Given what people use the Mac mini for, this is a genius move.
“I always wondered about this since they started putting M-series chips into iPads.
Mini Mini
The new model will be similar in size tothe AppleTV, only a little taller.
The new Mac Mini could look like this.Brandon Romanchuk / Unsplash
The advantage of fanless is that it’s silent, and you don’t need space for the fan.
This makes them cool and silent, like an assassin in an anime cartoon.
Ports-wise, things could go either way.
The current Mac Mini is already easy to hide away.Charles Patterson / Unsplash
Size Matters
So, what would you use this little computer for exactly?
Well, just like the current mini, a teensier mini can do anything.
They sit in server racks or hide in closets runninghome media servers.
PC users already have tiny NUC computers.Intel
Intel
An even smaller Mac mini would also allow some new uses.
You could velcro it to the back of a display to roll your own modular iMac, for example.
Or use it as a media server, right there behind the TV.
In short, if Apple does this right, it will have a guaranteed hit on its hands.
Nerds already love the Mac mini as an affordable and powerful machine for all kinds of weird projects.
Making it smaller can only be better.
Unless Apple messes with the ports.
It really should have USB-A, so you could plug in a USB keyboard at least.
And then there’s the power supply.
Right now, you just run a standard C7 cable from the wall to the back of the computer.
The Mac Mini has an internal power supply.
Worse, in fact, than just having a singleif largerbox to hide away.
Fingers crossed, but this could be a nice little revamp for one of Apple’s best-loved Macs.
