Faster Mac mini coming?

[SuperMatt]

I saw this on cult of mac:

Faster ‘M1X’ Mac mini with more ports coming ‘in the next several months’

Apple is expected to launch its next-generation Mac mini with a faster “M1X” chipset “in the next several months,” according to one reliable reporter. The

www.cultofmac.com

 

[fischersd]

Yep - we'll see if they finally fix the things that the M1 Mini should have had (HDMI 2.1, eARC, 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Atmos / Spacial Audio - and the Apple TV app needs to support all of that - along with the Prime and Netflix apps therein).

Yes, I want to get back my HTPC config I had with my 2012 Mini a few years ago.

Oh...and make the Mini and the keyboard with it come in black....not fucking grey....black!!!

 

[JayMysteri0]

I'm most concerned that they fix the Bluetooth & Wifi issues that have plagued some Mini's both Intel & M1.

My wifi crapped out on this 2012, and the first Mini I ever brought had the wifi crap out on that as well.

I'd always wanted an iMac but waited to see what the new models finally bought, and I got 24 inch pastel sized iPads on a stand. I've got a whole bunch of credit still sitting here, and I may use i for the new mini if it is not a mess.

 

[DT]

Yeam, the fix for the BT in my Mini still works fantastic, and was < $15, but having to do that __at__all__ after buying a $1500 machine is pretty shitty.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I don’t know where we are at with the Mini, and I would love to get one, but I feel Apple has always played the “get an iMac instead” shell game for anybody who is anything more than just the casual user. I do a lot of high-end audio and video work and when I’m looking into replacing my current iMac there is always something that falls short for my use on the Mini. At one point I think you couldn’t even replace the RAM yourself and then you’re forced to pay Apple's double the going price for RAM and if you’re going to max it out at that price you might was well buy an iMac.

 

[DT]

I don’t know where we are at with the Mini, and I would love to get one, but I feel Apple has always played the “get an iMac instead” shell game for anybody who is anything more than just the casual user. I do a lot of high-end audio and video work and when I’m looking into replacing my current iMac there is always something that falls short for my use on the Mini. At one point I think you couldn’t even replace the RAM yourself and then you’re forced to pay Apple's double the going price for RAM and if you’re going to max it out at that price you might was well buy an iMac.

My 2018 model (which is the same as the "2020" model), has RAM that can be replaced, but it's a little more involved than just popping open a little cover - and the wording around the warranty kind of suggests it's not for "end user" replacement. That being said, tons of people have done it, most without any issues.

The thing with me: I don't like AIOs, I want to source my own display(s), I want to put the machine where I want to put it, regardless of the location of the display. An extra perk for me, it's portable, like I can drop the Mini into a bag with a small form KB and mouse and just need a display at my destination - not a common thing, but I have done it.

As much as I tinker with hardware, I decided I didn't want any warranty concerns and wanted to add AC+, so I got a refurb with 32GB of RAM OOTB. At the refurb price, the difference in DIY RAM and Apple OEM RAM is about 2-3 hours of billing for me, and this is a "business" machine

The only place the current Intel Mini suffers is in GPU performance, everything is fantastic. I avoided an eGPU as it sounded pretty halfassed, and the initial M1 machine wasn't quite the specs I wanted in RAM and ports, the GPU is excellent, so I'm assuming an M1X based machine with 32GB RAM a kickass GPU and proper port selection is going to be my next machine.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

My 2018 model (which is the same as the "2020" model), has RAM that can be replaced, but it's a little more involved than just popping open a little cover - and the wording around the warranty kind of suggests it's not for "end user" replacement. That being said, tons of people have done it, most without any issues.

The thing with me: I don't like AIOs, I want to source my own display(s), I want to put the machine where I want to put it, regardless of the location of the display. An extra perk for me, it's portable, like I can drop the Mini into a bag with a small form KB and mouse and just need a display at my destination - not a common thing, but I have done it.

As much as I tinker with hardware, I decided I didn't want any warranty concerns and wanted to add AC+, so I got a refurb with 32GB of RAM OOTB. At the refurb price, the difference in DIY RAM and Apple OEM RAM is about 2-3 hours of billing for me, and this is a "business" machine

The only place the current Intel Mini suffers is in GPU performance, everything is fantastic. I avoided an eGPU as it sounded pretty halfassed, and the initial M1 machine wasn't quite the specs I wanted in RAM and ports, the GPU is excellent, so I'm assuming an M1X based machine with 32GB RAM a kickass GPU and proper port selection is going to be my next machine.

Just checked on the Apple Store and to spec the Mini to match my 27" iMac it comes to $2,700. And I would have to buy a monitor on top of that. Um.

I do find the idea of having the monitor separate appealing, but not when just upgrading the computer comes to $2,000+. That kind of defeats part of the attraction to the Mini, the so-called "affordable Mac". For that kind of money you might as well get a Macbook and hook that up to an external monitor. That's even more portable and useful than a Mini.

 

[DT]

$2700? Hahaha, wow. Is that the current/old Intel machine with 64GB and 2TB of storage? An M1 with 16GB and 2TB is like $1699.

My i7, 32GB, 512GB storage refurb was ~$1400, for extra storage I have some superfast TB3 SSD hanging off it. The performance equivalent for an MBP at the time was about double that price (as a refurb), though, of course, that's an actual notebook, with a much better GPU - though I'd suggest the thermal capacity is better in a Mini.

 

[Yoused]

I am annoyed that they still call it "mini". It is the Mac for people who are not looking for a Mac Pro and want something more flexible than an iMac. I would rename the entire lineup to signal the AS move.

AirBook
ProBook
iMac
Granny Smith (basic mini)
GoMac (pro model, looks like a mini out of the box, with higher specs and expansion options that match drillings on the Granny Smith MBd but have actual connectors set into them)

"GoMac" would be marketing built into the name.

 

[DT]

Yeah, it's only "mini" in terms of not having a built-in display.

Or come up with another letter-prefix (though Granny Smith is really good ), Book = Laptop, Mac = Desktop, then prefix based on some kind of general attribute/historical naming convention.

I know for years people have talked about an xMac, which would be a semi-expandable, headless type machine.

Wait, Granny Smith ... GS ... history repeats itself:

Apple Mac GS

 

[Hrafn]

Yeah, it's only "mini" in terms of not having a built-in display.

Or come up with another letter-prefix (though Granny Smith is really good ), Book = Laptop, Mac = Desktop, then prefix based on some kind of general attribute/historical naming convention.

I know for years people have talked about an xMac, which would be a semi-expandable, headless type machine.

Wait, Granny Smith ... GS ... history repeats itself:

Apple Mac GS

I've always wanted the xMac, although I'd take an upgraded Granny Smith.

 

[Yoused]

Wait, Granny Smith ... GS ... history repeats itself:

Apple Mac GS

No, it would not be a Mac Granny Smith: Macintosh is a type of apple (or amplifier, or rain cape) – it would just be a Granny Smith Apple.

 

[DT]

Granny Smith Apple Mac Home Computing Device!

It sells itself!