSD (ECC memory option? very unlikely)
• 2 extra USB 4 ports, ethernet standard and with a 10Gb ethernet option available
• Traditional power cord, but no power brick, built in to the unit

I'd like to see this in the $999-$1499 range depending on options. User replaceable RAM/SSD would be amazing to see, but very unlikely I'm sure.

So these are my wishes, I think in reality we'll probably just end up with something similar to the basic Mini I've described. Apple have always been very hesitant to release anything that eats into the iMac line, people have been pining for the xMac on here for at least 15 years and Apple have always resisted. With that said if Apple do release the basic Mac mini similar to what I've described, I'm sure it will be a great seller and I'll certainly take one.

What do you think the new Mac mini will be like?

 

[ek9max]

i'm probably most excited for a Mac mini with ARM chip.

 

[Tekguy0]

Why would they drop ethernet? Apple can just buy the cheapest Realtek chip and put it on the logic board for minimal cost. They also have the option of 10Gbe Aquantia NICs, so I don't know why it would be dropped, since 1Gb NICs are cheap. The first model you are describing sounds like a glorified Apple TV. Keep in mind, the Apple TV 4K uses an A10X, which is cooled with a fan, so I don't think passive cooling would be possible. Apples lineup is convoluted enough as it is, no need to split the Mac Mini into two lines.

 

[nick9191]

Why would they drop ethernet? Apple can just buy the cheapest Realtek chip and put it on the logic board for minimal cost. They also have the option of 10Gbe Aquantia NICs, so I don't know why it would be dropped, since 1Gb NICs are cheap. The first model you are describing sounds like a glorified Apple TV. Keep in mind, the Apple TV 4K uses an A10X, which is cooled with a fan, so I don't think passive cooling would be possible. Apples lineup is convoluted enough as it is, no need to split the Mac Mini into two lines.

You're probably right, but if they did, I'd expect the "why" would be to either meet the size constraints of the smaller unit or to offer some distinction between the mini and my mythical mini pro that will never happen. I was just musing really. It would be a bit of a kick in the teeth to some users but then a usb-c to ethernet adapter is what, $15? And it's not a portable so the adapter would not need to be carried around/lost/forgotten.

I think passive cooling would be possible, an iPad Pro manages it fine but then that's a more expensive device, might require too much R&D for a $499 low volume product.

 

[Tekguy0]

You're probably right, but if they did, I'd expect the "why" would be to either meet the size constraints of the smaller unit or to offer some distinction between the mini and my mythical mini pro that will never happen. I was just musing really. It would be a bit of a kick in the teeth to some users but then a usb-c to ethernet adapter is what, $15? And it's not a portable so the adapter would not need to be carried around/lost/forgotten.

I think passive cooling would be possible, an iPad Pro manages it fine but then that's a more expensive device, might require too much R&D for a $499 low volume product.

Seems to me they could just do a modified Apple TV board, since at some point the ATV will switch to the A12X/Z or later X-series chip, and keep in mind some of those ethernet adapters do not have an onboard NIC chip, or one that offloads everything to the SoC, reducing performance. I am not sure the iPad can sustain high levels of performance, this has been documented in Apples other products (GPUs in iPhones, especially), while a Mac or ATV must be able to. I think a $499 desktop would sell great, even if it was a glorified ATV.

 

[tdar]

I’m easy. Take the DTK and put the Mac SoC in it and add 4 USB4 ports. Perfect.

 

[groove-agent]

Imagine if you could hack an Apple TV to run Big Sur. Hmmm. Mac Mini mini.

 

[dogslobber]

It’s great for Apple because they can now fully control the data pins from the drive to memory and drives. This allows Apple to produce proprietary memory and SSDs and still keep them slotted. A nice win to lock out third parties completely.

 

[Spock]

Mac mini in something as small as the Apple TV with a lower price point would be fantastic. Even better if they could bring old software like FrontRow back. And with the iPhone SE selling for $549 with 256 gigs of storage and the latest A13, a $499 price point is totally doable.

 

[jinnyman]

if raw performance offered by Arm Mac mini matches atleats 10700k with 2060super level, I'm sold. Perhaps even 1660ti, but it all depends on performance. By going Arm, I'm about to spend whole set of new software purchases, and the performance better be good enough to justify that extra cost.

 

[AustinIllini]

This guy is

 

[philosophree]

Could the Apple TV turn into Mac TV? That's how I could see it being able to handle both duties as a Apple TV as well as mini Mac OS computer. Most new TV's seem to have smart functionality already so a stand alone ATV seems less important unless Apple really tried to push gaming harder...

 

[Heat_Fan89]

It’s great for Apple because they can now fully control the data pins from the drive to memory and drives. This allows Apple to produce proprietary memory and SSDs and still keep them slotted. A nice win to lock out third parties completely.

