Shopping for a brand new Mac is normally fairly simple. It’s all the time greatest to attend when the present mannequin has been round for a few years, however if you happen to can’t, you most likely received’t have any purchaser’s regret. More often than not, the replace is only a processor improve {that a} majority of customers will probably be nice with lacking out on. And even within the case of a redesign just like the latest M2 MacBook Air, you’ll most likely save a couple of dollars shopping for the present mannequin.
It’s a little bit completely different with the Mac mini. The present M1 mannequin is getting shut to 2 years because it was launched, and based mostly on the latest arrival of the M2 chip, it’s clearly due for an replace. However the replace could possibly be a significant one which not solely gives extra processing oomph however might inherently change Apple’s smallest desktop and make the previous mannequin look so much worse.
So if you happen to’re on the verge of plunking down your money for one of many present Mac minis that Apple sells, we strongly urge you to attend. Right here’s why.
An M2 processor is on the best way
When Apple unveiled the M1 processor in November 2020, the corporate launched three Macs with it: the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Professional, and Mac mini. The M2 13-inch MacBook Professional and MacBook Air had been simply launched, so meaning the Mac mini will probably be getting the M2 quickly.
Apple
We’ve discovered that with Geekbench 5, a benchmark that checks the general basic velocity of a CPU, the M2 is about 16 p.c quicker than the M1. That’s a pleasant velocity enhance, however the true good points are on the GPU facet. With two further cores, the M2 is about 35 p.c quicker than the M1 in our checks.
In case you’re utilizing the Mac mini as an inexpensive video manufacturing system, then you definately’ll love what makes the M2’s efficiency actually stand out over the M1. The M2 has a brand new media engine that accelerates ProRes video, and we’ve seen dramatic will increase in efficiency when rendering ProRes video, with outcomes which might be over twice as quick because the M1. If time is cash, then the M2 brings excessive returns.
Apple provides a $699/£699 and an $899/£899 Mac mini that has the identical CPU however the increased worth brings an even bigger SSD. Apple will most likely substitute the M1 in these fashions with an M2. That’s definitely worth the wait, which shouldn’t be greater than a few months
The high-end mannequin will lastly get an improve
Apple nonetheless sells a 3rd normal configuration mannequin in its Mac mini lineup: a $1,099/£1,099 model that also has an Intel processor that hasn’t been up to date since 2018. This mannequin ought to see a significant replace within the coming months.
The Intel Mac mini (which is available in House Grey), might see an enormous CPU change.
Foundry
A type of drastic adjustments features a much-anticipated processor swap from the eighth-gen Intel chip to an Apple M2 Professional, in keeping with a number of experiences. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that the M2 Professional might function a 12-core CPU with 8 efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores, and a GPU with 16 cores. It might additionally include 16GB of unified reminiscence.
Speak about a mighty may of a machine–that’s an entire lot of processor energy in such a smaller bundle. Nevertheless it will get higher, as a result of the M2 Professional may even function the media engine that’s within the M2, so the {hardware} acceleration for ProRes video will get even quicker. It makes us marvel the way it will measure as much as the Mac Studio and its M1 Max and M1 Extremely chips–an M2 Professional Mac mini will not be as quick, nevertheless it may show to be a very engaging worth/efficiency possibility at round $1,499.
We don’t count on the brand new Mac mini to supply a customization possibility for an M2 Max since these chips require extra lively cooling, offered by the massive thermal administration system within the Mac Studio. Nonetheless, an M2 Professional Mac mini could be Apple’s first desktop with the higher-end chip and could be a terrific possibility for professionals.
A redesign could also be within the works
The Mac mini is thought for being Apple’s smallest Mac, and it might get even smaller. There have lengthy been experiences that the smaller design will probably be about an inch tall, and it might are available a brand new colour and with a plexiglass prime as a substitute of aluminum.
Can the Mac mini get any smaller? It is perhaps attainable.
Roman Loyola/IDG
Apple will doubtless enhance the variety of Thunderbolt ports from two to 4 on the high-end mannequin, and implement a magnetic energy connector much like the one discovered on the iMac.
Nonetheless, it’s unclear if each the M2 and M2 Professional Mac mini fashions will get the brand new design. It’s attainable that Apple might take a cue from the 13-inch MacBook Professional and preserve the present design for the M2 fashions, and redesign solely the M2 Professional Mac mini. Or it might wait till the M3 mannequin arrives.
A horrible time to purchase
In brief, there’s by no means been a worse time to purchase a Mac mini. Even when it was languishing with out an replace between 2014 and 2018, there have been by no means any indication that significant updates had been on the best way. However now we all know that there are two M2 fashions on the best way and presumably a redesign within the works as nicely.
Official phrase on when the brand new Mac mini will arrive has not been launched, in fact, however based mostly on when the present mannequin began transport (November 2020 for M1 and October 2018 for the Intel mannequin) and the latest launch of the M2 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Professional, there’s an excellent likelihood an M2 Mac mini will arrive this yr, maybe in a fall occasion after the iPhone 14 announcement. We might see different Macs revealed at the moment too, like a brand new Apple silicon-based Mac Professional or iMac.
Whereas these Macs are definitely costlier than the Mac mini, they could be engaging sufficient so that you can go for these machines as a substitute. Or you’ll be able to simply purchase an M2 mini. However both manner, even with sale costs knocking $150 off the value of an M1 Mac mini, we predict it’s greatest to attend and see what Apple has in retailer for its smallest and least expensive Mac.