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Coming up on 3 full years.

What's funny is it isn't uncommon for people to replace their computers after 3 years regardless... imagine buying the exact same computer again after 3 years, for the same price? 😵

Even cars tend get a refresh every 2-3 years.
 
In mid 2014, I was considering buying a refurbished 2012 quad core Mac Mini. My hesitation was that surely Apple was going to release a worthy successor any day. The release was imminent I thought! I waited until October to pull the trigger, second guessing myself every moment.

Then mere days later Apple did it - released an updated Mini. It was super underwhelming and I no longer regretted my decision to buy a 2012.

That was nearly 3 years ago. Wow.
 
Coming up on 3 full years.

I used to do that, and without fail the new computer was at least twice as fast, had twice as much RAM, twice the storage and it cost less than the old one. That cycle broke a few years ago. We just aren't seeing those kinds of improvements in the new models anymore. Still quite happy with my 2013 MacBook Air (i7/8gb/512gb) and 2012 mini (quad i7 2.6/16gb/256gb).

I don't see anything from Apple on the horizon that will double those specs at the same price point, and at the moment I really don't need any higher spec.
 
On a positive note: the current Mac mini still offers
i) 4 full-size USB 3 ports
ii) SDXC card slot
iii) HDMI port
iv) Gigabit ethernet port
v) headphone jack
... and it comes w/o Touch Bar!

Maybe we should consider ourselves fortunate that Apple neglected to "update" the Mac mini in the recent past. 😉
 
On a positive note: the current Mac mini still offers
i) 4 full-size USB 3 ports
ii) SDXC card slot
iii) HDMI port
iv) Gigabit ethernet port
v) headphone jack
... and it comes w/o Touch Bar!

Maybe we should consider ourselves fortunate that Apple neglected to "update" the Mac mini in the recent past. 😉

A new Mini might be nice, depending on how much more they are able to lock it down (read: prevent updates)... but the 2014 is still a decent entry level Mac... and is powerful enough for some moderate FCPX, Photoshop, etc, as well as email/web surfing/word processing.
 
No regrets here in my purchase of a Refurbished MM(Late 2014) 2.8GHz,8GB Ram,256SSD from the Apple On-line Store in June, 2015 as it meets all my present and near-future computer needs!

I also have a Refurbished MM(Late 2012)2.5GHZ,16GB Ram,500GB HD that I purchased from the Apple On-Line Store in August, 2013 but I prefer using more my MM(Late 2014) which has the SSD.
 
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Assuming the emerging eGPU support keeps working on it, I still think the quad i7 2012 Mini is superior, even more so if the GPU can be improved through the TB port.
 
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I used to do that, and without fail the new computer was at least twice as fast, had twice as much RAM, twice the storage and it cost less than the old one. That cycle broke a few years ago. We just aren't seeing those kinds of improvements in the new models anymore.
Yeah, it's kind of striking, isn't it? My late 2013 13" rMBP cost $1500 and came with a 2.4 Ghz dual core Haswell i5, 8 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The 2017 rMBP that costs $1500 has a 2.3 Ghz Kabylake i5, 8 GB RAM, and a 256 SSD.

And yes, I get that each of the components in the 2017 is significantly faster than its equivalent in my 2013, but even still, we're 4 years later - I sure hope there would be SOME improvements!
 
Then mere days later Apple did it - released an updated Mini. It was super underwhelming and I no longer regretted my decision to buy a 2012.

That was nearly 3 years ago. Wow.

The 2012 Mini was still being sold brand new by Apple just two and a bit years ago. Still plenty of life left in it yet!
 
The 2012 Mini was still being sold brand new by Apple just two and a bit years ago. Still plenty of life left in it yet!
Yes, it appeared in the return store, but it wasn't offered as new. The mad rush for the 2012 started on day 1 of the 2014 announcement.
 
Selling them at modern-day prices is still unacceptable, though

I got my 2012 quad i7 2.6ghz about a year ago from OWC with a 90 day warranty and 15 day return period. It was expensive, but still $150 less than the top spec 2014 model. And it's 50% faster than the top spec 2014 mini, so that was "acceptable" for me. Still loving this machine, just did a 17 hour video render - that would have taken 8 hours longer on a 2014 mini. 🙂
 
The new one would need to come at very attractive price, given that it's going to be completely locked-down (for sure).

But hopefully, you'll be able to power it through USB-C directly from the display. Too bad that it's not going to get QC anymore.
Though, with Intel being in a bit of a panic because of AMD's Ryzen recently - never say never ;-)
 
A new Mini might be nice, depending on how much more they are able to lock it down (read: prevent updates)... but the 2014 is still a decent entry level Mac... and is powerful enough for some moderate FCPX, Photoshop, etc, as well as email/web surfing/word processing.
It's not "entry level" for me, it's my main desktop. When my iMac and MacBook both died a year ago I was in a jamb with few replacement options. I ended up getting a refurb 2014 Mini 3 days later by Purolator. Love the thing. Very flexible. Turned it around so the ports are front-facing. Love the choice of peripherals. Attached 3 external hard drives for backups. Attached two large monitors. Attached a USB hub for added flexibility. Able to run my work Windows laptop alongside very easily by swapping one monitor's cable. Performance has been surprisingly very smooth. I am a professional who needs the capability dwfaust describes in the quote, and the Mini delivers just fine. I've been buying and using computers for 30 years, and this is my ideal setup. I certainly hope that Apple keeps them coming, at a reasonable price.
 
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