Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Unreleased 'Mid 2014' Mac Mini Referenced on Apple Support Page
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I hope it's just a spec bump. In it's current state you can easily upgrade things like the HDD to an SSD and ad dual drives and RAM. If they make it thinner; ie like a MBA it'll end up using proprietary parts.
My 2012 i7 is a great little work horse for video editing and faster than any of the stock i5 iMacs when re-encoding/compressing video files. Wish they had non-BTO i7 iMac available, cause I'd jump on that in a heartbeat.
Whatever new processor that would fit since the Mini was updated in 2012. It wouldn't be Broadwell. But certainly they could put a Haswell processor in the Mini hardware with just a few weeks of work. And one would think that would goose the sales a bit.
Announcement with trumpets or sneaked out?
Do new minis typically just come out as an announcement on the Apple store, rather than a big press event?
Or might they be tagged onto an existing event. One in mid to late September maybe?
Do new minis typically just come out as an announcement on the Apple store, rather than a big press event?
Or might they be tagged onto an existing event. One in mid to late September maybe?
As I eye my first purchase of a Mac, i have a question for members of this thread. What can an iMac do that a Mac mini cannot ? I'm leaning toward one of these Mac Mini's but unsure of the power driving this thing being that it's so small. I won't be doing any video edits or anything. Maybe a little encoding w/ Handbrake for Apple TV, & some general web surfing. I'll also be running Plex as a media server for my music on an external drive, & using utorrent.
What's the average lifespan of a Mac Mini ? Less than an iMac ? I also see some of you talking about how gaming on these aren't ideal & that's fine, I'm not a huge gamer.
Just looking for some input from the pros. I'm slowly getting into Apple & my PC is on its last leg. All thoughts & suggestions welcome. Thanks fellas
What's the average lifespan of a Mac Mini ? Less than an iMac ? I also see some of you talking about how gaming on these aren't ideal & that's fine, I'm not a huge gamer.
Just looking for some input from the pros. I'm slowly getting into Apple & my PC is on its last leg. All thoughts & suggestions welcome. Thanks fellas
Do new minis typically just come out as an announcement on the Apple store, rather than a big press event?
Or might they be tagged onto an existing event. One in mid to late September maybe?
My assumption would be it would tie into an event. They haven't touched the mini in a long time and this seems like it would be event-worthy but certainly not the only announcement to come out. So perhaps September? It would be nice.
For your stated needs a Mac Mini will be perfect. Usually the case for an iMac is if you don't have or want to purchase a keyboard and mouse and separate monitor, or if you simply want an all-in-one device. (No denying how slick an iMac looks.)
Life span really depends on what you purchase from the start. I bought a weak spec'd Mini in 2010 and it really slugs along in 2014. That was my mistake. Had I bought a model with proper RAM back then (say 4 GB) then I'd be running Mavericks instead of being stuck on Snow Leopard due to my 1 GB internals.
I suggest you wait until the Mini is updated if you can. (Hopefully this news item turns out to be true.) I'll be getting a new Mini as soon as it's refreshed. At the very least it should be by October but hopefully before September now.
The Mac Mini i7 renders video faster (can rip and rencode a DVD/Blu-ray) faster than any of the stock iMacs even in the current gen. I actually use mine for video editing all the time and it works great! Probably the best Apple computer I've bought in the last 5 years in terms of speed & value. It's essentially an i7 Macbook Pro in a small low powered box.
Waiting for 2014 mini
I am ready to purchase an updated mini. Much needed, but I can hold off until October. Inching out every bit of processing from my late 2008 15" MBP (updated with an SSD), but video editing struggles.
I'm sure the 2012 model would work well, but I think a Haswell proc mini would perform much better and give longer life between upgrades.
I am ready to purchase an updated mini. Much needed, but I can hold off until October. Inching out every bit of processing from my late 2008 15" MBP (updated with an SSD), but video editing struggles.
I'm sure the 2012 model would work well, but I think a Haswell proc mini would perform much better and give longer life between upgrades.
I'm mostly inclined to think that they will just softly spec bump across the lines with faster Haswell ,perhaps Imac will get better Nvidia while i hope not to see any Mac mini with soldered ram in .The Yosemite release could be without any new machines,just new OSX.
Next year i hope to see a 13 quad macbook pro,retina air and maybe with Alpine Ridge included within while i'm expecting this to be out with Skylake .
ATV is an ATV. If you want a more flexible if not powerful ATV then simply put that suggestion in the ATV threads or iPad for that matter. As for Mac Mini, it can serve very well its purpose of being a first Mac offering for PC users daring to cross over but then again, so can any Mac.
Lots of people have it right in these threads that Apple force fits consumers into buying other Macs rather than the Mini. While we can discuss profit margins all day, the truth is that Apple has very high profit margins and they only need reposition the Mac Mini and increase sales not compete within their own offerings (iMac, MB and nMP etc.).