Yes and that could/might mean no upgradeable parts. It could be treated like an iPad, iPhone or Apple TV. You buy the configuration you want and that's it. It could also mean that Arm Mac OS updates might be treated like iOS, iPadOS and tvOS. Once Apple stops signing the update there's no going back.

 

[ek9max]

if raw performance offered by Arm Mac mini matches atleats 10700k with 2060super level, I'm sold. Perhaps even 1660ti, but it all depends on performance. By going Arm, I'm about to spend whole set of new software purchases, and the performance better be good enough to justify that extra cost.

you don’t think we will get the software versions of arm that we paid for already? Final cut etc....

 

[UBS28]

I could see a Mac mini with ARM chip since I plan on using it with my TV. So I don’t care that much about missing software.

 

[Nermal]

you don’t think we will get the software versions of arm that we paid for already? Final cut etc....

I'm sure you will with Final Cut, but I bet not all developers will be as accommodating.

 

[sublunar]

I'm sure you will with Final Cut, but I bet not all developers will be as accommodating.

Surely if they are intending to seamlessly use the Mac App Store the same software which require 'a tick box' to recompile should be downloadable in a native form for ARM Macs?

Even if not then there's the virtualised mode where Intel software runs under Rosetta 2.
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I don't see how Apple could produce a 'Pro' variant for ARM machines when they have shown no inclination to do the same for the Intel Mini.

For reasons of marketing continuity I'd say it makes more sense for them to continue using the existing case so users aren't spooked by the new CPU - and let's not forget that the current form factor helps the Co-location guys fill their racks.

The proposed benefit of going ARM should mean we hardly ever need to hear the fans going unless the CPU is being hammered and the case will allow for expansion for CPUs with more cores and higher TDP in future.

 

[Populus]

As a Mac mini owner, I’m pretty excited for an ARM Mac mini, a silent, fresh, maybe even smaller machine with a great compute power and graphics power.

I currently have a 2014 Mac mini, which is pretty fast with its SSD. And I couldn’t be happier to have such a small computer on my desk. I’m eager to jump to the ARM era!!!

 

[dryjoy]

I have my doubts about getting the 5.4” iPhone 12, or waiting to the rumored port-less 5.5” iPhone 13. Why? Because iPhone 13 will have (reportedly):

- Much better cameras, with nearly 50MP and a revolutionary new technology
- LTPO Screens to allow always-on displays
- Probably a much faster A15 SoC, built on the same 5nm but probably with an all new architecture to diferentiate it from the iPhone 12
- Due to not having a port, the battery can be bigger, thus, better batter life.

On the other hand, I don’t want a port-less iPhone because I like to plug it in to charge while I’m using it, and because I like to perform clean installs of iOS (DFU Restores) and I doubt I will be able to do this on a port-less iPhone. So... What would you do?

Wrong thread?

 

[tdar]

I'm sure you will with Final Cut, but I bet not all developers will be as accommodating.

For a long time,at least in the App Store,most AS native apps will be universal binary 2.
So if you own the intel version you already own the AS version.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

I am looking to upgrade, and a Mac Mini will likely be it, so I am quite excited. I was considering waiting for the second revision, but I am not waiting 2 more years for that!

But I won't be jumping on it right away. I want to see how fast it is for the price, and how quickly developers starts porting to the new architecture.

 

[Populus]

Wrong thread?

Yes, I left the iPad on, while cooking, and I thought I was on the dummy 5,4” iPhone size comparison. I will edit my comment with something Mac mini related.

Thank you, and excuse my lack of attention!

 

[Spungoflex]

I’d like to see them return the Mac Mini to a consumer device instead of the “prosumer” direction they took with the 2018 model.

An entry-level model returning to a $599 starting point would be nice.

 

[Jorbanead]

They will keep the current form factor for a long time. Maybe add a smaller version too.

When they revealed the 2018 Mac mini refresh, they made a big deal about how Data Centers all around the world purchase thousands of these machines. Mac Stadium for example has racks and racks of Mac mini's. They specifically stated that they kept the form factor the same so that all of their clients can keep their same setup. This is primarily where Apple makes most of its money off of the mini line. Its also why they can go 4 years without a refresh. Those companies don't buy thousands of minis every year - so why refresh it until those companies are looking to update.

I could maybe see a solution where they cut the mini in half. So that these data centers can put two minis in the same slot as one mini currently. But the mini lineup will always be motivated first and foremost by these large data centers, and companies that purchase mini's in bulk.

 

[Boil]

Imagine if you could hack an Apple TV to run Big Sur. Hmmm. Mac Mini mini.

Mac nano