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Apple Classifies 2011 Mac Mini as Obsolete
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It’s easier on a 2017 iMac than a 2014 Mac mini. I would suggest the upgrade be performed by a trained tech though there are plenty of YouTube videos if you’re feeling adventurous.
SSD upgrade on the 2013 Mac Pro is pretty simple.
Actually, there are a number of reasons to do it.
First, one of the most common issues support sees when it comes to hardware is improperly seated RAM. If you solder it in, there's no more risk of this and support issues drop.
Secondly, there is a cost to every piece in a computer. Remove the connection which removable RAM is inserted into and you save a few cents per unit. Multiply that across hundreds of thousands of units and your company sees real savings.
Thirdly, not allowing 3rd party RAM removes another support issue. People often purchase incompatible or low quality RAM. If you eliminate the use of such unknown aspects, support becomes easier as you're only troubleshooting known factors. Again, it's about making support easier by limiting the number of variables.
The number of people that ever upgrade the RAM in their machines is less than 5% of all owners (actually closer to 1%). While myself and you fall within that very very small percentage, most don't. It doesn't make sense for a company to waste millions of dollars in order to appease a very very small group of buyers only. They stick every other buyer with that additional cost in the process.
We may not like the reasons Apple chose to remove the ability to upgrade these machines, but they are real reasons for the choice.
or even worse: people purchasing reasonably priced ram and therefore not throwing away money (into apples pockets) for absolutely nothing.
And yet Apple seems to have a higher price for equivalent computers than the PC world? That, to me, negates the savings argument.
One issue you can have with any soldered component is tin whiskers. I have no idea how the trade off would fall out savings wise but at least it's one area you wouldn't have to worry about.
Your point on most folks not upgrading is valid.
You couldn’t be more wrong. The 2014 Mac mini, like MacBooks (starting I think around 2013), uses LPDDR3 RAM.
LPDDR3 must be soldered, there is no socketed version available.
Mac Mini 2011 Server. The last QuadCore Mini IIRC. SandyBridge i7 is still a decent CPU.
Upgraded to 16GB RAM and dual SSD (525 & 275GB Crucial MX300) running a clean installed High Sierra.
Couldn't run any smoother...
I thank Apple for not releasing a better Mini. That kept my asset value high.
..."important product" my a**...
Upgraded to 16GB RAM and dual SSD (525 & 275GB Crucial MX300) running a clean installed High Sierra.
Couldn't run any smoother...
I thank Apple for not releasing a better Mini. That kept my asset value high.
..."important product" my a**...
It's absolutely not the best choice for gaming. I just happen to enter into a situation where the game I wanted to play was only available on PC or Mac, with no console availability. Otherwise, I'd have used the PS3, which is my current dedicated gaming device (outdated though it is). I wanted to see if I could run it from the server to the big TV, and yeah, it struggled spectacularly.
It runs buttery smooth on my 1st gen 5K iMac, but the fans kick in pretty high.
Sigh. I don't play many games, and so it's never the primary use case for me, but it's sad that you still can't really game on a Mac if you want to.
Loading CAD files on a 5200 RPM hard drive must be very slow.
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Yeah, even their "new" laptops are one generation behind what Intel is peddling now. So sad.
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You must have some pretty old Windows computers. A 2011 anything can't touch a PC from 2016 to the present. Your smoking something really good to try to spin that yarn. LOL.
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No 2011 computer will benchmark better using real applications than computers built in 2016 and 2017. Your smoking some pretty good stuff to sell that story.
Apple chose LPDDR3, they could have chosen a socketed alternative.
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Improperly seated RAM is rare, you estimate that a small amount of people upgrade RAM, 5% to 1%, I'd estimate improperly seated RAM is less than 1% especially for stationary desktop machines.
I disagree that such a small percentage of people upgrade RAM, even novice or casual users will seek help when their system is slow and the advise they will get is usually upgrading RAM or HDD, so I estimate the number of people upgrading is much larger than what you suggest.
