So they took $100 off the base price but they did not reduce the price? This is getting more confusing by the minute... and yes I agree Russia is not a good place to buy your consumer electronics. Too much backsheesh.
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2014 Mac Mini Teardown Highlights Increased Difficulty For User Upgradability
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So they took $100 off the base price but they did not reduce the price? This is getting more confusing by the minute... and yes I agree Russia is not a good place to buy your consumer electronics. Too much backsheesh.
Just don't buy it. If Apple is going to cripple it, then don't buy it. Get something else. Find a used 2012 model somewhere. It's faster anyway. Or build a hackintosh. Apple does not want your money. The only way they will realize they screwed up is if you stop buying this garbage. It's a desktop computer! I could only understand the changes they made if it fit in my pocket. But who needs a desktop like that? Especially when you have the iPhone. So confusing.
And the prize for the most unsympathetic and ignorant comment in this thread goes to... you.
I'm not looking for a reason to complain, since I wasn't expecting the new Mac Mini. It's just disappointing to see Apple taking steps backwards.
Regardless, you just said the exact same thing, with other words. It's not slower, it's just have fewer cores. Well...
It's 2014, most users use multi-thread apps or more that 2 apps at the same time, so 4 cores are now entry-level for a desktop computer released just now. And they also like to upgrade their computer RAM. Obviously, though, Apple disagrees...
And if they said, hey we also have this more expensive version that has sockets for RAM, CPU, and space for 2 SATA drives.
The problem here is not Apple making low cost equipment, it is the removal of choice.
You missed the context of "Pros" in the original post. What he meant was those who use Macs in a professional work environment, like graphics and media work.
The reference was not to "Pros", as in those who make their living doing computer upgrades for others.
I looked on the Apple refurb store the other day and they didn't have any Mini refurbs listed. Almost as if they don't even offer refurbs on the mini.
Go to a physical store and ask for a 2012 floor model. They're $100 off across the line.
A couple of recurring comments about the Mac Mini, in general, bother me.
First, calling the Mac Mini an "entry level" Mac. Why? Because you can buy a model for $499? In effect, any of the previous gen Mac Mini's could be configured similarly to an iMac, minus the screen. So, those of us that ALREADY have screens, or desire to have the ability to upgrade the memory or hard drive/SSD over time choose a nicely configured quad core Mini.
How does an i7 Quad Core mini with 16GB RAM and 250GB SSD qualify as "entry level" any more than most of the iMac's Apple offers? Is it wrong to want to be able to make your Mac more powerful for cheaper than Apple's rip-off upgrade pricing? Doesn't everyone want a good deal?
Second, drop all the fake statistics about how many people actually upgrade their Mac Mini's. Given that all other Apple computers are now soldered and sealed, the Mac Mini *was* the last model that allowed people to future-proof themselves. So instead of spouting ridiculous "facts" you think you know (which you don't know at all), just realize that people DO upgrade their Mac's, either as do-it-yourself upgrades, or at local Apple stores or BB Geek Squad, or mom-and-pop shops.
One last thing...I'm SO PROUD to be in the company of so many industry experts on this forum. I mean, seriously, so many who make it their business to know what "most people do". I wish I knew so much about EVERYONE ELSE!!
First, calling the Mac Mini an "entry level" Mac. Why? Because you can buy a model for $499? In effect, any of the previous gen Mac Mini's could be configured similarly to an iMac, minus the screen. So, those of us that ALREADY have screens, or desire to have the ability to upgrade the memory or hard drive/SSD over time choose a nicely configured quad core Mini.
How does an i7 Quad Core mini with 16GB RAM and 250GB SSD qualify as "entry level" any more than most of the iMac's Apple offers? Is it wrong to want to be able to make your Mac more powerful for cheaper than Apple's rip-off upgrade pricing? Doesn't everyone want a good deal?
Second, drop all the fake statistics about how many people actually upgrade their Mac Mini's. Given that all other Apple computers are now soldered and sealed, the Mac Mini *was* the last model that allowed people to future-proof themselves. So instead of spouting ridiculous "facts" you think you know (which you don't know at all), just realize that people DO upgrade their Mac's, either as do-it-yourself upgrades, or at local Apple stores or BB Geek Squad, or mom-and-pop shops.
One last thing...I'm SO PROUD to be in the company of so many industry experts on this forum. I mean, seriously, so many who make it their business to know what "most people do". I wish I knew so much about EVERYONE ELSE!!
