Imagined Mac Mini Redesign Argues Apple Should Borrow From Mac StudioWith the
Mac mini's current design dating back over a decade, one
MacRumors forums user has imagined what a redesign could look like if Apple were to take hints from the
Mac Studio.
The idea mainly comes from MacRumors forums user "Rickroller," who
shared basic images of the concept earlier today. They suggest that a Mac Studio-like design could bring significant thermal improvements to the ‌Mac mini‌ to enable better performance, and even add some simple quality-of-life enhancements such as front-facing USB-C ports and an SDXC card reader.
Leaker
Jon Prosser shared renders of a complete redesign for the ‌Mac mini‌ in early 2021, thought to be destined for an
M1 Pro or M2-series model. The design depicted a smaller chassis with a "plexiglass-like" top, but did not emerge with the latest
M2 and ‌M2‌ Pro ‌Mac mini‌ models last year.
<div class="center-wrap">
The unibody design of the ‌Mac mini‌, 2010-present.</div>
In 2022, Apple analyst
Ming-Chi Kuo warned that the next ‌Mac mini‌ models would have the same design as prior models. Looking to the future, Kuo again believes that the new ‌Mac mini‌ models in 2024 will have the exact
same design as their predecessors.
The ‌Mac mini‌ currently features a silver aluminum unibody design that Apple introduced in 2010. It has used this design for every ‌Mac mini‌, other than offering a Space Gray colorway in 2018. By the time the next-generation ‌Mac mini‌ models launch in 2024, this design will be 14 years old – becoming the longest continuously used Apple design in the company's history.
<div class="center-wrap">
Proposed ‌Mac mini‌ redesign, rear.</div>
Bloomberg's
Mark Gurman recently suggested that Apple has
no plans to update the Mac Studio with the ‌M2‌ Max and ‌M2‌ Ultra chips in the near future. The main reason for the decision seems to be the change in direction of the Apple silicon
Mac Pro, which will now have the
M2 Ultra chip as a top-tier option and offer
limited modularity. Apple may leave the ‌Mac Studio‌ without a hardware refresh for some time and could even discontinue the product line, similar to 2017's
iMac Pro, which served as a stop-gap device until the release of the 2019 ‌Mac Pro‌.
<div class="center-wrap">
The ‌M2‌ Pro ‌Mac mini‌'s rear and selection of ports.</div>
If the ‌Mac Studio‌ is indeed discontinued sometime in the next several years, a post-2024 ‌Mac mini‌ may be even more likely to adopt a Mac Studio-like design, since there would no longer be a risk of further cannibalizing the ‌Mac Studio‌ with a similar design. Apple often introduces new designs and features on its high-end devices before slowly trickling them down to other products in the lineup, such as the squared-off industrial design of the 2018
iPad Pro, which finally came to dominate the whole latest-generation
iPad lineup upon the release of the 10th-generation ‌iPad‌ last year.
<ul>
<li>
Mac Mini vs. Mac Studio Buyer's Guide</li>
</ul>
What is in store for the ‌Mac mini‌'s design after 2024 is unclear and likely has not even have been firmly decided upon by Apple yet, but considering how long the company has stuck with the aluminum unibody design, a redesign sometime in 2025 or beyond is highly plausible.<div class="linkback">Related Roundups:
Mac Studio,
Mac mini</div><div class="linkback">Buyer's Guide:
Mac Studio (Neutral),
Mac Mini (Buy Now)</div><div class="linkback">Related Forums:
Mac Studio,
Mac mini</div>
This article, "
Imagined Mac Mini Redesign Argues Apple Should Borrow From Mac Studio" first appeared on
MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Source:
Imagined Mac Mini Redesign Argues Apple Should Borrow From Mac Studio
