Apple's New Mac Studio Computer

[r.e.]

@Ari,

If Apple releases a Mac mini that you want, here are three things that I've learnt from buying a Mac Studio. The current supply chain crunch is probably part of the reason for the following:

1. Apple Stores are only carrying base models. That is true of the current MacBook Pros as well as the Mac Studio. Last week, an Apple rep confirmed this to me on the phone. My recollection from the past is that Apple Stores used to have a couple of choices in addition to base models. That is not currently happening.
   
   
2. If you want a base model, there's a good chance that you can get one on launch day by going to an Apple store as well as by ordering online right after the event. The caveat to this is that demand for a Mac mini/M1 Pro or M2 may be very high. Since March 18th, when the Mac Studio was released, it's usually been possible to get one from a few of New York's 12 Apple stores, but fewer stores have had them in the last few days. Today, there are none available in New York, in either base configuration.
   
   
3. If you want build to order, try to make your order soon after the announcement. Wait times lengthen quite quickly. As I note in post #79, if I want to upgrade my Mac Studio, which I have to decide by this Friday, the current estimated wait is 12-14 weeks. I suspect that Apple is being conservative, but I have no way of knowing by how much. I imagine that Apple itself doesn't know. There's a MacRumors thread in which people post information about the progress of their "build to order" orders. The thread shows a fair amount of volatility in estimates, including for individual orders. On the upside, the changes are frequently welcome news to the customer (hence my comment about Apple being conservative). One wrench was the Chinese Government's decision five days after Apple started taking orders for the Mac Studio to implement a coronavirus lockdown in Shenzhen; not the kind of event that a company can plan for. The Mac Studio, by the way, is assembled in both China and Malaysia, and customer location appears to determine which country the computer is shipped from.

[r.e.]

My view of the Mac Studio/M1 Max after 12 days...

I think that the least expensive Mac Studio (US$2000) will be more than sufficient for processing photographs and most video for several years to come. It isn't just a matter of CPU and GPU power. As Bruce Katz (bdkphoto) says in post #56, one of the strengths of this computer are the four Thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB 3.1 Gen. 2 ports.

For many people, I think that the main issue will be internal storage. Is the 500GB internal drive sufficient, or do you want/need more? Increasing internal storage to 1TB increases the price to $2200, and 2TB raises it to $2600. At what point, as a matter of workflow preference or cost, does external storage via Thunderbolt 4 or USB 3.1 Gen. 2 make more sense?

If I were buying a few months from now, the choice between the Mac Studio and a Mac mini with either an M1 Pro chip, if it happens, or the second generation M2 chip, might be difficult.

[Ari]

@Ari,

If Apple releases a Mac mini that you want, here are three things that I've learnt from buying a Mac Studio. The current supply chain crunch is probably part of the reason for the following:

1. Apple Stores are only carrying base models. That is true of the current MacBook Pros as well as the Mac Studio. Last week, an Apple rep confirmed this to me on the phone. My recollection from the past is that Apple Stores used to have a couple of choices in addition to base models. That is not currently happening.
   
   
2. If you want a base model, there's a good chance that you can get one on launch day by going to an Apple store as well as by ordering online right after the event. The caveat to this is that demand for a Mac mini/M1 Pro or M2 may be very high. Since March 18th, when the Mac Studio was released, it's usually been possible to get one from a few of New York's 12 Apple stores, but fewer stores have had them in the last few days. Today, there are none available in New York, in either base configuration.
   
   
3. If you want build to order, try to make your order soon after the announcement. Wait times lengthen quite quickly. As I note in post #79, if I want to upgrade my Mac Studio, which I have to decide by this Friday, the current estimated wait is 12-14 weeks. I suspect that Apple is being conservative, but I have no way of knowing by how much. I imagine that Apple itself doesn't know. There's a MacRumors thread in which people post information about the progress of their "build to order" orders. The thread shows a fair amount of volatility in estimates, including for individual orders. On the upside, the changes are frequently welcome news to the customer (hence my comment about Apple being conservative). One wrench was the Chinese Government's decision shortly after March 18th to implement a coronavirus lockdown in Shenzhen; not the kind of event that a company can plan for. The Mac Studio, by the way, is assembled in both China and Malaysia, and customer location appears to determine which country the computer is shipped from.

Thanks for the pointers, Rory. I am indeed waiting on a new Mini, hopefully with the M2 chip. The rumour mill is very busy, no one's sure what Apple will do for the next Mini, or if there'll be one at all this year.
But when it is announced, I'll be ready.
I think the hub with integrated HD slots is a great accessory to have. It evens things out between the Mini and Studio, if number of ports and extra storage is a deciding factor.
Hopefully a new hub with several USB-C ports will also be in the cards.

[neil poulsen]

I was thinking . . .

I ordered my new Mac Mini (16gbyte unified; 512gbyte SSD) so that I can load the most recent version of Adobe PS/LR, Negative Scan Pro, etc. Plus, I'll finally be able to open *.docx files.

