Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple to Debut Low-Cost MacBook Air With Retina Display, Revamped Pro-Focused Mac Mini in 2018
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This is a real and legitimate fear. Apple has repeatedly under delivered with the Mini and the last revision for the most part killed the Mini off as a viable piece of hardware. So there is a real possibility that the next machine will suck so bad that nobody will want it.
By the way I don't mean for Apple to forget about the entry level. It is just that a basic desktop platform needs to have multiple models with a reasonable breadth of performance. I wouldn't be upset at all to see Mini 1 with a dual core and integrated processor, However Mini 3 needs to have a six to eight core processor with external, high performance, graphics capability. In between we should have a Mini 2.
[doublepost=1534980192][/doublepost]
You are expressing the same ignorance that many others express suggesting that "pros" need many cores to get their jobs done. That is of course non sense as professionals come in all sorts of specialties. Even if you limit the discussion to that group of professionals called college professors you will find a large array of performance needs.
On the flip side I never understood why Apple gave up on some of its networking technology. Sometimes a rack of computers is the right choice or at least a small cluster. TB offers an interesting approach to make small clusters for example that are nearly cost free outside of the computer.
There is one other possibility here, that is Apple implements an ARM based processor with the Fujitsu vector extensions. Give that same processor the ability to do TB and you have one interesting platform for compute intense pro work.If I was at Apple that would be my approach, extend the ARM with a really large vector unit that can handle all sorts of science work loads and give good performance in general compute. Make that vector engine run in an iPad compatible device and you suddenly have iPads that can do what use to be super computing work loads.
[doublepost=1534980930][/doublepost]
The Pi's price is a bit misleading because you still have to add a bunch of stuff to it that might not be free to you. On the other hand the Pi sort of proves what one can do with today's SoC technology. It may not be the fastest computer available, it isn't even fast when compared to some other ARM based boards, but the price is gold. This is why I can see Apple going the ARM based route with the Mac. With a bit of SoC engineering and a few external components the next Mac Mini might be a board no bigger than a PI. The difference would be in the performance and cost. I believe though that Apple could easily do a 6 - 8 core machine, running at competitive clock rates, that would substantially outperform todays Mini and many of the laptops. RAM, SSD and a few other things would jack up the price a bit but the wholesale price of the board would be less than $150. Oh and yeah that board would have soldered RAM, simply for the reliability factor.
A Quad Core Mac mini would be splendid regardless of whatever specifications the rest of the Mac line up has. We all have such short memories that it was just thirteen years ago when the G4 Mac mini was released which was an achievement in itself
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac_mini_g4_1.25.html
As it stands the top end 2012 i7 Mac mini is going to take some beating
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-2.3-late-2012-specs.html
Last edited:
“In other news, reliable sources also confirmed Apple Computer is on the late development stages of the upcoming PowerBook G5”… 
It was ultimately the inability to produce a PowerBook G5 that was the catalyst to the switch to Intel“In other news, reliable sources also confirmed Apple Computer is on the late development stages of the upcoming PowerBook G5”…
Sometimes it’s really easy to spot someone who has been here a LONG time“In other news, reliable sources also confirmed Apple Computer is on the late development stages of the upcoming PowerBook G5”…
Yes, that's what I'm referring to.
I wouldn't say it's direct competition. You need to get a few other components (a micro SD card and power source at the very least, probably a heat sink and case, maybe keyboard, mouse, and monitor), but it's incredibly trivial to get it all together. Once you're done, holy crap. I only bought it intending to use it as a personal web server, but I was blown away by the quality of the software that's included. Is it at Apple's quality level? Maybe not quite - but it's a viable question to ask. It's in the same league. And it costs less than 10% of what it would cost to get from Apple.
Apple never has offered a PC anywhere near this price point, and that's my point. Someone was suggesting the Mac Mini should be a budget machine. That's not happening. The Raspberry Pi has redefined "budget". When someone says budget now, they're talking ~$50. Apple won't be touching that market. They won't be coming close to it.
Fire whomever is responsible for this crappy Macbook, whomever that would be.
If you think paying $2800 for a Macbook pro, and then in addition I have to be not only spending but carrying all over the place, dongles, adaptors, etc, then be my guest and buy it. Many users that I know ended up buying the previous model, just because of this single issue.
