2017 prediction

[LucasLand]

apple will combine a new apple tv with a mac mini. this new higher end device device will give a buyer a choice, use it to connect to your tv or you can use it as a mac. it will be a little bit bigger than a traditional Apple TV and cost in between what an Apple TV and low end mac mini costs

 

[Bart Kela]

Nope. The limiting factor with Apple TV isn't the hardware, it's the content deals.

Apple has already had an Apple TV that was basically a dumbed-down Mac mini. They aren't going back there.

My 2017 prediction is that Apple does not upgrade the Apple TV in any significant way. The service perhaps, but the set-top box no.

 

[Kaida]

I don't think there is going to be a mini this year. Kaby Lake will probably hit other Mac systems first but mini will get it 6 months after. And like 13" MBP, there will be no i7..

Hopefully when the mini comes:
1. It will not be USB-C only
2. It will be in a different form factor this time, the 2010, 2011 and 2012 are packed to the brim with the unibody. but the 2014 is just so empty inside (soldered rams inside, 1 of the 2.5" replaced with the PCIe SSD, smaller wifi/BT card and no cowl to hold the HDD connectors in place replaced by small metal pieces that is holding down the HDD and PCIe SSD.

 

[Appleaker]

No, there's no way they would combine them as they are completely different devices. I don't think it would have crossed their minds. Although, providing an Apple TV like experience on Mac may have been a consideration.
[doublepost=1485207498][/doublepost]

I don't think there is going to be a mini this year. Kaby Lake will probably hit other Mac systems first but mini will get it 6 months after. And like 13" MBP, there will be no i7..

Hopefully when the mini comes:
1. It will not be USB-C only
2. It will be in a different form factor this time, the 2010, 2011 and 2012 are packed to the brim with the unibody. but the 2014 is just so empty inside (soldered rams inside, 1 of the 2.5" replaced with the PCIe SSD, smaller wifi/BT card and no cowl to hold the HDD connectors in place replaced by small metal pieces that is holding down the HDD and PCIe SSD.

I think there will be a new mini this year. The 13" MBP does have an i7 option, and so will the new mini.

I'm also hoping for a redesign, but as for ports I think it will be Thunderbolt 3 only. They may actually implement standard USB-C ports as well to limit it compared to other Macs. I can imagine the new mini coming with 4 TB3 ports. But with a desktop, it really doesn't matter. In fact it's a good thing as you can decide which ports you want and hook up devices running at internal speeds.

 

[btrach144]

No, there's no way they would combine them as they are completely different devices. I don't think it would have crossed their minds. Although, providing an Apple TV like experience on Mac may have been a consideration.
[doublepost=1485207498][/doublepost]
I think there will be a new mini this year. The 13" MBP does have an i7 option, and so will the new mini.

I'm also hoping for a redesign, but as for ports I think it will be Thunderbolt 3 only. They may actually implement standard USB-C ports as well to limit it compared to other Macs. I can imagine the new mini coming with 4 TB3 ports. But with a desktop, it really doesn't matter. In fact it's a good thing as you can decide which ports you want and hook up devices running at internal speeds.

Agreed with a lot of your points but keep in mind that there was no new Mac Mini in 2015 and 2016 and many people thought there would be.

 

[slingshott]

Nope. The limiting factor with Apple TV isn't the hardware, it's the content deals.

This. I like OP's idea though. What I really want to see is Apple create an actual TV but we all know that's never gonna happen.

 

[Count Blah]

Whenever mini does come out, it will be pure solder/glue and dual core. Apple refuses to offer a compelling product, for under $1300 these days.

Think bare minimum + jacked up BTO prices. Or in other words, something barely better than the 2014 downgrade.

 

[Crosscreek]

IMHO the Mini and Mac Pro are EOL.

IOS and iPads will be pushed more by Timmy as replacements.

 

[Cape Dave]

Whenever mini does come out, it will be pure solder/glue and dual core. Apple refuses to offer a compelling product, for under $1300 these days.

Think bare minimum + jacked up BTO prices. Or in other words, something barely better than the 2014 downgrade.

But here is the thing. None of that matters as long as it is thinner and does not clash with my watchband colors

Truth is, I think you are pretty much spot on. Intel NUC's are loving Apple so much right now!

 

[Ursadorable]

Intel NUC's are loving Apple so much right now!

Except they don't run Mac OS X.. at least not natively, so it's a non-starter for most Mac users.

 

[Count Blah]

Except they don't run Mac OS X.. at least not natively, so it's a non-starter for most Mac users.

With Apples decision making, the % of 'non-starter' is getting smaller and smaller each release.

I'm holding out as long as I can, but this is THE year where Apple can lose the rest of my family, as far as Macs go. EVERYONE is due for an upgrade, and there is no way I'm going to buy a rehashed 2014 mini.

Apple has given up on the Mac Air, and decided that as consumers, we need to spend several hundred more for the privilege of getting a Mac portable - $&@#%! Couple that with a craptacular mini, and that's two lost sales to windows/Linux. I'll hold only my 2012 cMBP(16Gigs of RAM and SSD), until it dies. I'd like to upgrade it, but not at $3,500+ it would take to get the new equiv.

 

[Cape Dave]

Except they don't run Mac OS X.. at least not natively, so it's a non-starter for most Mac users.

For folks who want a small powerful hopefully silent computer and are not tied to one OS or the other, NUC will be taking away many sales from the mini. The mini used to be a great crossover entry point for new and curious Mac users. If it gets discontinued this year, then that will no longer be the case. Hence, NUC wins!

 

[opeter]

I have a bad feeling, that we won't see any more updated desktop computers without built in monitor from Apple. So the only desktop computer, that gets updated and made will be the iMac.