Sure, there is a cost to socketed RAM, however does that negligible cost outweigh the fact a machine will be obsolete much earlier due to non-upgradable RAM?
Like I said before, my 2011 Mac Mini shipped with 2GB, which I can upgrade and extend life several years more.
Apple shipped Macbook Airs with 2gb soldered RAM which now are obsolete due mostly to RAM alone. Apple is currently shipping Mac Minis with 4GB soldered RAM which will be obsolete soon.
Hence what you save in socketed RAM, now you produce environmental waste and the consumer gets less value out of it.
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Those companies have always offered a wide range of machines. That hasn't changed. And when I say "innovation" I don't just mean newer, faster machines or a wider variety. I mean something that hits the PC market out of left field and invigorates it. I don't believe that the PC market is played out yet. Far from it. Companies are just not focused on what they could be doing next to make the desktop PC exciting again. They're not looking for any killer ideas.
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I love when people on tech sites try to play this tech panic thing because OMG!!!!!11q!!!1 DVDs are not cutting edge tech. I don't want to look like a Luddite!!!!!11!!1!!!
Globalist Apple is awful and so greedy. the mini 2011 is still a perfect working computer for millions of people
Apple keeps pushing Planned Obsolescence at the expense of it's customers but Virtual Signaling how moral and ethical they are and how their "values" are great and inclusive
hippocrates
Apple keeps pushing Planned Obsolescence at the expense of it's customers but Virtual Signaling how moral and ethical they are and how their "values" are great and inclusive
hippocrates
You're right, VR, quantum computing, and other technology are far from killer ideas.
That’s why I’m still using my i7 2012 MBP with 16GB RAM and a 2TB Samsung SSD which loads HS in under 20 seconds!! The only problem is battery life - I probably need a replacement which is pretty straightforward to self install - and weight - iunforunately it’s not the lightest gadget to lug around. On the other hand I can still write DVDs, attach USB3 devices and SD Cards! It even has a Thunderbolt Port!! That was back in the day when Apple recognized that not everyone has super fast Wi-Fi broadband…
My other Mac is a Tower MAC Pro - don’t get me started on that one!!!!!!! For the record, it seems Apple is abandoning support for RAID drives as I can’t install HS on my RAID0 SSD enabled Mac Pro!!!!!!!!!!!!
MISLEADING: "Apple Classifies 2011 Mac Mini as Obsolete"
There are two sections in this list:
"Mac products vintage in the United States and Turkey and obsolete in the rest of the world"
and
"Mac products obsolete worldwide"
It would be more accurate to say that the Mac Mini 2011 has moved to the "Vintage" list.
It is more than 5 years old but less than 7 years old. No they no longer have to make parts for it, and they've probably stopped which is why they moved it to this list. But, in California, and Turkey, they are required by law to have parts available and service available (of course, not free, but paid).
Can it still be serviced? Yes, as long as part needed is available somewhere, apple is not the only one to hold on to parts.
Will it still be updatable to new macOS's? The answer to that is: most likely, at least for a while. It depends on what hardware the core OS is written from. At this point, as I commented previously, I would say that, as long as new CPUs are 64-bit Intel, Apple could keep making installers for the same machines they've been making installers for since going full on 64-bit with the OS (64-bit hardware has been in Macs longer than the OS has been completely 64-bit based.)
This is clickbait, the headline is meant to stir people up because some feel Apple has taken too long to update the Mac Mini.
Apple this week added all Mac mini models released in mid 2011 to its public-facing vintage and obsolete products list.
...
...
There are two sections in this list:
"Mac products vintage in the United States and Turkey and obsolete in the rest of the world"
and
"Mac products obsolete worldwide"
It would be more accurate to say that the Mac Mini 2011 has moved to the "Vintage" list.
It is more than 5 years old but less than 7 years old. No they no longer have to make parts for it, and they've probably stopped which is why they moved it to this list. But, in California, and Turkey, they are required by law to have parts available and service available (of course, not free, but paid).