If you think paying $2800 for a macbook pro is ok, and you are not even able to upgrade it, then be my guest. As much as I need to update my Macbook, I am not willing to support this kind of crappy products.
Oh, I agree with what you say about the Pi. I have a couple of them that I use for a variety of things. It's an amazing achievement for what it is. Most of the software is open source but they've done a great job bringing things together for the target user, who is altogether different than someone purchasing a Mac. May sound contradictory as I have both but their uses do not overlap in the least.
I actually believe it makes sense to move the Mini upmarket a bit since phones and tablets have become so powerful. Those who feel left behind may be well served by a NUC running Linux. Plex, et al.
Why shouldn’t the new Mac Mini have better specs than rest of Mac lineup? Doesn’t the larger form factor allow for better cooling than a laptop. It should be faster than iMacs too. It’d be real disappointing it offers worse performance than best laptop.
It’s less an issue of cooling and more a question of the target market. Apple has a lot of options about where to take the mini:
- 28W U-series quad core, starting maybe around $999 with a 256GB SSD (though I could see a dual-core entry level model with 128GB SSD at $699-799)
- 45W H-series hexacore with a dGPU, starting at about $1,499
- 35W or even 65W S-series desktop CPUs with dGPUs
With options like 64GB of RAM and 4TB SSD, you could see pricing as low as $699 ranging to over $6,000 at the highest end. (Before anyone’s head explodes, remember 256GB —> 4TB is a $3,400 option, and 8GB —> 64GB would be another +1,400.)
Last edited:
I am hoping for the H-series six core processors. However I could see Apple sticking the Mini with the IGP. That's unfortunate because the Hades Canyon NUC running Mojave would be an excellent device. I think the trade of two CPU cores for the Vega graphics works well. Since that package is readily available from Intel I could see the appeal.
However, supporting two different sockets seems unlikely. To me this eliminates the Intel with Vega processors. I would hope they choose the H series with six cores.
I am hoping for standard SODIMM DDR4 as the memory.
I am convinced that storage will be soldered NAND on the logic board. At Apple volumes, the NAND chip prices probably approach those of a spinning drive at the low end. Add in manufacturing and supply chain streamlining gained by eliminating a dying technology and I will be surprised to see platters on any new Macs. Apple has a history of abandoning functional yet expiring tech.
Unfortunately, you have veered off into unreality...no one at Apple is getting fired over the MacBook Pro, certainly no one in the Executive Suite.
While the MacBook Pro may not provide you with what you want, there are solutions available as we transition away from USB-A to USB-C and Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3. It is certainly yours and other users choice to vote with your wallets. Accepting the reality of the changes that Apple has made to MacBook Pro is also your choice, but it is what it is, and at least for the MacBook Pro, it will not be changing. Good luck!
New iMacs are coming too
They should be. But I'm not seeing rumors as solid as the rumor for the mini. I'd like to be able to compare pluses and minuses between the two. Probably will end up with an iMac if they are out there. I always do and I think about Mac Pro, Mini and iMac and the iMac always wins.
I think the iMacs will be a "silent" update or a brief mention at any MacBook & Mac mini focused event. Also, Intel is rumored to intro 9th Gen CPUs on October 1st, but the official slide in their roadmap has a three week window in the fine print. It will be a close call this year.
I think the CPU is the biggest mystery. I’m skeptical overall of a big enough market to justify a hexacore-only mini; many users would simply be priced out. So this leads me to think 28W only as most likely, 28W and 45W a possibility, but 45W only not likely.
I do expect SO-DIMM, obviously only 32GB max if 28W CPUs are used but 64GB for H-series. Soldered NAND is a given as far as I’m concerned. Not sure about T2, that will be interesting to see; my guess is they probably will use it.
I hope they are coming. My 2011 iMac died (CPU failure, I'm pretty sure). And I've been getting by at home on a spare PC. It stinks. It all feels so temporary. So I really want a new "home" computer as the center of my digital life. But I won't buy an Apple computer that isn't a relatively new release. So I hope I have a Mini and a new iMac to compare.
Yeah maybe they’re introduced but can’t ship for a few weeks, but I’d be greatly surprised if there’s no 2018 iMac.