The base model got $100 more expensive, and they introduced a sub-base model at a lower price.
"Chocolate rations have been increased!"
That just depends on how do you view an "entry-level" mini. If you look at MBP upgrades of years past, you'd usually see a 100 Mhz processor clock increase on a new platform (i.e. 2.4 GHz Core i5 (I5-2435M) in MBP Late 2011 replaced by 2.5 GHz Core i5 (I5-3210M) in MBP mid-2012, or more recently 1.3 GHz Core i5 (I5-4250U) in MBA mid-2013 was replaced by 1.4 GHz Core i5 (I5-4260U) in MBA 2014). Then in 2014 Apple introduces its "most affordable iMac ever" with the same 1.4 GHz Core i5 (I5-4260U), essentially creating a stationary MBA. And now they use the same hardware in the Mac mini.
However, to me it would be just as wrong to consider 1.4 GHz Mac mini 2014 to be a successor to 2.5 GHz Mac mini 2012 as to say that 1.4 GHz iMac 2014 is a successor to an entry-level late 2013 2.7 GHz Core i5 (I5-4570R) 21.5" iMac. These two machines should rather be viewed as "nettop computers", low-cost, low-power solutions for web browsing and easy tasks.
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But how is that being locked in? These are just features of a platform. Windows and Chrome have other features that OS X doesn't have. Just because Apple integrates all devices tightly doesn't mean you are locked in.
You can still upgrade the RAM in the iMac, as well as just about every component of the trash can Mac Pro.
That's it. Apple makes Macs for Apple's bottom line. Not for you or your Frankenstein needs.
Why should Apple invest in creating hardware and software and give it to you at a cheap price and in a component format just so that you can take it to pieces and then spend money with Amazon and Crucial?
Apple isn't in business to make products that are then "upgraded" with stuff bought from other companies.
I think Apple has done the right thing. Expect that this Mini would have been a different and smaller beast if Intel weren't behind with their processor releases.
The next Mini will have a smaller form and a different processor. Perhaps we'll see a desktop version of iOS. So many people just need iPhones and iPads. A desktop version of iOS would suit a lot of people and allow Apple to use its own chips.
I think this could very well be the last Intel / OS X Mini.
A 2015 Mini running iOS with an Apple chip that's faster than a 2014 Mini with an Intel chip. Great marking by Apple.
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Maybe they'll just fuse it with the Apple TV to eliminate the confusion of it being expected to serve more of a purpose than a HTPC.
A sealed desktop computer running ios with it's crippled file management.
Wow, you came up with a system that would be even MORE worthless than even this year's mac mini.
There is a sickness within Apple. They are trying to change what we think a commuter is. Can you think of any electrical/electronic device outside of a computer that you can upgrade? Apple want to bring the computer down to that level. This is sad.
I was expecting a lot better from Apple with the mini refresh. The price drop is clearly justifiable by what they did to the internals, though I am sticking with my 2012 mini for a good while
Car manufacturers could learn from Apple. Weld the wheels to the axels (saving many manufacturing steps, parts, and chances for things to come loose), and when a tire goes flat just get a new car. This is going to make somebody rich!
I bought another Quad-Core i7 one from B&H Sunday night. I'm gonna max it out. My old one, connected to the TV, already has 3TB inside, with a 2TB drive for it in the mail. Wish it had a little better graphics card, but I'll suffer.
Now you have
This is posted from IE11, on Windows 8.1, on VMWare Fusion 7, on Yosemite, on my late 2012 quad i7 Mac Mini with 16GB of Crucial RAM.
My first Mac desktop, paired with dual Dell 2340M monitors, and it's fantastic.
I was hoping to upgrade but I guess not. I love the Apple ecosystem, but I work from home and need Windows (I'm a developer) so for me the Mini gave me the Windows I needed with the OSX I wanted, in a small form factor with dual monitor support.
I also run two Dell PowerEdge machines with Windows Server OSes. After learning of the lack of upgradability and no quad-core on the new mini models, I bought another 2012 i7 yesterday at Best Buy. I'll be loading it with RAM and virtualizing my Windows servers (and my online internet radio station - my hobby) so I can kill off the aging Dells and un-clutter my house a bit. I can't see virtualizing both machines on a dual-core mini.
I bought the last 2012 i7 Best Buy had in stock. Feeling pretty good about my purchase.