So, you're saying that the Retina MacBook Pro isn't the successor of the MacBook Pro? Seems to me like Apple has just been trying to get rid of their remaining stock of old laptops using a cute naming trick. Once they're finished, they'll go ahead and rename the current Retina MacBook Pro line back to just "MacBook Pro"...
"I love the Mini, we'll be downgrading it again, as soon as we can find enough solder for our new 256K memory modules, slower and smaller capacity hard drives, and can engineer the removal and replacement of all useful ports, with pricey adapters and an inoperable Wi-Fi antenna."
Oh no, that's clearly the successor. I'm just saying there's still a 4.5 year old Mac model for sale as brand new by Apple.
I doubt it's just old stock laying around though. Apple has good inventory management practices so I can't see them still having old stock after this long.
Well, but that's the thing: Apple's Mini is the closest thing they have to a standard desktop computer, and it has no successor. There's less and less reason to own a desktop Mac these days...