New Mac mini reference spotted in Studio Display firmware
A reference to an as-yet unannounced new Mac mini has been found, backing up rumors of a revised model being launched soon.
The new Mac mini could use a new two-tone design and plexiglass-like top cover
The Mac mini was one of the first machines to get Apple Silicon, and it has more recently been rumored to be among the first to get a second generation M2 version.
Developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who most recently uncovered "realityOS" references in App Store logs, has no further details.
Previous reports have claimed that a new Mac mini will feature Apple's next generation of Apple Silicon processors. One model codenamed J473, would be based on the anticipated "M2" processor, and the more powerful model, codenamed J474, would feature the "M2 Pro" one.
The entry-level "M2" chip is said to be based on Apple's A15 processor. It will feature the same eight-core CPU of the current M1 Mac mini, but the GPU will be increased to 10 cores.
Reports also claim that the "M2 Pro" will have a 12-core CPU, made up for four efficiency cores and eight performance ones.
It's been rumored that a new Mac mini would be launched in the spring of 2022, and more recently it's been supposed that it may be unveiled at WWDC on June 6.
WWDC is very specifically and purposely a software event, as is always pointed out afterwards when it hasn't included any hardware. For 2022, though, there is perhaps more chance of hardware than usual, since it marks the end of Apple's self-imposed two-year transition to Apple Silicon.
Read on AppleInsider
The new Mac mini could use a new two-tone design and plexiglass-like top cover
The Mac mini was one of the first machines to get Apple Silicon, and it has more recently been rumored to be among the first to get a second generation M2 version.
The rumor mill is a little unclear as to what new Macs are imminent; for what it's worth, there is one concrete clue: the shipping Studio Display firmware references one unaccounted-for mystery machine -- a new model generation of Mac mini ("Macmini10,1"). My guess: M2, not M1 Pro
-- Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith)
Developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who most recently uncovered "realityOS" references in App Store logs, has no further details.
Previous reports have claimed that a new Mac mini will feature Apple's next generation of Apple Silicon processors. One model codenamed J473, would be based on the anticipated "M2" processor, and the more powerful model, codenamed J474, would feature the "M2 Pro" one.
The entry-level "M2" chip is said to be based on Apple's A15 processor. It will feature the same eight-core CPU of the current M1 Mac mini, but the GPU will be increased to 10 cores.
Reports also claim that the "M2 Pro" will have a 12-core CPU, made up for four efficiency cores and eight performance ones.
It's been rumored that a new Mac mini would be launched in the spring of 2022, and more recently it's been supposed that it may be unveiled at WWDC on June 6.
WWDC is very specifically and purposely a software event, as is always pointed out afterwards when it hasn't included any hardware. For 2022, though, there is perhaps more chance of hardware than usual, since it marks the end of Apple's self-imposed two-year transition to Apple Silicon.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
if m2 and pro are updated same time then wouldn’t they be both likely same core count 2+6 with Pro having use of all Gpu cores on the die say 12 then M2 with the 8 Gpu core bin.
The A series keeps improving with each generation, so that will be passed along to the M series. But that's not enough to continue to whoop the competition. Need more cores and higher GHZ ratings.
Would an M2 based Mac mini offer these features? Who knows. But it's going to be about another 6 months, or Fall of 2022, for it to arrive. Apple could have a shipped an M1 Pro Mac mini last November, and then update a Mac mini to M2 and M2 Pro models a year later. There isn't really any good reason to make people wait, and wait, and wait.
Mac Mini will get a bump to M2 this year, most likely later in the year after ASI Mac Pro is announced in WWDC. The earliest that we can expect Mac Mini to arrive is at WWDC along with Mac Pro (both Mini and Pro using M2 variants). Will the M2 Mac Mini offer 32 GB RAM and 4TB storage upgrade options? Hard to guess this one. So it is going to be a long wait for you to find out if the M2 Mac Mini is not launched in WWDC.
A M1 Mac mini with 16 GB RAM and 2 TB, basically optioned out, is $1700. A Mac Studio with 32 GB RAM and 2 TB is $2600. And what I really want is 4 TB, which will bump it to $3200. That's a bridge too far, and I suspect too much for most of the high end Mac mini customers. Maybe Apple is waiting to see how many conversions (mini to Studio buyers) they can get before deciding to ship a high end Mac mini, but the revenue trade here seems like a waste of time and a wash versus the number of upgraders and new buyers they would get with a high end Mac mini.
