New Mac Mini Coming by End of February According to Belgian Retailer

gnasher729 · Jan 22, 2014

Sky Blue said:
"In addition, OS X Mavericks a very secure operating system, you have (almost) not suffer from nasty viruses."

There's a winning endorsement...

It's probably a Google translation problem. I would think that the company, in order to stay on the honest side, acknowledged that nasty viruses have never been seen in the wild but are a theoretical possibility, while the translation makes it sound quite different.

Miharu · Jan 22, 2014

Looking at the current Macbook Pro 13" (retina) specs, I'm guessing something like this for the first model:

2,4 GHz dual core i5
4 GB RAM
Iris Graphics (5100)
Possible flash storage starting at 128 GB? Or maybe regular 500GB hard drive in the cheapest model, with Fusion drive or SSD only in the more costly model.

Starting at around 700 dollars.

tom vilsack · Jan 22, 2014

John.B said:
There are suddenly a metric s*** ton of Mac minis (all of the "Late 2012" variety) in the refurb store that weren't there yesterday.

I've been checking daily also...with this many today...it's all but confirmed were getting a new one....finally!

TouchMint.com · Jan 22, 2014

I bet they stop putting reg harddrives in the mac mini and only use ssd. Remember you can always connect one with a thunderbolt cable (will be their thinking)

NewbieCanada · Jan 22, 2014

shaunp said:
I would buy one of these yesterday if it existed. It's too logical though and too many people want it so Apple won't make it. They only make that they think you need.

A few people on a forum is not "too many." The desktop segment is dying from all manufacturers. Apple has the high-end covered with the Mac Pro. The low-end with the mini and the no-fuss middle with the iMac. There isn't room in the line-up for a monitor-less iMac.

chirpie · Jan 22, 2014

NewbieCanada said:
A few people on a forum is not "too many." The desktop segment is dying from all manufacturers. Apple has the high-end covered with the Mac Pro. The low-end with the mini and the no-fuss middle with the iMac. There isn't room in the line-up for a monitor-less iMac.

I'll teach you to crush my dreams with logic!

osx11 · Jan 22, 2014

NightFox said:
Argggghh - Mac Pro on order and scheduled for despatch "January" and now this news comes along.... I need to replace my 2008 Mac Pro which is dying - the new Pro is admittedly overkill for what I need but the existing Mini isn't up to what I want (No iMac for me as I need to share the monitor with other devices).

If this is true and there's a discreet graphics or Iris Pro option then that could be the Mac for me, but I'm not going to cancel my Pro order on the basis of a rumour and then have to wait months when I have to re-order it

Well if you can afford to spend an extra $2,000.00 on a machine you don't really need than hats off to you.

barkmonster · Jan 22, 2014

paul4339 said:
I thought Iris Pro was only avail on the higher end i7's... Question is: will the price of mac mini go up since the component costs prob more expensive?

.

They could absorb the cost into their horrendously expensive HDD/SSD and RAM and keep the prices the same, just boost the specs to match the Haswell CPUs of the 15" MacBook Pro.

DJC631 · Jan 22, 2014

So, no dedicated graphics?

osx11 · Jan 22, 2014

I think that we will see a major redesign.

I think at the end of the day, it boils down to the following: will apple incorporate user-replacable storage and ram.

If yes, the form factor will probably not change that much.

If no, and everything is soldered onto the logic board, then we could potentially see an extremely small Mac Mini.

I think size-wise, it would be could to have a AirPort Extreme-esque design. Maybe not quite as tall but it would look sweet.

Santabean2000 · Jan 22, 2014

shaunp said:
I would buy one of these yesterday if it existed. It's too logical though and too many people want it so Apple won't make it. They only make that they think you need.

No no, they only make computers that don't overlap with each other too much.

Shame, I'm all over a mini with a beefier GPU option. [Iris Pro would suffice tho; 4K and room to move...]

Piggie · Jan 22, 2014

chirpie said:
I'll teach you to crush my dreams with logic!

I would tend to argue the point about MacPro being high end.

It's high end in a very narrow field and very mediocre end in other areas.

unplugme71 · Jan 22, 2014

I can't wait for my cylinder MacBook Pro!

Yamcha · Jan 22, 2014

Exciting stuff, I really am looking to upgrade my Mac Mini, hopefully it'll have dedicated graphics this time around.

The Mac Mini could be so much more If Apple would only add more powerful graphics configurations, I use it as my main setup, mainly for Web Design.

Maxedonia · Jan 22, 2014

unplugme71 said:
I can't wait for my cylinder MacBook Pro!

How would that work? With a built in beamer?

milo · Jan 22, 2014

NewbieCanada said:
There isn't room in the line-up for a monitor-less iMac.

Years ago, people insisted there wasn't room in the line-up for a mini. And then Apple shipped the mini.

It's high end in a very narrow field and very mediocre end in other areas.

I'd say that's only true for the quad. 6/8/12 core are very powerful in general.

