> THE SHIFT
MATT BOLTON thinks the new Mac mini “Pro” is finally a worthy successor to the old power Mac towers. If you squint a bit
There was a reason to own one of these even if you weren’t a pro; pre Thunderbolt, it was the only way to expand.
PRETTY MUCH EVER since Apple announced its own chips, I’ve been hoping for a Mac mini Pro. Producing powerful chips with low power use meant that there was always scope for the Mac mini’s frame to hold something more powerful than the original M1, because it was designed to hold some pretty hot Intel chips. When the M1 Pro chip arrived, I got excited… but instead, we got the Mac Studio. Bigger, even more expensive, and not quite hitting the same niche — it was so clearly designed for real, honest– to–goodness pros, not people like me who might like to buy something with just a bit more power than they need in order to be future–proofed for whatever hare–brained creative scheme I might come up with next.