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Unrelated comment. I've seen the M1 Mac Mini teardown, and this new model has retained the same footprint as its Intel predecessor despite it looking like much

by antr 6y ago

Unrelated comment. I've seen the M1 Mac Mini teardown, and this new model has retained the same footprint as its Intel predecessor despite it looking like much less space was needed. I really look forward to a much smaller mac mini version in the future.

grecy 6y ago
(pure speculation) or, maybe they've got a 'Mac Mini Pro' coming using whatever chip they're cooking up for the high-end Mac Book Pro and iMac Pro.. or maybe even more than one of those chips. So in that eventuality they want to maintain the bigger case footprint and much-bigger-than-needed power supply.
crancher 6y ago
A Mini size of the AppleTV would be great.
- hangonhn 6y ago
  I know this is highly improbable but I would love, love, love to see a Raspberry Pi with an M1 in it.
Diederich 6y ago
> much smaller mac mini Eh...why make it smaller when you can give it room for extra storage? In the 'old days' I'd have also mentioned giving it room for extra memory too. :(
- antr 6y ago
  I don't see Apple giving users the option to upgrade their Mac Minis to third party storage solutions.
  - Diederich 6y ago
    That's possible and perhaps likely, alas. So yeah, if we're in the universe where there's zero expandability, and their silicon is super powerful with low heat requirements, I guess they may as well make it smaller.
  - JohnBooty 6y ago
    I hate non-upgradability as much as the next HN user, but it's worth noting that external USB SSDs (Samsung T7 and others) are now pushing 1GB/second at lower and lower prices. I recently got a 2TB model for $220 or so. I say that not to excuse Apple, but perhaps some others are like me and are surprised at how fast the portable models have gotten.
- beervirus 6y ago
  It has room physically, but there's no place to connect it.
- jasonsync 6y ago
  The Mini in Mac Mini is no longer Mini. But it could be More Mini. Make it Mini. Storage has been external for years now. None of the upgradable internals need a large footprint.
- Spartan-S63 6y ago
  Rather than extra storage, how about just more room for a larger cooling solution, whether there's a fan or not. With Apple Silicon, it seems like performance is going to be dictated by the ability to dissipate heat, so I'd rather have a larger Mac mini that can dissipate more heat and boost for longer than a smaller one.
  - fomine3 6y ago
    Nowadays most computer CPU performance is constrained by heat, but M1 on Mac mini is exceptionally constrained by its SoC design thanks to its efficiency.
- qppo 6y ago
  I don't need that much more space for storage (modern SSDs are teeny, and I don't need physical hard drives anymore for home computing). Cooling though. Give me a bigass heatsink and a fan.
  - dev_tty01 6y ago
    Why? So far the reviews I've read have found no evidence of thermal throttling. It is so power efficient it doesn't need a large heat sink to run at peak speed.
    - qppo 6y ago
      It also hasn't been put to a serious test yet since it's underpowered compared to mid range desktop CPUs I can put into a mini PC case. Benchmarks for things I care about like large compiles haven't really come out yet, so I'm waiting for final judgment.
      - dev_tty01 6y ago
        Half hour compile of Webkit. Seems like a pretty good test. Faster than an 8 core Intel laptop, much less energy usage. 20% slower than 12 core 48 GB Mac Pro. So, per core performance is better than a desktop with a ton of RAM. https://twitter.com/panzer/status/1328700636926332928 https://twitter.com/panzer/status/1328700636926332928 https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/17/yeah-apples-m1-macbook-pro-is-powerful-but-its-the-battery-life-that-will-blow-you-away/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/17/yeah-apples-m1-macbook-pro...
        qppo 6y ago
        Which CPUs were benched?
- asutekku 6y ago
  Modern memory and storage are so small there's no reason to keep the size. Have you seen how much empty space there is?
jeffbee 6y ago
I'd rather get the missing ports back and keep the footprint.
- thom 6y ago
  I’d rather they fix WiFi and Bluetooth so I get to actually use those ports.
katbyte 6y ago
Might need a larger footprint for an upcoming version with more ports ect
ogre_codes 6y ago
We don't really know what the needs of the other processors they are going to jam into here will look like. It's likely the next generation M series CPU will need significantly more cooling. Also, I'd far rather they added an M.2 storage slot (or 2!) rather than making their already small device even smaller. That said... a fanless, USB-C powered mini of any size would also be A+ as well.

