Apple Introduces New MacBook Air and Mac Mini

[pastrychef]

Typically T2(an A10 variant) was for Secure Enclave(Flash storage encryption and drive management). Touch Bar control too I think on the MBP's. Today confirmed that all macOS products going forward will feature a T2 chip.

What is rather surprising, was the mention of HEVC encoding via T2 (I assume decoding as well). There was interesting wording about the MBA's 13 hours of "iTunes video playback". Looks like Apple is outright saying their own low-power T2 chips can hardware (decode)/encode better than their intel silicon.

First it was Secure Enclave, then it was Camera-facetime magic, then it was Hey Siri, now it's video decoding/encoding. Most of these can be excused to be in the realm of security, by keeping them separate from the core operating system. But now they are outright leveraging it for efficiency. There is a large amount of marketing surrounding the A12X in the new iPad Pro, with claims of being more powerful than 92% of ultrabooks(or game as well as an Xbox One S). Anandtech had done an article on the iPhone's A12, and found it in certain circumstances approaching desktop-level performance.

I'm speculating out of my ass.. but Apple is going forward with Apple-chip-Hybrid-Intel for the immediate future, and obviously back-support the older standard intel hardware. But your concerns are starting to add weight as it appears Apple is leveraging more controls in their low-power T2 chips. For the Apple customer, this is a benefit. For the hackintosh scene - immediately not a problem.. but.. who knows? I'd say they'd need a good few years of T2(and whatever succeeds it) in all products to drop intel-only macOS support. macOS 10.18 maybe? They have set the precedent in the past for dropping old hardware (32bit EFI GPU, non-metal-compatible GPU's).

I'm pretty sure that T2 is also responsible for RAID in the iMac Pro and TouchID.

 

[Richard325]

Thoughts/downside of getting the base model & these two, then move the user home folder to it?

I've done the Hackintosh route for years but it's getting to be more of a struggle and for $799, it's getting hard to justify a new hack build.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147691&ignorebbr=1
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6PF6RJ8939&ignorebbr=1

shaunvis - Thanks for the links.

I've moved my Home Folder on my Hackintosh to another drive for several years. Some websites say that is no long recommended, but I've never had any problems - touch wood!!! It makes reinstalling macOS much easier.

I'm thinking of buying a new Mac Mini with a small SSD and moving the Home Folder. I've never done this with an external drive. This article does it with a bootable external drive.
https://www.lifewire.com/move-macs-home-folder-new-location-2260157

Any disadvantages e.g. slower startup, external drive sleep, etc?
Thunderbolt/USB?

 

[Tec Junkie]

Just ordered a new i7-4600hz Mac Mini, been waiting for a refresh for a long time and this seems like a really good spec, will get a Blackmagic egpu eventually and some more ram when I've sold my Hackintosh bits. Think its going to be great for music production and video editing especially with the new ddr4 and 8th gen desktop processor and 30 x faster hvec video encoding. my Hackintosh as been great but there's always problems sometimes so I thought it about time to get a real mac. Here's my spec I have ordered...cant wait: Cheers guys and keep smiling!



Mac mini

With the following configuration:

3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz)

8GB 2666MHz DDR4

Intel UHD Graphics 630

256GB SSD storage

Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet using RJ-45 connector)

Accessory Kit

£1,249.00

Qty 1

£1,249.00

 

[Tec Junkie]

Well guys, I just placed my order for a Mini. Fully loaded, except for the RAM, which I'll upgrade myself. I'll be getting an eGPU enclosure asap and tossing the RX580 in it.

I don't think this is the end for me here though, as I'm a tinkerer, and I love being a part of this community. I can't believe how much I've learned from everyone here...It's actually astonishing.

Same here cant wait, got this little beauty...


Mac mini

With the following configuration:

3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz)

8GB 2666MHz DDR4

Intel UHD Graphics 630

256GB SSD storage

Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet using RJ-45 connector)

Accessory Kit

£1,249.00

Qty 1

£1,249.00

 

[goober296]

Since when is an i3, 8gb ram, 128 gb storage machine worth $850 out the door with tax included? I thought I was at Tonymacx86, not imore or apple insider.

 

[tabarus]

I think this is the way Apple plans to win back hackintosh users from what I'm reading here. They are even taking trade ins of your older desktops, tablets, phones and watches to offset the cost of a new Mac Mini. It's a good idea, build something people actually want to buy and make it so they could reasonably afford it. The computers they take, desktops and laptops, can also be Windows machines, not just Macs. You may be able to do better selling it yourself but this is telling me they do still care about selling Macs. The original Mac Mini from 2005, which I bought, was also created to get Windows users to try a Mac instead.

View attachment 361735

if it's NOT Apple product they will take it for FREE LOL !! NO thanx apple i'll keep using it
View attachment 361748

I be got the same displayed with my MBP 2008

 

[trs96]

I be got the same displayed with my MBP 2008

They don't wan't any Mac that can't run the latest Mojave version of the OS. It doesn't have any resale value.

 

[trs96]

Since when is an i3, 8gb ram, 128 gb storage machine worth $850 out the door with tax included? I thought I was at Tonymacx86, not imore or apple insider.

I was looking for a starting price of closer to $599 for the base model. It's just Apple being Apple, premium products at a premium price. Considering the longevity of Minis made by Apple and the option to upgrade ram yourself I think the Mini is still fairly competitive on price.

 

[pastrychef]

Since when is an i3, 8gb ram, 128 gb storage machine worth $850 out the door with tax included? I thought I was at Tonymacx86, not imore or apple insider.

Buying Apple has always been and probably always will be more expensive than buying PC equivalents. That being said, I think this Mac Mini is priced fairly.

Here's what an HP equivalent would cost, keep in mind this thing uses 7th gen i7, doesn't have Thunderbolt, and doesn't run macOS out of the box:

Source: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...9&cm_re=z2_mini_g3-_-0A5-0074-000J9-_-Product

Here's a Mac Mini with 8th gen i7, 8GB, and 256SSD:

 

[trs96]

Buying Apple has always been and probably always will be more expensive than buying PC equivalents. That being said, I think this Mac Mini is priced fairly.

Here's what an HP equivalent would cost, keep in mind this thing uses 7th gen i7, doesn't have Thunderbolt, and doesn't run macOS out of the box:

They do offer newer 8th Gen chips in these now too. They call it the Mini G4.

But, I think you're right that the Mac Mini is the much better value with TH3 and OOB compatibility. I would also much rather have a Mini on my desk than that ugly looking enclosure HP is using.