The computer that's being supplemented is an older Mac Pro that runs High Sierra, and I have a separate drive loaded with, believe it or not, 10.6.8. I've got a number of too expensive to replace, legacy programs that this computer can operate. As examples, I will run all my color management software, my RIP, operate my 3880 printer, etc., on this computer. Both operating systems run Photoshop CS4, so that I can make minor adjustments to images as I print them. I can also use this computer for scanning on my Epson scanner. (Also legacy.) My Mac Pro will be excellent for all these applications.

As for it's becoming a security risk, what with the lack of OS updates from Apple, I believe that's a problem only if it's tethered to the internet. If I clip those connections, I'm thinking that it can do everything I need without risk as a stand alone computer.

So, maybe not so bad after all.

[Ari]

That's what I do as well. I have a 2009 Mini for scanning, no internet. Hooked up to an older monitor.
It's linked to the M1 Mini so that when I scan, the file will automatically transfer to the new computer, where PS awaits.

[neil poulsen]

Many minis.

[r.e.]

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who is pretty credible on Apple, published an article yesterday about Apple's internal testing of future M configurations: Apple Readies Several New Macs with Next-Generation M2 Chips.

Some posts above express interest in an upgraded Mac mini. Gurman says that Apple is testing the mini with both an M1 Pro and an M2 Pro chip for possible release this year. The mini was last updated in November 2020, when it, the MacBook Air and the 13" MacBook Pro were the first Apple computers to get the M1 chip.

Apple's World Wide Developer Conference starts on June 6th. It's sometimes used to announce new computers. The 2019 Mac Pro was announced at WWDC 2019, and Apple has already made it clear that it intends to announce a new Mac Pro before the end of the year. Maybe a Mac mini in June or the fall?

MacRumors has a take on Gurman's story that is attracting a lot of comment: Apple Testing at Least Nine New Macs with Four Different M2 Chip Variants. One interesting view is that Apple may upgrade its computers more frequently than in the past now that it is no longer dependent on Intel's roadmap and production.

[Ari]

Patiently waiting for the turbo-charged Mini.
For my needs, it would be ideal.
And wondering if RAM offerings will be 8Gb, 16Gb, or more?

[r.e.]

Patiently waiting for the turbo-charged Mini.
For my needs, it would be ideal.
And wondering if RAM offerings will be 8Gb, 16Gb, or more?

Current Apple Desktop System on a Chip Specs:

Mac mini (US$900 and up, not counting the $700 model with 256GB of storage)
CPU: 8 cores
GPU: 8 cores
Memory: 8GB or 16GB
Ports: 2 Thunderbolt 4; 2 USB-A; HDMI; Ethernet (1Gb or 10Gb)
Storage: 512GB to 2TB

Studio Max ($2,000 and up)
CPU: 10 cores
GPU: 24 or 32 cores
Video Processing Engines: 2
Memory: 32GB or 64GB
Ports: 4 Thunderbolt 4; 2 USB 3.1 Gen. 2; 2 USB-A; SDXC Card Slot; HDMI; 10Gb Ethernet
Storage: 512GB to 8TB

Studio Ultra ($4,000 and up)
CPU: 20 cores
GPU: 48 or 64 cores
Video Processing Engines: 4
Memory: 64GB or 128GB
Ports: 6 Thunderbolt 4; 2 USB-A; SDXC Card Slot; HDMI; 10Gb Ethernet
Storage: 1TB to 8TB

The 14" and 16" MacBook Pros, launched in October, can be configured similarly to a Studio Max, but with fewer ports. They cost more because they have a Retina XDR display. They can also be configured with an M1 Pro chip rather than the more expensive M1 Max chip.

[r.e.]

On Sunday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who is pretty credible on the subject of Apple, wrote a piece on the company's roadmap. Fits right in with what several people here want to see. Gurman suggests in his newsletter, published separately from the Bloomberg story, that the Mac mini M2 and M2 Pro are coming this fall. From the Bloomberg article:

The new M2 chip, part of the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro announced at WWDC and optimized with macOS Ventura, is also the core of several other products in the pipeline. Those are likely to come in much quicker succession than the M1-based Macs did.

Here are the M2 Macs I’m told to expect beyond the first two:

• an M2 Mac mini.
• an M2 Pro Mac mini.
• M2 Pro and M2 Max 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros
• the M2 Ultra and M2 Extreme Mac Pro.

I doubt that there will be a heat issue with the M2 Pro Mac mini. I expect that it will run much cooler than an Intel Mac mini, and in particular cooler than a high-spec 2018 Mac mini, one of which I have.

I've been using a Mac Studio with the M1 Max chip, 10 Processing Cores, 32 Graphics Cores, 64GB of memory and 2TB of flash storage for the last six weeks. My use of Logic Pro X and a terabyte of music sample libraries, not photography, was the main driver in choosing the configuration. Very happy with the computer's performance with Logic, Capture One and Final Cut/DaVinci Resolve.