Because, until they lobotomized the Mac mini in 2014, it wasn't a gap.
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Apple May Be Working on 8K Display and New High-End Mac Mini
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I've got my personal 2012 Mini Server in front of me, updating it to the latest Sierra OS version and wondering what a new Mini could look like, a device that's familiar and easily accessible. It just dawned on me that Apple already makes a device with a hard drive, networking with multiple ports, a fan, and is IMHO pretty stylish - the Time Machine. Yeah, I owned a G4 Cube and thought it was pretty cool - the guy I sold it to a decade ago still uses it - the new Mini could also be the new Cube.
The G4 Cube housed a monster 3.5" drive and a (relatively) large Airport card - with new plastics and component miniaturization that didn't exist back then, maybe a Bondi Blue Mini with the current Airport Extreme form factor? /s (that's a speculation tag, not sarcasm!)
The G4 Cube housed a monster 3.5" drive and a (relatively) large Airport card - with new plastics and component miniaturization that didn't exist back then, maybe a Bondi Blue Mini with the current Airport Extreme form factor? /s (that's a speculation tag, not sarcasm!)
Yeah, Apple wanted a gap. They wanted a difference between the Mini and the the iMac. That's why "they lobotomized the Mac mini in 2014". And that decision hurt users such as yourself. I'm no way apologising or justifying their reasoning just observing it.
makes a true heir apparent to the 2012 Mini with quad core and a solid GPU, I am all over that; they could do that easily and not cannibalize sales, especially if they release that "Pro" iMac.later they saw it as a high performing machine too and made a mac mini server.
i own one and put it in a colocation center. pretty happy with it.
Exactly. Only way the Mac mini makes sense is if it covers the low end of the market. The rumored high end mini would surely cannibalize iMac sales to an extent.
That doesn't mean that can never change. The mini makes a good entry level computer. There's also no reason it can't be more powerful, with a matching price point. I'm not saying that is my guess as to what will be, just that the statement (actually it was BYODKM) is from 12 YEARS ago... Product strategies can change.
Besides, when they say "high-end" Mac mini, they could just be referring to the top spec'd OF the minis... There are always 2 or 3 versions released, and they may just be referring to the top-pf-the-line mini, not that the mini itself is going to become top-of-the-line.
Make sure that 8k display has it's own graphics card so legacy apple users could use it with old school Display port. These things would fly off the shelf.
I'm glad to hear Apple will have a cutting edge option. A company like Apple needs that, and there are certainly those who will love this and who look to Apple for that sort of leadership (even if it has been in short supply lately). But I hope Apple thinks beyond this in the display space. It needs a stand-alone iMac-style 5k display for those who aren't going to spring for 8k and wouldn't get anything out of that additional 3k. It needs mid-priced displays, 4k maybe, for those whose needs are more modest and who want to connect their MacBook or Mac mini. In short, if Apple wants its Mac users to be happy, it needs at least a few displays that "just work" and look great. Maybe these aren't the best products for Apple's bottom line on any particular financial report. But they are the things that keep us in the ecosystem.
They should merge the Mac Pro & Mini into one new design with multiple configurations to suit everyone from entry level to pro users.
I feel like I'm dreaming and getting everything I wanted Apple to do on the Mac front - new expandable Mac Pro (tower?), real high end iMac's and Macbook Pro's, quad core Mini's are coming back...Yes, yes, yes, yes!
I can still get my PC needs met by a company that believes in user privacy (the only major one?).
Apple, my wallet is ready (or at least will be when those systems arrive). Great change of plans to the execs in Cupertino...deliver these products without going cheap on them (avoid soldered storage and memory) and you go back to gobbling up the PC market. Have a 12 Mac Pro and iMac, was going to dump them while they're still worth something and go into Microsoft's waiting arms this summer...that's all tabled now. iMac will be first replacement...
I can still get my PC needs met by a company that believes in user privacy (the only major one?).
Apple, my wallet is ready (or at least will be when those systems arrive). Great change of plans to the execs in Cupertino...deliver these products without going cheap on them (avoid soldered storage and memory) and you go back to gobbling up the PC market. Have a 12 Mac Pro and iMac, was going to dump them while they're still worth something and go into Microsoft's waiting arms this summer...that's all tabled now. iMac will be first replacement...
God no! There is no one size fits all.... and when companies try to do that there are always many compromises at one end or another (or in most cases both). For example, I have a Mac Pro 2008 and the case alone is probably a good $500 retail case at least (based on my PC case of lesser quality being $400)..... Then you add in a low end CPU ($270 retail+) and you have already blown past the current low end price of the Mac Mini.
Exactly what I was thinking. They have a fair amount invested in the manufacturing in Texas. As much as I like my Mac Mini using minimum desk real estate, perhaps it would give better cooling as they increase the internals back up to quad core.
Isn't text really small on a 4K 32" monitor?
For 8K to have similar text size to a 27" 5K @ 2X scaling, the 8K monitor would have to be 40".
No, the earlier reports were likely to be correct. A recent article on Macrumors cites OSNews, a reputable website, saying that "The decision to move ahead with a modular Mac Pro replacement was made 'in recent months' with development starting 'only a few weeks ago'", so it seems that Apple was indeed pulling out of this hardware sector in 2016 and that the decision to get back in was made in January 2017 at the earliest.
I missed the Mac Mini posts earlier, good to read; I always thought the Mac Mini could be one heck of a computer if they put a bit more effort into it, I will be glad to see this updated/new model.
You've got a unique take on the Apple executives meeting. The whole point was to explain that far from abandoning Mac Pro and Displays, they had big plans that were delayed by the poor design they used and that they never had any plan to abandon it.
Given that the next Mac Pro won't ship for another ~2 years, but then the price of 8K (and 4K and 5K) panels will drop significantly. It is not like Apple is going to ship an 8K display anything soon, given they don't ship a system to power it.
Well I'd quite like a decently powerful Mac Mini sitting on top of my tower.
While I might quibble over a few months (I expect it to actually ship November/December 2018) -- I think we will know what shape and specs it will be around 6 months earlier.... after they have firmed up the design but before they have retooled the plants to manufacture it. Only one time have they done this, and I think this time sort of matches the same scenario.... The announcement will not affect sales of current hardware since it will be the top of the range (niche) and those that have been waiting for it since 2013, because that years model was not palatable to them, will either have left or still waiting.... (not buying anyways).