Mac mini-er

OR:

Pint-Sized Port Problems 

I’m not one for New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t think I ever have been. Something I did learn recently from YouTuber and podcaster CGPGrey was that instead of a specific goal, try having a theme for the year. For this year, I decided it would be the year of upgrades. It sounds like an excuse to spend money, but bear in mind I make a very strong distinciton between a purchase and an investment. After all, the keyword is “upgrade.” For starters, I upgraded my iPad because I wanted more storage. I bought a new bed. I got some furniture. The biggest investment has been a water softener. I also had to get a new toilet, but that was more spur of the moment, though nonetheless qualifies as an investment. 
Now, I’m debating how much farther to take my upgrades. Specifically, I’m looking down from the monitor and right above my keyboard to the very device I’m using to write this. I have a 2018 Intel-based Mac mini that I bought as a housewarming gift to myself in April of 2020. It only began showing its age this year while I was working on Inktober. I decided to work entirely in SketchUp for this year, work on my shot composition and 3D modeling skills rather than ink and paper. During that time, I realized just how slow and cumbersome a task as simple as rotating the camera can be for the little gray box. Simply put, six years is a lifetime for a desktop in this climate, especially considering the massive paradigm shift Apple took by abandoning Intel processors in favor of something homegrown. That homegrown solution is now on its 4th iteration with the M4 processor. 

My first Apple Silicon device was my new iPad Air, which features an M1 processor. Even though it’s an Air and not a Pro, it runs circles around my old 10.5-inch Pro’s A10X Fusion chip, so I’m very interested to see what it’s like on a desktop. 
I wasn’t expecting Apple to announce a new Mac mini anytime soon. I’d already scoped out a new mini and even a Studio in case I was really dead-set on future-proofing myself. It’s about a thousand dollar difference between the two and double the RAM (the mini caps out at 32GB while the Studio has 64). 

As for the new M4-based Mac mini, I find myself rather ambivalent. For perspective, I’ve been an unapologetic fanboy of the mini ever since its debut in 2005. The only reason I didn’t get one is because I had it in my head that I wanted to play some PC games, so I settled for a Compaq Presario. Comparing the two, the mini looked positively space-aged. It was hard to believe a full desktop was in that little 7.7”x7.7” chassis. Sure, small form factor PC’s weren’t especially rare, but they were typically marketed towards business applications, not general consumers. It’s puzzling to me how much criticism the mini would get in later iterations for not making very many drastic hardware changes. On the whole, before the M1-based minis, the biggest shift in hardware specs came with the removal of the optical disc drive. Even with the Apple Silicon upgrade, it was still the same 7.7 inch square. For my money, I was still impressed. 

Speaking of removing hardware, I should get to what’s got me so ambivalent about the newest M4 Mac mini. In reducing the chassis size from 7.7 inches to 5, a few notable compromises had to be made. Key among these is the complete and utter absence of USB-A ports. The classic, bulky rectangle that had exploded onto the scene in the early 2000’s has now been completely replaced by USB-C. I’m bothered by this because my keyboard and mouse setup is still firmly in camp USB-A. Technically, Apple has only gotten rid of one port, as the M4 mini has 3 USB-C ports in the back and 2 in the front. Previous models had 4 USB-C ports and 2 USB-A ports in the back. 

Some of you may be saying, “but they make adapters” and that’s where I have to give Apple a lot of credit for how they implemented the new ports. They're vertical instead of horizontal. On my current mini, virtually every port is occupied, including all four USB-C ports. The last USB-C port, though, is a bit of an odd duck because of a convoluted workaround needed to let me use one of my favorite peripherals. My 3D mouse that I use to move the camera in SketchUp has a wireless dongle. It’s USB-A. As there are only 2 USB-A ports on the mini and both are occupied by a keyboard and mouse, I had to get an adapter to let me plug it into a USB-C port. You’d think, “Okay, problem solved. What’s wrong?” What’s wrong is that the adapter is too wide to actually fit on the back of the mini thanks to the other devices plugged into them. This led me to kill two birds with one stone. I bought a hub that rests under my mini, plugs into that last USB-C port, and gives me 4 USB-A ports, 1 USB-C port, and two memory card slots. The 3D mouse’s dongle is plugged into the adapter and into that one USB-C port.

“Okay…” You’re starting to ask, “If it’s got four USB-A ports, why not plug the dongle into one of those?” And that’s a good question. I tried doing that at first, but my 3D mouse has a problem. Sometimes, the mini forgets that it’s plugged in and if I start up SketchUp, it doesn’t wake up and give me a leg up on my 3D modeling game. So, I have to unplug the dongle and plug it back in berfore I can use it. Unfortunately, Satechi, the company that made the USB hub, made the USB-A ports really, really tight, so un/plugging it requires a very firm commitment from the user. Meanwhile, un/plugging the USB-C port is super easy. 

Speaking of Satechi, I guess I’m waiting to see how they handle the new mini’s design. If they make a hub that works like my current one, I may go for the new mini after all. They’ve got their work cut out for them. For one, on the old Mac minis, the only vent is on the back. The new mini has a vent on the bottom, so any hub would have to work around them. Additionally, instead of the power button being on the back right corner of the chassis, it’s on the bottom front left corner. 

Without a hub, I'll just have to take stock of exactly what I need to keep plugged in. Maybe that can be part of next year's theme.