The Apple rumor mill has been churning with Mac mini rumors for quite some time now, and the latest comes from 9to5Mac sources who say that Apple is developing a redesigned Mac mini that will be powered with next-gen Apple Silicon, the “M2” and the “M2 Pro” chips.
Codenamed J473, the new Mac mini will be powered by the M2 chip, which is Apple’s next-generation entry-level chip for Macs and iPads.
Internally known as “Staten,” M2 is based on the current A15 chip, while M1 is based on the A14 Bionic. Just like M1, M2 will feature an eight-core CPU (four performance cores and four efficiency cores), but this time with a more powerful 10-core GPU. The new performance cores are codenamed “Avalanche,” and efficiency cores are known as “Blizzard.”
Apple has also been working on another new Mac mini (codenamed J474) that features the M2 Pro chip – a variant with eight performance cores and four efficiency cores, totaling a 12-core CPU versus the 10-core CPU of the current M1 Pro.
MacDailyNews Take: According to the report, Apple currently has no plans to release Mac mini models powered by either “M2 Max” or “M2 Ultra” chips. This is likely due to thermal constraints within Mac mini’s small size. (See: Apple’s M1 Ultra Mac Studio keeps its cool with a two-pound heatsink.)
In February, Mark Gurman reported for Bloomberg News that Apple was readying new Mac mini models powered by the M1 Pro and “M2” chips.
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I think Apple will complete the Apple Silicon transition with the new Mac Pro before any “M2” Mac models. Maybe Apple can use that Ultra Fusion method to merge not just two M1 Maxes to create M1 Ultra, but also apply same (or similar) technique to merge 4, 8, and more M1 Maxes to create an M1-based super chip for the new Mac Pro. A new Mac mini option with M1 Pro seems more likely, since there is currently no desktop Mac with M1 Pro.
That’s never going to happen.
The reality is that in order to fully connect two M1 Max chips to create the M1 Uralt that looks to the system, OS, and software as a singlehipra it takes one “UltraFusion” interposer. If you connect four M1 Max chips you need six such interposers (3 to connect the first M1 Max to the other three, then two more to connect that second chip to the remaining two and then one more to connect that third chip to the remaining fourth for a total of six). Likewise if you try to do “UltraFusion” interposers to eight M1 Max chips you need to implement 25 “UltraFutions.sio
Could Apple build such a beast? Yes. Is it ever going to be practical to do so? No.n” connec
Also, with regard to the Mac Pro, there are many uses for that workstation that 128 GB of unified RAM just will not be enough. While there are extremely few cases where the current Mac Pro’s capability to handle 1.5 TB of RA with separate graphics RAM on each graphics card is actually required,Tthe situation with the M1 Ultra’s 128 GB of unified RAM can easily become limite and constrainingd for many models and simulations.
Further, the M1 core single thread capability has been beaten by the latest AMD and Intel chips. Apple still has the edge in many multi core tests and is better ilthermally inearly across all cores.ll cor The M2 could restore that lead, at least for another generation across the leading makers.
Apple needs to have an M2. I would hope that they have an M2 Ultra that supports a minimum of 256 GB of RAM (preferably up to 512 GB). I would also hope that the M2 Ultra will show up in the next Mac Pro before the end of this calendar year.
Yep. Vote this down. Don’t like reality? Vote it down. Seems a lot of that is going around worldwide these days.
Also, this is another case (in my prior post) of the MDN site butchering the post that actually gets put up. Where does that mangling happen? I have no idea, but it’s happened at least a half dozen times in the last year.
Well I for one found your post very illuminating.
I think you are right on the money with your post and it will be really interesting to see where they go with the Mac Pro. I think it will be a monster of a machine.
Nooo. Not a power brick! It’s so nice not having to deal with one. Hmm, what’s that Ethernet port doing there? That’s a good thing.
The image is a speculative render, a few months old. Based on the new Mac Studio, which is really a “pro” Mac mini, and the existing Mac mini, the next redesign of Mac mini will not have that magnetic power connector from iMac, and it won’t have a power brick where Ethernet port is located. It’ll be a practical design for practical customers 😉