Same train of thought for the MBP14/16 versus a MBA15, whatever they are doing with the MBP13, and iMac 5K versus Mac Studio. They really don't have supply chain or pathological inventory issues to deal with anymore. It's one chip design, split into two for the M1 Pro and Max or 2 combined with the Ultra, and the M1 goes into about 50m machines a year. So, it's really about a single set of computing hardware and what type of box they want to ship it in. This should really allow them to ship Macs or iPads in a bunch of different form factors. Maybe it's a lot harder than thought.
M1 mini 8GB/256GB is $699
M1 Studio (Max) 32GB/512GB is $1999
A mini with 16GB/512GB if $1099. Add $300 for M1 Pro, add $400 for 32GB RAM.
M1 Pro mini 32GB/512GB would be $1799. It's a $200 difference and the Studio has the Max chip.
The gap is mainly caused by the $400 for 32GB RAM, which is the entry point of the Studio. If the Studio started at 16GB, it would cost $1599.
Having a 16GB Pro mini around $1399 is good to fill that price point but a $1799 32GB model isn't much of a saving vs the entry Studio. It's still good to have more options though.
I suspect a (probably) M2 PRO Mini launches to replace the Intel Mac Mini still for sale. Else, it seems Apple would have discontinued that one with the launch of Studio to fully imply Studio is Deluxe or Power Mac Mini. Instead, it survived the day- and since- which- to me anyway- means something must be coming to fill that spot. Best guess: M2 PRO perhaps priced a little less than speculated in this thread. My guess is $1499. I know "priced less" and "modern Apple" are very strange-to-impossible bedfellows but the alternative is that M2 MAX Studio perhaps shifts its "starting at" to $2499 to create clear pricing range space for a PRO Mini. That seems a bit more doubtful to me than a M2 PRO Mini starting at about $1499.
I also doubt a reveal of this product at WWDC UNLESS M2 has some specialized processor additions (not more RAM, more graphics cores, slightly narrowed space between transistors/pathways, etc)... more like machine learning cores and/or dedicated video processing cores speciality-purpose cores. What would those be? Hard to speculate. Perhaps something that ties to the rumored AR/VR goggles/glasses? Or something else important to reveal to developers OUTSIDE of Apple but not necessarily shipping for at least a few more months? If M2 is mostly M1 "a little faster"/"a little more energy efficient"/etc, I doubt it rolls out at WWDC.
Rumored QUAD Mac Pro seems best bet... especially if it is going to offer true modularity (including slots) like existing Mac Pro, as that would seem thoroughly worthy of showing to developers so they can plan accordingly and learn about how Silicon will function with slots and typical stuff inserted in those slots. Else, I envision a software-only show, software-focused event as it is generally intended to be.
Also goes to show that Apple prices on demand, or value, and not component costs. They know enough people want 32 GB of RAM and not that many want 64 GB; and price accordingly. There is probably a LPDDR5 $/GB uptick due to 64 Gbit to 128 Gbit densities needed to go from 16 GB to 32 GB RAM, but $400 is definitely painful.
The usual come back is why don't they hire more people and build bigger teams, but this is a philosophical debate. While not a direct parallel, The Mythical Man Month argues that adding more manpower to engineering orgs doesn't solve problems linearly and can cause more. The agile/lean state of mind doesn't like large teams, and the larger they get the more at risk the carefully maintained, intimate culture becomes. Then you have an org like Dell or Samsung - cranking out tons of variations and SKUs, but completely lost in focus and singular design ethos. Apple has chosen a small product team, w/ limited launches. This strategy seems to be working as they are one of the oldest PC companies in history, make arguably the best PCs, and are financially the most successful. Seems like they know what they're doing.
I've been saying for awhile that they really need to get to about 15% PC market share, with at least a strong foothold in another sub-market other than content creation, in order to establish a permanence in the market, similar to what the iPhone, iPad and Watch enjoy. When I say permanence, it means there is very little doubt for getting a Mac or no real barriers for getting a Mac. I don't think the the current product strategy gets them there. To get there, I think they need to expand the product lineup a little more. Not double the number of Macs, but fill in the holes, and there is a lot more software and platform stuff to do than adding a couple of machines.
Alternatively, you can ask the question yourself, how does Apple get to 15% market share. That's about 10m to 15m Macs per quarter. Would the current product lineup get them there.