Trade-in 16" MacBook Pro for M1 Mac Mini to temporarily hold myself off until the iMac redesign

Hardware
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I am beginning to lose sleep over this supposed iMac redesign. Seriously, I want it so bad! I hope that Apple will reveal it in March maybe.

I have always been a laptop guy, but now I’m looking at the benefits of a small all-in-one (not constrained by battery life or obnoxiously loud fans or extremely hot keyboard). Would it make sense to trade in my 16" MacBook Pro for an M1 Mac Mini to hold me off until the iMac redesign? From there, when the iMac redesign comes out, I could trade in the M1 Mac Mini.

I’m shooting blindly here. I have no clue if my reasoning is flawed. :see_no_evil:

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My two and a half cents here…and, it would be lucky if it is worth that…:slight_smile:, I am lucky to have both the 16” and a new M1 Mac Mini…If you intend to purchase a desktop in the eventual iMac, maybe consider the MacBook Air or Pro. Just a thought since both the Mac Mini and iMac would be stationary.

Also, I think others have shared it may depend what you will do with the machine. There are some things for which I still need the MacBook Pro 16”…Windows for work would be one…and, portability is key if I need to get out of my home office even just to take a break and get a different view on things.

I wish you better luck in resisting than I had. As my wife will attest, I caved quickly… :smiley:

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It does seem like an unnecessary use of resources to me, since you have a very capable machine already.

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I also have a 16” MBP, and just ordered an M1 Mac Mini. My justification is that I don’t really travel much anymore, but I’m holding on to the MBP for now just in case (the Mac Mini would become the family Mac then).

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Yes, but this is a major transition, and I really want an all-in-one again. I have a 2013 iMac, but it is stuck on macOS Catalina (even though the 2013 MacBook Air can run macOS Big Sur :roll_eyes:).

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I get that, I will update soon to even though current machines could last me much longer. It’s the idea of an interim machine (that is not even an all-in-one) that seems wasteful (you did ask for opinions :slight_smile: )

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I think your answer is there. You’d be trading in for something you don’t really want with the hopes of trading it in for something you do want that will come at some point down the road.

Now, if you want to give me a good deal on a 16GB M1 Mac Mini with a 1TB SSD when the M1 iMac comes out, I would say “By all means, buy it now” but otherwise you should probably just wait.

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I know it isn’t an all-in-one, but it is the closest thing to an Apple Silicon “all-in-one” that would hold me off until the new redesigned iMac comes out sometime early next year. I don’t think anybody was expecting the Mac Mini to be refreshed with Apple Silicon this early.

This YouTube video was what made me begin to think about getting an interim machine.

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The iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro computers are all for different use cases.

If all you are interested in is the all-in-one benefits, those can be mimicked (mostly) by getting an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse and use your laptop in a docked mode.

You’ll still get fans running, but you can place the laptop further away from you to minimise sound or in a well ventilated position to keep it cooler and have the fans work less hard.

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With the iMac, you’re able to hide the power cord, but I cannot imagine having all sorts of external accessories plugged into my MacBook Pro.

I also cannot imagine how much it would cost to:

  • Buy a Bluetooth keyboard and a Bluetooth mouse (the iMac comes with the Magic Keyboard 2 and Magic Mouse 2 right out of the box)
  • Buy an external monitor that is at least on par with the built-in MacBook Pro display in terms of quality (iMac has that same great display built right in)
  • Buy a stand to prop up the MacBook Pro (is it worth mentioning that the iMac has a built-in stand? :stuck_out_tongue:)
  • Probably another thing or two that I cannot think of at the moment

The iMac just seems more appealing to me.

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You make some great points. Sounds like you have made up your mind to wait for the machine you need in the iMac. :slight_smile: :grin:

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I’m still debating over the interim machine though.

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Mac mini M1 is very capable. I used iMac since 2011 and have a MacBook Pro but I really like the mini. I don’t know how the new iMacs will work but with my iMac I had graphics card issues and I know if the machine fails, its difficult to repair and the screen becomes useless, unless you can boot the machine to use in display mode, With a Mini you can buy a decent 4k, 5k monitor and you have a flexible set up. If your needs change in a couple of years you can upgrade the Mac mini or if you buy a MacBook you can connect it to your monitor.