by antr 6y ago

grecy 6y ago

(pure speculation) or, maybe they've got a 'Mac Mini Pro' coming using whatever chip they're cooking up for the high-end Mac Book Pro and iMac Pro.. or maybe even more than one of those chips. So in that eventuality they want to maintain the bigger case footprint and much-bigger-than-needed power supply.

crancher 6y ago

A Mini size of the AppleTV would be great.

hangonhn 6y ago
I know this is highly improbable but I would love, love, love to see a Raspberry Pi with an M1 in it.

Diederich 6y ago

> much smaller mac mini Eh...why make it smaller when you can give it room for extra storage? In the 'old days' I'd have also mentioned giving it room for extra memory too. :(

antr 6y ago
I don't see Apple giving users the option to upgrade their Mac Minis to third party storage solutions.
- Diederich 6y ago
  That's possible and perhaps likely, alas. So yeah, if we're in the universe where there's zero expandability, and their silicon is super powerful with low heat requirements, I guess they may as well make it smaller.
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  I hate non-upgradability as much as the next HN user, but it's worth noting that external USB SSDs (Samsung T7 and others) are now pushing 1GB/second at lower and lower prices. I recently got a 2TB model for $220 or so. I say that not to excuse Apple, but perhaps some others are like me and are surprised at how fast the portable models have gotten.
beervirus 6y ago
It has room physically, but there's no place to connect it.
jasonsync 6y ago
The Mini in Mac Mini is no longer Mini. But it could be More Mini. Make it Mini. Storage has been external for years now. None of the upgradable internals need a large footprint.
Spartan-S63 6y ago
Rather than extra storage, how about just more room for a larger cooling solution, whether there's a fan or not. With Apple Silicon, it seems like performance is going to be dictated by the ability to dissipate heat, so I'd rather have a larger Mac mini that can dissipate more heat and boost for longer than a smaller one.
- fomine3 6y ago
  Nowadays most computer CPU performance is constrained by heat, but M1 on Mac mini is exceptionally constrained by its SoC design thanks to its efficiency.
qppo 6y ago
I don't need that much more space for storage (modern SSDs are teeny, and I don't need physical hard drives anymore for home computing). Cooling though. Give me a bigass heatsink and a fan.
- dev_tty01 6y ago
  Why? So far the reviews I've read have found no evidence of thermal throttling. It is so power efficient it doesn't need a large heat sink to run at peak speed.
  - qppo 6y ago
    It also hasn't been put to a serious test yet since it's underpowered compared to mid range desktop CPUs I can put into a mini PC case. Benchmarks for things I care about like large compiles haven't really come out yet, so I'm waiting for final judgment.
    - dev_tty01 6y ago
      Half hour compile of Webkit. Seems like a pretty good test. Faster than an 8 core Intel laptop, much less energy usage. 20% slower than 12 core 48 GB Mac Pro. So, per core performance is better than a desktop with a ton of RAM. https://twitter.com/panzer/status/1328700636926332928 https://twitter.com/panzer/status/1328700636926332928 https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/17/yeah-apples-m1-macbook-pro-is-powerful-but-its-the-battery-life-that-will-blow-you-away/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/17/yeah-apples-m1-macbook-pro...
      - qppo 6y ago
        Which CPUs were benched?
asutekku 6y ago
Modern memory and storage are so small there's no reason to keep the size. Have you seen how much empty space there is?

jeffbee 6y ago

I'd rather get the missing ports back and keep the footprint.

thom 6y ago
I’d rather they fix WiFi and Bluetooth so I get to actually use those ports.

katbyte 6y ago

Might need a larger footprint for an upcoming version with more ports ect

ogre_codes 6y ago

We don't really know what the needs of the other processors they are going to jam into here will look like. It's likely the next generation M series CPU will need significantly more cooling. Also, I'd far rather they added an M.2 storage slot (or 2!) rather than making their already small device even smaller. That said... a fanless, USB-C powered mini of any size would also be A+ as well.