Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Mac mini, Apple TV
Mac mini, Apple TV to use new Ion platform?
Tom's Hardware says that Apple will use NVIDIA's Ion platform in an updated Mac mini, and AppleInsider says it could also be used in an updated Apple TV.
NVIDIA's Ion platform is a low-cost, small-form-factor logic board that includes both an NVIDIA graphics processor and Intel CPU (among other things). According to AppleInsider, Ion uses the same 9400M chipset used in the new MacBook and MacBook Pro models. We knew that existing iMac and Mac mini models are already using the 9400M as part of the NVIDIA MCP79 platform. Either way, with the 9400M, full-screen HD decoding is built-in.
According to Tom's Hardware, the Ion package slated for use with the Mac mini includes an Intel Atom 330 processor. AppleInsider says that performance gains for a new Mac mini based on this platform could require OpenCL, a technology only available so far in builds of Snow Leopard.
Tom's expects the new Mac mini to arrive in March, while AppleInsider, says that it could arrive "this month." Fingers crossed.
The Apple TV, on the other hand, with its 1GHz CPU, would see a significant boost with Ion. The margins on the Apple TV are already tight, though, and adding more power could break the bank on Apple's "hobby" project. But what if the next-generation Apple TV and Mac mini were one and the same?
It's a floor wax! It's a dessert topping! Stop, you're both right.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
slash.ray said 12:38PM on 1-16-2009
I think AppleTV will be the "ultimate living room device"
so you can download all games/apps from itunes and have the iphone as controller !
Apple now also on the console wars now ;-)
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puhsitch said 12:47PM on 1-16-2009
I had a feeling from the beginning that the Mac mini might eventually become the AppleTV Pro, or something like that. Seems all too natural to converge those two lines. I'd bet that the resulting line would be greater than the sum of its parts.
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Enigmafan420 said 1:07PM on 1-16-2009
I have been waiting for a new Mini for 2 years. If this rumor is true, I will have purchased my last mini 3 years ago. There is NO WAY a 1.6gHz Atom processor could run OS-X at any sort of reasonable speed. The iPhone version? Maybe, but not the full feldged version.
One of the selling points I use to convert my Windoze friends is the speed of OS-X, both in how fast it loads and how quickly it responds. These features would be lost on an Atom processor.
I sure hope this rumor is not true. I can't believe Apple (or any company in their right mind) would replace 2 1/2 year old technology with something even less capable.
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cbisquit said 7:02PM on 1-16-2009
Surely you must realize how silly that sounds, given that there are plenty of Windows machines running on atom processors _right_now_. It's a great CPU for XP or Windows 7, if not Vista. OSX is easily fast enough to run on an Atom, and if it wasn't that would be a strike against it.
mukelarvin said 12:46AM on 1-17-2009
I've already done it.
I made a hackintosh with an Intel D945GCLF2 motherboard.
http://vimeo.com/2746369
The GMA 950 can handle 720P in Boxee but 1080P isn't going to happen.
Joseph said 12:50PM on 1-20-2009
@MukeLarvin
wow. just wow.
dukrous said 1:11PM on 1-16-2009
An AppleTV running as a Mac Mini with a BD drive (I know it's a bag of hurt, but they have to do it to get a lead in the HTPC world) that can flip between the AppleTV interface or the standard OS X interface would be a very attractive product for anyone. It would be right at home both with a TV and connected to those fancy schmancy cinema LEDs. Here's hoping Apple does the smart, and decidedly cool, thing.
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Chris L said 3:03PM on 1-16-2009
Why would Apple put a BD drive in there when they are trying to sell HD movie downloads?
Jash Sayani said 1:23PM on 1-16-2009
The Mac mini is definitely going to have the Nvidia 9400.
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Tim said 2:06PM on 1-16-2009
Yeah, the writing's been on the walls. When I first saw the Ion at ArsTechnica, I knew it was going to end up in a Mini eventually.
Personally, I predict we'll see an Ion loaded with Intel's Atom for the Apple TV, which will let the Apple TV pull off new features such as faster and better decoding in more formats, even as new ones are formed. Software updates and general computing from the CPU and GPU make that possible, but it needs good hardware to last a while.
I think we'll see something like the Ion in the Mac Mini, but with a Core 2 Duo and maybe a Quad Core option, which will start off expensive but face a major price drop 6-9 months later for the equivalent of a speed bump with no extra needed R&D.