Can it still be serviced? Yes, as long as part needed is available somewhere, apple is not the only one to hold on to parts.
Will it still be updatable to new macOS's? The answer to that is: most likely, at least for a while. It depends on what hardware the core OS is written from. At this point, as I commented previously, I would say that, as long as new CPUs are 64-bit Intel, Apple could keep making installers for the same machines they've been making installers for since going full on 64-bit with the OS (64-bit hardware has been in Macs longer than the OS has been completely 64-bit based.)
This is clickbait, the headline is meant to stir people up because some feel Apple has taken too long to update the Mac Mini.
MISLEADING: "Apple Classifies 2011 Mac Mini as Obsolete"
There are two sections in this list:
"Mac products vintage in the United States and Turkey and obsolete in the rest of the world"
and
"Mac products obsolete worldwide"
It would be more accurate to say that the Mac Mini 2011 has moved to the "Vintage" list.
It is more than 5 years old but less than 7 years old. No they no longer have to make parts for it, and they've probably stopped which is why they moved it to this list. But, in California, and Turkey, they are required by law to have parts available and service available (of course, not free, but paid).
Can it still be serviced? Yes, as long as part needed is available somewhere, apple is not the only one to hold on to parts.
Will it still be updatable to new macOS's? The answer to that is: most likely, at least for a while. It depends on what hardware the core OS is written from. At this point, as I commented previously, I would say that, as long as new CPUs are 64-bit Intel, Apple could keep making installers for the same machines they've been making installers for since going full on 64-bit with the OS (64-bit hardware has been in Macs longer than the OS has been completely 64-bit based.)
This is clickbait, the headline is meant to stir people up because some feel Apple has taken too long to update the Mac Mini.
If they'd thrown something about emoji in, they could have really upped the clickbait factor.
I never got that BS Excuse "costs". Say a ram socket costs Apple $0.25 per to design, purchase, install, and support. Put 4 of them in and it's $1. Raise the price by $2 and nobody will notice and you get increased profits and customer benefit. I know I'm not going to care if my iMac costs $1799 or $1801.
I remember when mid-2015 rolled around and I was thinking of buying a late-2014-refresh Mini. I paused and wondered if I'd be buying something right before an upgrade cycle hit. I decided to buy it anyway. Never would I have ever guessed that approaching 2018, my 2014 Mac Mini would still be the most recent refresh.
Posting this from a 2011 mini (connected to Apple Thunderbolt Display) with quad-i7, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD (for OS), and 2TB HD (for files) and my machine is plenty fast. I do a fresh install for every OS and reinstall apps and copy files, preferences, fonts, etc. The heaviest lifting it does is web development with some Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign.
I have a second 2011 mini (base config) that is connected to one of my TVs to watch certain web content. My main mini is what I use 90% of the time when home. Even for surfing the web and email. My 2016 MacBook Pro and iPad Pros are pretty much only used for meetings and travel.
I have a second 2011 mini (base config) that is connected to one of my TVs to watch certain web content. My main mini is what I use 90% of the time when home. Even for surfing the web and email. My 2016 MacBook Pro and iPad Pros are pretty much only used for meetings and travel.
The 2014 (/2017) model could well be deserving of being on this list before the 2012 model...
And anyway; that's more than 5 years without UPdate (counting as 3years since ditching the high-end is misleading, much like giving the Mac Pro 'attention' by shuffling the price points.)
when long time apple customers complain about the iPad replacing Macs, Apple fanboys go on the offense and say we don't understand the market and people do not need the power of a full computer and the iPad is more then enough
the same apple fanboys when Apple purposely declare outdated a perfectly working 2011 Mac. mini, they say "great it's obsolete, no one wants it"
the same apple fanboys when Apple purposely declare outdated a perfectly working 2011 Mac. mini, they say "great it's obsolete, no one wants it"