You already do have additional computers in n your home. The cable box, the Apple TV, one to send the data from your Nest or security cameras or whatever to your phone in your pocket when you are away from home.
re: Not many people want a mini computer.
I don't agree with this statement. The latest Mac mini models have been very popular within the AV community as a fully blown-out AV solution.
I started with a Mac mini 2009, and am now use a Mac mini 2011 as a centralized media center running Mac OS X Server for file serving, Pandora Radio, iTunes, NetFlix/Amazon Videos, Plex for our DVD and home video and photo libraries, and EyeTV recording four simultaneous channels of live TV broadcasts using two networked Dual-tuner HDHomeRuns and an outside over-the-air HDTV antenna. It then hooks into our Yamaha receiver for 7.2 surround sound that switches between that and an Xbox 360. With the exception of NetFlix, we do not pay for TV.
Once the mini received its native HDMI port in the current models, it really started to shine. I've only had video issues with the last few versions of Mavericks (my Samsung TV not waking up until I reseat the plug).
My original 2009 model has been great for the kids, so now I just hope to get an updated (hopefully much more powerful) Mac mini to serve as both a desktop and to remote access our media files and recorded TV from my office.
I don't agree with this statement. The latest Mac mini models have been very popular within the AV community as a fully blown-out AV solution.
I started with a Mac mini 2009, and am now use a Mac mini 2011 as a centralized media center running Mac OS X Server for file serving, Pandora Radio, iTunes, NetFlix/Amazon Videos, Plex for our DVD and home video and photo libraries, and EyeTV recording four simultaneous channels of live TV broadcasts using two networked Dual-tuner HDHomeRuns and an outside over-the-air HDTV antenna. It then hooks into our Yamaha receiver for 7.2 surround sound that switches between that and an Xbox 360. With the exception of NetFlix, we do not pay for TV.
Once the mini received its native HDMI port in the current models, it really started to shine. I've only had video issues with the last few versions of Mavericks (my Samsung TV not waking up until I reseat the plug).
My original 2009 model has been great for the kids, so now I just hope to get an updated (hopefully much more powerful) Mac mini to serve as both a desktop and to remote access our media files and recorded TV from my office.
Let's be realistic, Apple is a company which exists for only one thing: profit!
Along with it, they may or may not have some principles. That's why we are here right? Discussing about principles and/or work orientations they should have and we mix this with our feelings. I have feelings for Apple because of the way it made me feel when I first saw "the" pinch to zoom, "the" slide to unlock, MBA coming out from a brown enlevope etc... and I will never forget those moments.
I made my peace with thinner iMac and I just envy nMP. But again I'm realistic, I know those machines are not for me. Maybe I'm not that profitable for Apple. I can understand that.
But can you tell me why why a mini can't be BTOed with 4th generation Intel® Core i7 Processor and with an enthusiast level NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 880M discrete graphics? Am I not realistic enough?
You miss the point. Most consumers do not need a Mac. That's why we have seen the explosion of smartphone sales, tablets. People are buyimg what they need. Those who need a Mac need a Mac. The mini should be "the" home computer for the masses. an affordable dedicated home computer to handle small computing tasks, handle VOIP, video and music streaming, surf the web, route the data from all the smart appliances, security camera.
That's what the mini should be. There is a hell of a lot more demand for the services of an Apple TV alone than the current Mac mini. And Apple and Google are the only ones primed to really make it happen. Its going to happen and someone is going to make a lot of doing so, its a queation who it will be. Whether MS, Google or Apple is going to run with it.
Last edited:
They're buying what they don't already have, not what they need. These are very different ideas.
Tablets simply are not capable enough to completely replace a "real" computer for most people; they aren't miles off, but there are enough things that are just too difficult, or simply can't be done. However, everybody already has a "real" computer, so there isn't the same kind of sales growth.
I should also add that I use a Roku 2 HD to stream EyeTV recording up to our bedroom using a third party developed app called Nowhere DVR, whereas I used to use a MacBook Pro as needed (setting it up each time to that TV).
I considered an AppleTV at first, however it is currently a closed system that does not allow installation of custom apps like the Roku. Once Apple allows iOS apps to be purchased/installed on this device, it should be able to run the official EyeTV or Plex clients that are in the App Store as well as many other AV options plus the multitude of games available on it.
I would think that once this happens, the AppleTV will really take off and sell like crazy compared to how they are selling now.
Phil Shiller: "What's is in between a Mac Mini and a Mac Pro? Introducing the next generation of Mac Mini, Mac Pro Mini! Can't innovate anymore my a**!" - crowd wildly cheers.
I believe there won't be a Mac Mini this year. I just don't see the point of putting Haswell on it. Next year very plausible. My guess is that they will probably do a Mac Pro sort of thing where they're gonna redesign it, put a new Broadwell processor and update it every 2 to 3 years or so. Its true, Mac Mini does not have a huge market so this move seems plausible. The Mac Pro won't be updated until who knows when so this will be the same fate for the Mac Mini from this moment on.