Still hope I am wrong.

 

[Kaida]

The 13" MBP does have an i7 option, and so will the new mini.

Not all i7 are Quad Core. We are hoping to find a Mac mini that is actually better than the 2012. And at the same time, hoping that the HDD, SSD and RAM and be upgraded in future if needed.

I guess that is too much to ask for in Tim Cook's reign.

https://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

 

[Ursadorable]

I understand the frustration of Mac Mini users. Switching to Windows is a pretty big pill to swallow. Speaking as someone who just downgraded back to my Mac Mini from a $3k custom built Windows PC, Windows is a horrible experience to deal with.

Sadly Apple knows this, and they're taking advantage of us for those that would rather stick with a poorer performing Mac than get involved in Windows.

 

[Appleaker]

Agreed with a lot of your points but keep in mind that there was no new Mac Mini in 2015 and 2016 and many people thought there would be.

Many people thought they would in 2015 because they didn't have a clue what Apple was doing with the mini (extending the life cycle). And to be honest, none of us know what they're doing entirely. It's the same reason that many people thought we'd see a 13" MacBook Air with Retina display but in the same body. They aren't really looking at Apples thought process for the future. The mini should have received an update this year but I think timing was the main boundary.
Of course, you could be right and Apple could decide to leave the Mac mini for another year. We'll have to see what Apple choose to do after the complaints about the Mac. Hopefully it's a much needed wake up call for them.
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Not all i7 are Quad Core. We are hoping to find a Mac mini that is actually better than the 2012. And at the same time, hoping that the HDD, SSD and RAM and be upgraded in future if needed.

I guess that is too much to ask for in Tim Cook's reign.

https://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

Yes I understand, I think many (possible ex-)Mac mini buyers, including myself, would like a quad-core option and upgradeability. The 2014 Mac mini is a direct result of Tim Cook being there, just like the extended upgrade cycle of the Mac mini and Mac Pro.
To have upgradeable RAM on all desktop Macs should be standard, and upgradeable storage should come with that too.
Although nowadays you can have really fast external storage and external graphics cards, so it's not as important as RAM/CPU. Nevertheless, I don't think storage should be soldered on in any case other than the 12" MacBook as it wouldn't be utilised my most of the market and would affect the form factor.

 

[btrach144]

Many people thought they would in 2015 because they didn't have a clue what Apple was doing with the mini (extending the life cycle). And to be honest, none of us know what they're doing entirely. It's the same reason that many people thought we'd see a 13" MacBook Air with Retina display but in the same body. They aren't really looking at Apples thought process for the future. The mini should have received an update this year but I think timing was the main boundary.
Of course, you could be right and Apple could decide to leave the Mac mini for another year. We'll have to see what Apple choose to do after the complaints about the Mac. Hopefully it's a much needed wake up call for them.
[doublepost=1485273728][/doublepost]
Yes I understand, I think many (possible ex-)Mac mini buyers, including myself, would like a quad-core option and upgradeability. The 2014 Mac mini is a direct result of Tim Cook being there, just like the extended upgrade cycle of the Mac mini and Mac Pro.
To have upgradeable RAM on all desktop Macs should be standard, and upgradeable storage should come with that too.
Although nowadays you can have really fast external storage and external graphics cards, so it's not as important as RAM/CPU. Nevertheless, I don't think storage should be soldered on in any case other than the 12" MacBook as it wouldn't be utilised my most of the market and would affect the form factor.

I believe the eMac that Apple made followed a similar death (Read: prolonged and silent)

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

apple will combine a new apple tv with a mac mini. this new higher end device device will give a buyer a choice, use it to connect to your tv or you can use it as a mac.

They already did that. The Mac Mini has HDMI out, so you can easily connect it to your TV. They even had Front Row so you could use it as a media center on the TV.

And then they ditched Front Row, which is pretty evident what they meant by hooking your Mac up to your TV.

 

[opeter]

Now, that Apple updated their website with San Francisco font and if you go down a bit to the Mac sections, you can see the following image:

http://www.apple.com/mac/

So, for me it seems, that both the Mac mini and Mac Pro are out of the game or, EOLed.

 

[Andres Cantu]

Now, that Apple updated their website with San Francisco font and if you go down a bit to the Mac sections, you can see the following image:

http://www.apple.com/mac/

So, for me it seems, that both the Mac mini and Mac Pro are out of the game or, EOLed.

So sad, even the Air gets more space in their websites than the Pro or mini, and that's one that is guaranteed to be on its way out...

 

[Count Blah]

It's like Apple is purposely driving away, long time Mac users.

VVVVVV See my dig VVVVVV

 

[richpjr]

I understand the frustration of Mac Mini users. Switching to Windows is a pretty big pill to swallow. Speaking as someone who just downgraded back to my Mac Mini from a $3k custom built Windows PC, Windows is a horrible experience to deal with.

Sadly Apple knows this, and they're taking advantage of us for those that would rather stick with a poorer performing Mac than get involved in Windows.

I just had the opposite experience. My 2010 iMac needed to be replaced as OS X was getting slower and slower and a clear reinstall did nothing. While I wanted a Mac Mini, the lack of anything new made it a non-starter. Picked up a Skull Canyon NUC, loaded Windows 10 on it and it has been stable, fast and a great little computer.

 

[Cape Dave]

I just had the opposite experience. My 2010 iMac needed to be replaced as OS X was getting slower and slower and a clear reinstall did nothing. While I wanted a Mac Mini, the lack of anything new made it a non-starter. Picked up a Skull Canyon NUC, loaded Windows 10 on it and it has been stable, fast and a great little computer.

We are going to be hearing this story alot more. The landscape has changed.