Apple's Mac Mini is Now Three Years Old, No Refresh Date in Sight

[Darmok N Jalad]

Maybe they can build some sort of Mini-ITX style machine that could possibly satisfy both the Mac Pro crowd and the base desktop Mac crowd by way of internal configuration. Yes, 2 separate products would be awesome, but we're currently looking at 2 existing products that haven't really been updated in years. If the desktop market can't bear 2 devices, at least give us one that we can have some fun with again.

 

[sd70mac]

I'm thinking that there will be a new Mac Mini launched together with the new Mac Pro.

 

[PaulRustad007]

Today marks the third anniversary of the last update of the Mac mini, Apple's most affordable and compact desktop computer. The Mac mini was refreshed on October 16, 2014, and since then, the machine has seen no additional updates.

The Mac mini is positioned as a "bring your own" machine that comes without a mouse, keyboard, or display, and the current version is still running Haswell processors and integrated Intel HD 5000/Intel Iris Graphics.

Pricing on the Mac mini starts at $499 for the entry-level base configuration, making it far more affordable than the iMac, which starts at $1,099 for a non-4K 21-inch version.

With the 2014 refresh, fans were disappointed as Apple ceased offering a quad-core processor option and support for dual hard drives, features that have not returned.

At this point, it's not clear if and when Apple will introduce a new version of the Mac mini. Prior to the 2014 refresh, the Mac mini was updated in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, so it's never before gone three years sans update.

Many Apple customers are eagerly awaiting a new Mac mini, including businesses that rely on the machine, like Brian Stucki's MacStadium.

When Apple announced plans for a modular Mac Pro, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said the Mac mini "is an important product" in the company's lineup, suggesting Apple doesn't have plans to abandon the machine. He declined to offer up any information on a potential refresh, though.

Aside from a single rumor from Pike's Universum hinting at a new high-end Mac mini with a redesign that "won't be so mini anymore," we've heard no details at all about work on a possible Mac mini refresh.

If a new Mac mini is in the works, though, it could use either Seventh-Generation Kaby Lake chips or Eighth-Generation Kaby Lake Refresh chips, both of which are available now.

The Mac mini typically uses the same 15W U-series chips that are found in the 13-inch MacBook Pro. With Intel's Eighth-Generation chips, the U-series all feature four cores, so should a future Mac mini adopt Kaby Lake Refresh chips or later, quad-core performance will return.

Given that it's October and there are no rumors, it's not likely we're going to see a Mac mini refresh in 2017, but sometime in 2018 is fair game.

Article Link: Apple's Mac Mini is Now Three Years Old, No Refresh Date in Sight

RIP Mac Mini...not sure what I am going to do when my 2011 peters out......

 

[btrach144]

Apple should be embarrassed that a 3 year old product is sharing the shelves with some of their other great products.

Either update the Mini or remove it. (hopefully they update it)

 

[9081094]

Billions in the bank and billions more to come... but hey don’t give our customers what they want. Just up the price and remove some ports...

 

[blacktape242]

wow thats crappy.

 

[MikhailT]

One advantage of getting a refresh with TB3 (or TB4 at this point) is eGPU support. If they put in solid CPU, you won’t need dedicated GPU in the mini, just connect any eGPU and you can have a great mini gaming pc as well.

Intel is beating Apple at this game with their NUC units, Apple need to step up.

 

[thekeyring]

Either you forget the s/ or you missed the entire point of why people are upset

He has a point.

Apple doesn’t usually adjust prices overtime (unlike other PC makers). They’re big believers in psychological pricing.

To perform a price cut on the mini only to update it in a few months with a then more expensive version isn’t something Apple tends to do.

I agree with the outrage though: WHERE is the update?!