OldSchoolMacGuy · Jan 22, 2014

at all of the stupid comments wishing for better graphics in the mini. The mini never has and never will be the gaming machine you want. It's not about graphics at all. It's about a base machine that can do web browsing, email, and word processing. It's a basic machine to get people onto the OS X platform. That's it. Anyone thinking they're going to add higher-end features is an idiot yet every time they refresh, people cry about graphics and lack of higher end features.

57004 · Jan 22, 2014

designaholic said:
In it's current format/size I'd say no chance of that. Perhaps they will change the design to accommodate the required hardware, but 4k is still pretty niche.

No chance? Even the Haswell IGP supports 4K now. I'd say there's almost no chance it won't support it. Since it will have Haswell for sure.

The only way it won't have it is if Apple artificially restricts it. I wouldn't put it past them but I don't think that's likely anyway. And it'd be hacked in 5 minutes of course.

OldSchoolMacGuy · Jan 22, 2014

NewbieCanada said:
A few people on a forum is not "too many." The desktop segment is dying from all manufacturers. Apple has the high-end covered with the Mac Pro. The low-end with the mini and the no-fuss middle with the iMac. There isn't room in the line-up for a monitor-less iMac.

Well put. Desktop market is dying as you said. No point in investing largely in it.

All those that bitch about the mini not having dedicated graphics and other stuff wouldn't likely buy it anyways. They're the same that complain about the specs on the Mac Pro yet have never and will never buy one even if it had the specs they want.

gkarris · Jan 22, 2014

Yvan256 said:
Mac nano

They got rid of the optical drive but kept the same form factor because it made sense at the time. There was no need to design a new case while the Mac mini was in mid-life cycle.

But now, if they get rid of the 2.5" drive and go with a PCIe flash drive as they already did in new Macs, they can probably squeeze everything into a much smaller case. They need to re-use their custom components in as many computers as possible to lower the overall price. I see the Mac nano with 128GB flash storage for the entry model to keep costs down.

For the RAM, either they keep two slots for a maximum of 16GB which is still plenty for the entry-level Mac, or they go with on-board RAM like the MacBook Air in order to cut costs and size requirements. If that happens, then the options are probably going to be 8GB or 16GB.

Don't forget that the current generation only has Intel HD Graphics 4000. Since it's going to be Haswell CPUs, it means Iris/Iris Pro graphics so it's an upgrade from HD4000. No dedicated GPU means a smaller motherboard, a lower cost and a lower TDP too.

A smaller aluminium case would require less time to manufacture and would be more compact for shipping and inventory. Don't forget we are in the Tim Era now.

All that for the same price as before.

This, probably at about 3/4 the current size - gotta keep room for a fan and the power supply and connectors

Santabean2000 · Jan 22, 2014

OldSchoolMacGuy said:
at all of the stupid comments wishing for better graphics in the mini. The mini never has and never will be the gaming machine you want. It's not about graphics at all. It's about a base machine that can do web browsing, email, and word processing. It's a basic machine to get people onto the OS X platform. That's it. Anyone thinking they're going to add higher-end features is an idiot yet every time they refresh, people cry about graphics and lack of higher end features.

Ummm, no. I'm not a gamer at all in the sense you are describing, but I am looking for better graphics.

I'm probably an 'average user' for the most part, but I do dable in FCP X/Motion (non-pro) projects and I am looking toward a new 4K display too. So yes, a decent GPU option please. [And no, I can't afford a MP, and no I don't want my machine to be locked/glued into a screen iMac style.]

Now if you Sir, could take your old school thinking elsewhere we'd be much the happier for it.

Mainsail · Jan 22, 2014

I think the Mini is a great value. Most people have a monitor, keyboard and mouse lying around the house, so for less than $600 (I paid $570 at BB) you are into the Apple ecosystem. Free iWorks. Free iLife. All content and media synced with your iDevices....pretty sweet! At home, I use my iPad and iPhone for 90% of my personal computing. When I need a desktop and additional local storage, the Mini is just fine.

The entry level iMac is more than twice the cost. Don't get me wrong, the iMac is a great machine, but I like the fact that if my monitor goes out, I can easily replace it, or that I can add RAM as needed down the road.

Obviously, needs are different, so the Mini may not be the right solution for some folks.

AlanFortune · Jan 22, 2014

Did anybody notice the '2 year guarantee' shown near the bottom left of the page? Its an EU directive but Apple UK try to wriggle out of it.

Maxedonia · Jan 22, 2014

GekkePrutser said:
No chance? Even the Haswell IGP supports 4K now. I'd say there's almost no chance it won't support it. Since it will have Haswell for sure.

The only way it won't have it is if Apple artificially restricts it. I wouldn't put it past them but I don't think that's likely anyway. And it'd be hacked in 5 minutes of course.

It hasn't been "hacked" for the rMBP till now....

scottsjack · Jan 22, 2014

My new mini 2.3 quad just arrived today as a replacement for my late 2009 mini 2.66 C2D. If a newer version arrives in a couple of months it may be bye bye to for my 2010 Mac Pro. Then I'll be living in a laptop-in-a-box world.

New Mac Mini Coming by End of February According to Belgian Retailer

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