Due to timing Apple has so far skipped 8th gen in iMac. I haven’t been following Intel’s desktop CPU roadmap, is it possible 8th gen makes an appearance in iMac at the lower tier(s)?
yeah I always thought they were going to just make a cheaper MacBook. maybe they feel people want 13 inch screen?
My guess (pure speculation) is that Coffee Lake 8th will end up in all of the 21.5” models and in the base $1799 27” iMac, but the 9th gen will end up in the 27” $1999 and up models. 9th gen production should ramping up but there is a discrepancy in rumors which doesn’t reassure me that Intel will intro all of them in October, just a subset as they did last year with 2 Coffee Lake 15w U and the 8700K.
No formal intro yet, just the rumors of October 1st....the leaked roadmap over at WCCFTech listed the CPUs and a footnote cited the 3 week window.
I think this is why I agree with you that Apple will go with 28w U-Series in the Mac mini. They consider those CPUs Pro, since they are in the 13” MBP and they are 4-Core, so then 6-Core 21.5” and finally a mix of 6c, 8c and 8c/16t in their flagship consumer/prosumer desktop. Leaves open keeping the 8c in the iMac Pro or moving 10c to base model if the 22c Xeon W is announced as well. Quarter toss there.
This way Apple can update and stratify the lineup a bit more neatly and if they can do the same with 12” MacBook, 13” MacBook and 13” and 15” MBP. The sad part here is that it makes me wonder if we are going to get Amber Lake Y in both size MacBooks, so dual core consumer and quad core/hex core Pro. Or does 13” MacBook straddle that gap between 12” MB and 13” MBP and use a UHD620 part (Whiskey Lake U) or mystery box CPU (i5-8365U w/Iris Plus 645).
Very interesting times next couple of months.
I am hoping that they aren't holding out for the 9th generation for the iMac although it does make sense. Losing hyperthreading in the i7 seems like a bad move by Intel. Unfortunately that ripples through to Apple. I wonder how a 6 core i7 9700K will compare against the i7 7700K currently in the iMac. Maybe Apple will use the i7 8700K. They may be able to order enough volume to make it worthwhile.
If they offered the iMac with the 8700K, I wouldn't be waiting for the Mac Mini.
And that is part of the problem. I wouldn't fire people over the port situation, but the keyboards? Yes. Everyone from the first engineer who thought of the new design to the highest level person who signed off on it. No matter who that includes.
[doublepost=1535059774][/doublepost]Jobs would not have allowed this to happen. Mini last update 2016. MacAir 2015. The prices are high. The chips are slow. Apple under Cook is not concerned about its beginnings or the customers who bought Macs yrs ago. If Jobs could return for 1 day he would fire Tim Cook. Cook is interested in money, not in excellent products. We loyal Mac fans can no longer be proud. Our machines are slow, costly and we are ignored by establishment Cook & coterie.
Apple is working on several new products for its Mac lineup, including a new low-cost MacBook Air and a Pro-focused Mac mini, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The upcoming low-cost MacBook Air will be similar in design to the current MacBook Air, but with slimmer bezels around the display. It will continue to be sized around 13 inches, and it will feature a Retina display.
We've heard multiple rumors about the upcoming low-cost notebook, but it has been unclear whether it is part of the MacBook family or if it will be branded as a MacBook Air. Today's report makes it clear that the new machine is going to be positioned as a MacBook Air upgrade, aimed at students and schools with a lower price tag than MacBooks in the MacBook family.
Apple is continuing to make new MacBook models as well, and it's not yet clear how the company will differentiate the new MacBook Air from the MacBook. Right now, the MacBook's higher price tag, slimmer body, and Retina display set it apart from the MacBook Air.
Apple is also said to be working on an upgrade to the Mac mini, which has not seen an update since October 2014. Little detail is available about the upcoming machine, but it is said to be focused on pro users with new storage and processor options that are likely to make it more expensive than previous Mac mini products.
2017 rumors suggested Apple was working on a Mac mini that "won't be so mini anymore," which would be in line with a machine that has more powerful, less compact components.
Bloomberg suggests Apple could potentially be planning to introduce the new Macs in October, following a September event that will see the launch of new iPhones and new Apple Watch models.
New iPad Pro models with Face ID are also in the works, but it is not clear if these will debut in September or October.
Article Link: Apple to Debut Low-Cost MacBook Air With Retina Display, Revamped Pro-Focused Mac Mini in 2018