 

[busyscott]

I feel like Apple's Mac upgrade pipeline looks something like this:

• Update MacBook Pros every year
*sell iphones*
• Update iMac every two years
*sell more iPhones*
• Update MacBooks every three years
*move more engineers to iPhone division
• Update Mac mini's every five years
*how many more engineers can we move to iPhone?*
•Updates for Mac Pro's?? HAHAHAHA!
*Every employee who asks about Mac Pro now get's automatically moved to iPhone team*

 

[9081094]

I really want a new, top spec Mac mini... my money is here if you want it apple.

Apple takes your money with nothing in return. They should transform in a financial company instead of technology.

 

[UL2RA]

Apple takes your money with nothing in return. They should transform in a financial company instead of technology.

Every company takes your money with nothing in return.

 

[Marx55]

Apple said the Mac mini was in the works on April 2017:

▪ Near the end, John Paczkowski had the presence of mind to ask about the Mac Mini, which hadn’t been mentioned at all until that point. Schiller: “On that I’ll say the Mac Mini is an important product in our lineup and we weren’t bringing it up because it’s more of a mix of consumer with some pro use. … The Mac Mini remains a product in our lineup, but nothing more to say about it today.”

Source:
The Mac Pro Lives
https://daringfireball.net/2017/04/the_mac_pro_lives

 

[wallysb01]

This article will have 500 comments by the morning...

Can I take the over.

 

[Tech198]

I'm thinking that there will be a new Mac Mini launched together with the new Mac Pro.

That would be good.. It would make up for the delays.

The longer u leave a product not updated, the more u give at next WWDC... sounds like a plan

 

[BornAgainMac]

2014? Is it still shipping with... Mountain Lion?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

My i7 2012 is still running awesome. 16GB RAM and 2 hard drives, it's a workhorse.

 

[FoxMcCloud]

It should really be 50% cheaper by now. Selling 4 year old hardware for the same prices is terrible.

 

[Michael Scrip]

2014? Is it still shipping with... Mountain Lion?

They're probably shipping with the same dust on the packaging from 2014.

I wonder how many they actually sell these days? Have they really been in production lately? I just assume there is a big warehouse full of Mac Minis from years ago.

(yes I know Apple isn't big on warehousing... twas a joke)

 

[Tafkas]

And I am still running my late 2012 MacMini with two 512GB SSDs and 16 GB RAM...

 

[routine_analyst]

I feel like Apple's Mac upgrade pipeline looks something like this:

• Update MacBook Pros every year
*sell iphones*
• Update iMac every two years
*sell more iPhones*
• Update MacBooks every three years
*move more engineers to iPhone division
• Update Mac mini's every five years
*how many more engineers can we move to iPhone?*
•Updates for Mac Pro's?? HAHAHAHA!
*Every employee who asks about Mac Pro now get's automatically moved to iPhone team*

• reinvent the automobile
*create the iphone x instead*

 

[anthogag]

I currently use a Mac mini.

I am waiting for the next generation mini to upgrade.

I would like to see a powerful "Pro" version about the size of the current Apple TV 4K device; a mini mini....a sqrt(mini).

With an SSD drive only option they could make it small like Apple TV.

 

[Dezlboy]

I wrote Tim Cook two days ago requesting release of new Mac mini. (Honest) Stated my Early 2009 isn’t doing the job.

I’ll let you all know what he says in his reply.

 

[GalileoSeven]

Part of me wants to stay optimistic, the other part saw the writing on the wall back in April when I upgraded from a mid-2010 Mini (that I maxed out the RAM on) to a mid-2015 27” iMac (Retina 5K).

Obviously recent comments mean the Mini’s not totally going away which makes me think Apple might have a more radical rework in mind. What other alternative could there be?

 

[gkarris]

Sad when you can get a Lenovo refurb with about the same specs for $135:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIADUM6G28334

You can't even find a Windows desktop machine NEW with these old, old specs...

 

[gugy]

Well, Mac Mini is such a nice little computer. I don't get why the lack of love from Apple. The Mac Pro finally will get an update but no news on the mini end. I would love to buy one.