M4 Mac mini rumored to get a redesign making it smaller than ever before
Recent reports have suggested that one of the M4 Macs will get a redesign soon, and a new rumor has identified which model will get it -- the Mac mini.
Renders of a rumored redesign for the M2 Mac mini that didn't materialize
The fact that a M4 Mac mini is approaching is clear. What hasn't been clear before Thursday's report is a form factor change.
The new rumor suggests that the device will be far smaller than the existing form factor, which has been around for more than 15 years. A report by Bloomberg on Thursday claims that the device will be close to the size of the Apple TV set-top box.
Given the report's discussion of the Apple TV sizing, though, it's not clear where the direction is for the redesign, flatter or taller like the Apple TV. Apple Silicon Macs don't have expandable RAM or storage, so that's not a consideration for enclosure size anymore, where it was in the Intel version of the Mac mini.
Three USB-C ports of some flavor are rumored for the device, plus space for the power cable, and a HDMI port. Both models in testing are said to be codenamed "J773."
As far as timetable of release goes, Apple suppliers are said to be planning for shipping the core M4 Mac mini to Apple later in August, for a release to consumers later in 2024. A M4 Pro variant is said to ship in October.
The rumor makes a great deal of sense. The existing Apple Silicon Mac mini form factor is mostly empty, and was designed to be thermally robust enough for the notoriously hot Intel processors that used to live in the unit. That thermal demand is no longer the case.
What's less clear is the specific form that the unit will take. A previous rumor had a squat, all-aluminum design.
The rumors at the time discussed a possibility for the "M1X" Mac mini that moved the power supply to the outside of the unit, reusing the iMac power plug. This is illustrated in renders we made about a rumored M2 Mac mini above.
Rumor Score: Likely
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Mac Mini is supposed to fill the "desktop consumer level" niche. How about a "whole home Mac" that replaces the AppleTV, sits on the home network and cabled to the TV, but is available for any monitor, any where on that network? IOW, the CPU is home network based, not a box sitting next to the monitor (which is exactly what an iMac is for one screen.) Nifty idea, but of course, making a product that reduces the need for consumers to buy your other products isn't...insanely great.
Edit: and...and...and...make that cabled box a new wifi Airport base station. Yeah, I know...and a unicorn pony as well.
Smaller footprint would be nice. I can fit two existing Mac mini side-by-side in 1RU. Fitting three (or four!) side-by-side would be nice.
A standalone 24" Apple display same 4.5K resolution and style as 24" iMac would be nice. Make it easy to integrate new Mac mini form factor (either behind the monitor or at monitor base). Then it would pair well as either second monitor for 24" iMac or with standalone Mac mini. A two or three monitor set up on a mini would be neat.
BTW, no one to my knowledge has a standalone "4.5K" 24" monitor. Not too many 27" 5K standalone monitors either, but there are at least some (including Apple Studio display of course). Speaking of Apple Studio Display, if in fact a new smaller Mac mini shows up, updating the ASD stand to more easily integrate the mini would be nice too.
AI had an article about displays (geared toward connecting to a MacBook https://appleinsider.com/inside/macbook-pro/best/best-monitor-for-macbook-pro), one of which was the Alogic Clarity 27". This is a 4K monitor with integrated pop-up webcam. Not as good as 5K, but I've seen them and they look pretty good, although speakers not as good as Studio Display. They actually have a touchscreen version FWIW.
Apple
LG
Samsung
Dell monitors always seemed a little washed out to me. May be I haven't looked at great dell monitors. But there are plenty of excellent samsung/LG monitors.
Thanks all for the feedback. I'm starting to think that the latest iMac is the better value (for me). I am fine with the 24" screen for this application and it's less expensive than a comparable Mac Mini and Studio Monitor combo. About $1,000 less based on how I would configure them using today's product.
If all this Mac miniest is true I hope they keep the power supply internal. And don't skimp on the ports for the sake of style.
"Look how thin our MacBooks and iPhones are! Now – less mini, more style!"
I'm ok with the T-4
port compliment of the M2 mini Pro. To lose even one would be disappointing to me.
Reuse of MBP board: Take the M4 and M4 Pro MBP logic boards, and wrap a case around it. It would just be a rectangular box that is about 10” long, 4” wide and 0.5” thick. Could include fans, the same one MBP use.
The main reason why there is a lot of empty space in the current Mac mini chassis is because it no longer ships with the original 5.25" optical drive. The current design had space for one 2.5" HDD (lower bay) and one 5.25" slimline optical drive (upper bay). In some machines, the drive in the upper bay could be replaced with a second 2.5" HDD. The Mac mini 2010 server was like this. There were after market drive brackets for brave DIYers. In fact, the optical drive mechanism was the primary determining factor for the current design's dimensions.
Eventually Apple also removed upgradeable RAM modules and switched from 2.5" storage to soldered NAND.
That is why the current Mac mini is so empty, not because of all the "Intel components" [sic]. The chassis was freeing up space BEFORE the Apple Silicon switch.
The lower TDP of Apple Silicon SoCs have made it easily to cool the device. The thermal solution for the Intel Mac mini units and the Apple Silicon Mac mini units isn't vastly different. The latter just needs to work less to provide adequate cooling. Note that peak temperatures of the M2 SoC during a full workload (like a Handbrake encode) are still about the same as a maxed-out Intel CPU. The former idles much lower though. And the fan on the M-series Mac minis doesn't need to work as hard to keep the SoC cool so it's quieter at full load.
The biggest question about this rumored smaller Mac mini is how Apple handles the power supply unit. It's integrated into the Mac mini, no external power supply. For MacBooks, Apple uses external power supplies (and batteries naturally). The Mac mini presumably would not be powered by batteries so it needs a PSU full time.
I have a couple of mini PCs (based on the Intel N95 and N100 CPUs) and they are both around the size of this purported new form factor. But these mini PCs have external power supplies. Of course, they were only $150-180 apiece so obviously the manufacturer didn't budget for high quality internal PSU.