I find it a bit weird that they're spacing out the Mx upgrades across the product range over such a long period. Like why is the Mac Studio still on the M2 whilst the iPad has made it to the M4? The iMac was the first to get the M1, but last to lose it then jumped to M3. It doesn't make sense. I would say it might be because the Max/Ultra takes longer to refine, but then the iMac could have gone to the M2, but skipped it entirely.
It’s stupid Apple upgrades the iPad to the M4 and lo and behold sales and go up, the same could happen if they upgraded some of the other Mac’s, which haven’t been upgraded in years, it’s funny on how Apple can offer an upgraded computer product and sales go up on that product iPads weren’t dead they were just neglected by Apple, and I believe the same applies to the iMac and the Mac Pro lines of computers.
Now is the time when so, many of their competitors and near tech competitors are fumbling and bumbling at this current time frame Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, AMD, CloudStrike and Google in many areas have years of catch up in the hardware and software part of the business in comparison to Apple. That is if you put value on smooth integration of software and hardware working together?
Seems like the Mac mini could be more mini. Maybe more like a small cube perhaps?
I like the idea of a small cube though that may not be practical. My issue with the Mac mini is the cost vs. specs. I feel that Apple need to be more aggressive on pricing to put a squeeze on the low end market. I know it is not Apple's style but they did that successfully with the iPod range. The base price needs to be 499, not 599. The base model doesn't have to have the latest M chip, using a M2 will be fine. However 256GB SSD is too small and 16GB ram would be useful. Apple does well on the mid to high end machines but they can increase their customer base with better priced entry level options. This is not a race to the bottom but rather putting pressure on the competition.
The iMac also needs a refresh. The bezel needs to go. Just have the front all screen with connectors at the back, bottom or sides.
The Apple TV 4K is a lot smaller than the Mac mini and seems to be plenty feasible. So, I'm thinking -- start with that, make it taller and aluminum instead of plastic, and use the extra vertical space for a small heat sink + fan.
The next Mac mini will be fan less and only have the M4 in it. Basically it would be a MacBook Air in an AppleTV sized enclosure.
If so, then I hope they introduce a lower priced studio to take the place of the m2 pro mini
I think they will in the near future the mini has served its purpose.
Please Apple, please, while you’re at it, redesign the god-awful Magic Mouse so that most of the users don’t have to throw it in the drawer at the day of purchase, replacing it with an actual usable mouse.
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To each their own. I find the cordless Magic Mouse to be an outstanding design…. outside the nitwittery of not being able to use it while it’s charging.
HIGHLY unlikely that the Mac Mini sees a major redesign because it fits perfectly within the current Apple design language of simple rounded rectangles that is seen across the entire product line -- the only odd one out would be cheese grater Mac Pro. The current generation Mac Mini was introduced four years ago, so perhaps further miniaturization of components since then would allow for a thinner and smaller rounded rectangle, with size driven mainly by the space needed to accommodate all the ports of the Mini Pro model and heat venting, especially the Pro model, but there's no reason for changes beyond that.
I am baffled by Apple's inexplicable decision to keep making Lightning-only accessories when they easily could have changed to USB-C ports long ago. Consider: Macbook Pro went USB-C in 2016, the Air and iPad in 2018 and the iMac in 2021. Swapping ports on accessories would be a snap. What's the point in continuing to force consumers to keep investing in the present in a discontinued past? This is a LONG overdue change.
Almost all accessories are now USB-C, mainly due to EU legislation.
Perhaps in some other reality of the multiverse, Apple has already made the switch, but in this reality, the Magic Keyboards, the Magic Trackpad and the Magic Mouse--you know, ALL the major accessories--are still Lightning.
I stand corrected - I thought they'd updated them with the last iMac rev. Ridiculous that they're still Lightning, not like Apple doesn't have enough staff to fix these things.
I find it a bit weird that they're spacing out the Mx upgrades across the product range over such a long period. Like why is the Mac Studio still on the M2 whilst the iPad has made it to the M4? The iMac was the first to get the M1, but last to lose it then jumped to M3. It doesn't make sense. I would say it might be because the Max/Ultra takes longer to refine, but then the iMac could have gone to the M2, but skipped it entirely.
It’s stupid Apple upgrades the iPad to the M4 and lo and behold sales and go up, the same could happen if they upgraded some of the other Mac’s, which haven’t been upgraded in years, it’s funny on how Apple can offer an upgraded computer product and sales go up on that product iPads weren’t dead they were just neglected by Apple, and I believe the same applies to the iMac and the Mac Pro lines of computers.
Now is the time when so, many of their competitors and near tech competitors are fumbling and bumbling at this current time frame Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, AMD, CloudStrike and Google in many areas have years of catch up in the hardware and software part of the business in comparison to Apple. That is if you put value on smooth integration of software and hardware working together?
It is really weird how long they leave products between updates. I sort of get it with products that have big changes, but taking 3 years to upgrade the CPU without changing anything else is just plain stupid. It's like they have one team working across the whole Mac division, and they get rotated around each different Mac.
I personally don't like this notch top of the display. Its killed display beauty. Without this I want to purchase macbook air 15 inch. But i will definitely say please remove this notch from the display. Useless notch and I am not happy with this notch. I hate notch on top laptop screen badly. Please APple Think about this and please remove the notch.
They should redesign the Mac mini and iMac to make the iMac a screen the mini locks into so you can switch out mini’s in the future to upgrade or just use it as a stand alone monitor
They should redesign the Mac mini and iMac to make the iMac a screen the mini locks into so you can switch out mini’s in the future to upgrade or just use it as a stand alone monitor
I would think the thinking inside Apple for this idea is that it isn't sufficiently different from a Mac mini and an ASD or other external monitor.
