Is This The High End Mac Mini Studio Owners Are Hoping For?
We recently reported on what some are expecting to be the new Apple Mac 2021 models.
Our report included information on a new Mac Pro, half sized Mac Pro, Mac mini and MacBook Pro. If rumours are true then there’s a lot to be excited about for those wanting to buy a new studio Mac this year.
We have further news on what is being described as a ‘high-end’ Mac mini with many of the features studio owners are hoping to see. Find out more.
Image courtesy Jon Prosser
New Hi End Mac mini Specification
According the Apple leaker John Prosser, he’s reporting a return to the ports we loved so much on earlier Mac mini models namely;
Four Thunderbolt
Two USB-A
Ethernet
HDMI
Compared to the current M1 Mac mini that supports;
Two Thunderbolt ports
Two USB-A
Ethernet
HDMI
Those two extra ports mean a great deal for studio owners who may be able to use a Mac mini without any dongle hanging off the back - it will certainly mean spare ports for the new USB-C iLok.
It is also suggested that the new Mac mini with M1X chip will feature a plexiglass lid and magnetic power cable. There will apparently be no SD Card slot.
Image courtesy Jon Prosser
Apple seems to be working hard to create a lineup of Apple Macs to suit many budgets and application needs, there are some suggestions this new Mac mini will also include higher specs, similar to the upcoming Mac Pro, Prosser says on his YouTube video;
“We should expect the Mac mini to ship with basically the same spec options as the new MacBook Pro, which is 64 gigabytes of Ram, a 10 core CPU and 16 to 32 graphics cores,”
If these rumours are true, this could be the machine many have been waiting for, a powerful new Mac but with a significantly lower price of entry than the Mac Pro.
We tested the entry level Mac mini running Pro Tools via Rosetta 2 with impressive results, holding it’s own against a higher spec Intel machine, but costing a lot less.
Our Test Apple Mac
Apple Mac Mini M1, 2020
Apple M1 SoC chip
Memory 16GB
1TB SSD
Pro Tools Ultimate 2020.12
OS 11.2.1 Big Sur
Our Benchmark Machine
Apple Intel Mac Mini, 2018
3,2GHz 6 core i7
Memory 32GB
1TB SSD
Pro Tools Ultimate 2020.12
OS 10.15.7 Catalina
Apple Silicon Computers Suitable For Pro Audio
As we have predicted, following on from the starter Apple Silicon Macs with the M1 processor and 16GB of RAM, Apple’s plans clearly include Apple Silicon Mac computers with enough processing and RAM to meet our needs. Not long to wait…
Is this the Mac mini that could form the centre of your Mac powered studio?