I would frankly love for Mac mini to go the other route. Back in the 80s and 90s, Sony made these My First Sony audio products for kids, a lower priced rugged "toy" designed to introduce their brand to younger demographic.
Mac mini was intended to do the same, bringing Windows users into the Mac world. Well, some folks no doubt buy Mac mini for just that purpose. But plenty of us use Mac mini for more advanced tasks, often spending $999 or more.
If it means more respect and frequent updates, give Mac mini more modern components (iMac grade CPU, 8GB and up, SSD only) charge accordingly ($999 entry level price).