This issue with both is that Apple doesn't update them at the regular M series cadence. They really need to push into enterprise markets, get more sales, and then they will perhaps update them moe regularly. As it is, they are about 5% of Mac unit sales. Not really enough to Apple to push the update cadence.
The most likely candidate for a significant design rethink would be the Mac Mini, which has used essentially the same design since 2010, only changing ports and other connectors with general industry trends.
I would be curious on how the Mac mini would be improved. Smaller would reduce carbon footprint, and I can see people inside Apple pushing for that. A more convenience form factor for easier component integration and layout design I can see as well, but Apple seems to relish designing cooling systems for these designs, like seen in the Mac Studio. The Mac mini just doesn't have an easy shape to layout internal components. If it was more rectangular, it gets easier.
I'm curious what the hardware for Apple Intelligence Private Cloud looks like. If they are using Mac Pros, they may be using the rumored Compute Modules on a PCIe board that goes into them. But, even with that, it's not that optimize for compute density. A Mac Pro can be design specifically for the highest compute density possible. If the Private Cloud service is big, they could be using hundreds of thousands of Mac Pros. That's worth a redesign and perhaps ships as an end user product for customers to rack mount and do their own computing tasks.
I don't want a Mac mini with a different case. Just update the processor to an M4 Pro and/or Max, update the ports on the back, and sell it to me. The sooner the better. Spend the design effort where it matters more, i.e. on laptops, phones, tablets, etc.
And for the Mac peripherals, please please please give us devices which are USB-C and can be used full time in a wired mode. I find bluetooth problematic, and just want to plug the devices in and never worry about it again.
I don't want a Mac mini with a different case. Just update the processor to an M4 Pro and/or Max, update the ports on the back, and sell it to me. The sooner the better. Spend the design effort where it matters more, i.e. on laptops, phones, tablets, etc.
And for the Mac peripherals, please please please give us devices which are USB-C and can be used full time in a wired mode. I find bluetooth problematic, and just want to plug the devices in and never worry about it again.
You can plug in your Apple keyboard and trackpad full time now. I have mine on a KVM.
I find it a bit weird that they're spacing out the Mx upgrades across the product range over such a long period. Like why is the Mac Studio still on the M2 whilst the iPad has made it to the M4? The iMac was the first to get the M1, but last to lose it then jumped to M3. It doesn't make sense. I would say it might be because the Max/Ultra takes longer to refine, but then the iMac could have gone to the M2, but skipped it entirely.
Most likely because there isn't enough of a change between the M2 and M3 to need an upgrade. It's not as simple as just put the M3 in where the M2 was and desktops aren't exactly Apple's money maker when it comes to the Mac line. It's their MacBook Pro line up which is why you see them get priority with upgrades so it incentives users to upgrade as Apple makes more money off their laptop lineup. Basically it's Apple putting their time and money into where they know they'll get a better ROI.
You can plug in your Apple keyboard and trackpad full time now. I have mine on a KVM.
Do they now use USB when plugged in, or do they just draw power? That’s what they did last time I looked. Plus I don’t like trackpads, and the mouse definitely cannot be used while plugged in.
I don't want a Mac mini with a different case. Just update the processor to an M4 Pro and/or Max, update the ports on the back, and sell it to me. The sooner the better.
Updating the ports on the back to reflect the change away from USB-A to USB-C* would literally require a case design change.
*I'm not suggesting or wanting Apple to remove USB-A entirely from the Mac mini, just to be clear, but in 2024/2025 it could do with more USB-C ports and fewer USB-A ports.
A week later, and the premise of this story everyone commented on (the Mac mini redesign) went from "crazy unprofessional speculation" to "expected change."
I don't want a Mac mini with a different case. Just update the processor to an M4 Pro and/or Max, update the ports on the back, and sell it to me. The sooner the better.
Updating the ports on the back to reflect the change away from USB-A to USB-C* would literally require a case design change.
*I'm not suggesting or wanting Apple to remove USB-A entirely from the Mac mini, just to be clear, but in 2024/2025 it could do with more USB-C ports and fewer USB-A ports.
Oh sure, its a design change but its not an entirely new case. Replacing the motherboard and the panel of ports at the back is a relatively minor change. The 2018 Mac mini has 2 USB-A and 4 USB-C ports (plus HDMI and Ethernet), and that is plenty for me.
Comments
Now is the time when so, many of their competitors and near tech competitors are fumbling and bumbling at this current time frame Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, AMD, CloudStrike and Google in many areas have years of catch up in the hardware and software part of the business in comparison to Apple. That is if you put value on smooth integration of software and hardware working together?
To each their own. I find the cordless Magic Mouse to be an outstanding design…. outside the nitwittery of not being able to use it while it’s charging.
This issue with both is that Apple doesn't update them at the regular M series cadence. They really need to push into enterprise markets, get more sales, and then they will perhaps update them moe regularly. As it is, they are about 5% of Mac unit sales. Not really enough to Apple to push the update cadence.
I'm curious what the hardware for Apple Intelligence Private Cloud looks like. If they are using Mac Pros, they may be using the rumored Compute Modules on a PCIe board that goes into them. But, even with that, it's not that optimize for compute density. A Mac Pro can be design specifically for the highest compute density possible. If the Private Cloud service is big, they could be using hundreds of thousands of Mac Pros. That's worth a redesign and perhaps ships as an end user product for customers to rack mount and do their own computing tasks.
And for the Mac peripherals, please please please give us devices which are USB-C and can be used full time in a wired mode. I find bluetooth problematic, and just want to plug the devices in and never worry about it again.