There's not really much of a chance of an Atom being in the Mini, as it's a big stylistic change. However, I think Mac/Book Nanos with Ion and Atom are a possibility for the netbook and nettop markets. Expect the Mac Nano to incorporate traits of the MacBook Air but with slower processing. It'd be designed mostly for web browsing, email, and text editing. Music playback and video are likely as well, thanks to the GPU's OpenCL features and existing video decoding hardware. It likely will have a small SSD and no optical drive, reducing heat output and making it smaller. Maybe it will store and play its iTunes library off of a connected iPod instead of the drive to save space.
The MacBook Nano probably would just be a standard netbook, plus the Ion's GPU. The big feature here would be OSX and Apple's build quality. Multitouch is likely as well, since it would remove the need to give space to a touchpad so it can be small and have a fairly nice keyboard instead.
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HB said 2:14PM on 1-16-2009
Intel Core 2 Duo gets "upgraded" to an Atom processor!? Seems like one step forward two giant leaps back!
As a dedicated Mac Mini user I hope these rumours are complete unfounded. Thankfully most Mac rumours are!
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jbrown510 said 2:16PM on 1-16-2009
I hear all these fears the the Ion platform would be grossly underpowered for a Mac Mini. I don't get this... If the Atom 330 is twice as powerful as the 230 by itself, then it sounds to me like when coupled with the 9400M thanks to Snow Leopard/OpenCL it would provide quite a bit of processing power.
I suspect you couldn't watch 1080P video WHILE recalculating your spreadsheet... but it'd do either task just fine on their own.
Reagardless of all this conjecture I still think Ion is destined for a Mac NetBook. It's the perfect platform for Apple to use for such a device. As it's enough better than all the existing NetBooks to warrant Apple's premium design, performance and cost. The can easily market as "We were waiting until we could put real power in a NetBook, this outclasses everything in the NetBook range, etc... and that's why we're charging an extra $200 for it".
I further don't think it's headed to a MacMini simply because I think rumors coming out of shops using MacMini's as servers (MacCoLo) would have suggested something to the effect. While server farms are "power sensitive" and might be interested in the Atom's lower power usage, the overall package doesn't seem server friendly.
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d3bruts1d said 2:28PM on 1-16-2009
I could see the Ion and the Atom in a Apple TV or a Netbook, but I really don't see it ending up in the Mac Mini as well.
If the Mini kept the same processor and added 802.11n and a better (non shared memory) gfx processor, I'd be more than happy.
jbrown510 said 3:28PM on 1-16-2009
Ok, having just reviewed some of the reference designs Nvidia built for the Ion, I take it back... I think it's definitely the next Mini:
http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3478
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Jacob Varghese said 12:52PM on 1-17-2009
I read that review and I'm buying it.
OS X 64 bit
+Atom 330
+Nvidia ION Platform
+bluetooth keyboard
+new remote
+Apple TV interface access to Hulu/Netflix..
+DVR functionality
+iTunes Games
= new Apple One (more powerful Apple TV)
for $299
It would be the perfect computer for most casual users.
At that pricepoint, it would be a very attractive thin client for corporate use.
Apple would continue to produce Mac Minis with more powerful processors as there is still very much a market for lower price quality desktops - schools, colleges, corporations, server farms. I do think they should rid it of the optical drive though.
brian said 3:52PM on 1-16-2009
Noooo! Apple can do what they want with the Apple TV, but leave the Mini alone! (I mean, upgrade it for God's sake, but let it have two fast Intel cores.) And update Front Row too, please--why does it recognize song playlists but not video playlists?!?!?
The fact is, if Apple *really* cared about bring green, they'd quit pushing all-in-ones so hard. Why can't I get something as fast as an iMac but without a screen built in? (Not counting the $2300+ Mac Pro.) EVERY display I've ever owned has lasted long enough to be used with at LEAST two computers on average. And give them more than one connector--my Dell LCD is connected to two computers AND my cable box.
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Stephen Lang said 4:22PM on 1-16-2009
I see what you did Apple.
Instead of finally releasing a netbook to shut everyone up, you thought different and put a netbook CPU in a desktop computer.
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Enigmafan420 said 5:46PM on 1-16-2009
Yeah-just what everyone was asking for...
Tim Rosencrans said 6:40PM on 1-16-2009
ITS A DESSERT TOPPING YOU COW!!!!
That being said maybe will se an ATOM based AppleTV along side a Core 2 mini.
I don't see Apple moving the mini to a slower 1.6 atom but it would be quite a step up for the ATV and still be able to meet the low price point.
And and ATOM based Mini at current pricing would be ridiculous the ATOM is a low power low cost system I would expect similar PCs to retail around $200-$300.
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brett said 7:15PM on 1-16-2009
one *and* the same
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