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

Heat_Fan89 said:
The Mac mini was one of the better ideas Apple had. I have a 2012 mini and would buy another one if Apple did not gimp it like the 2014 models. I think if we ever see another mini it's going to be further locked down regarding upgrades. I'm now waiting to see the entry price of the redesigned Mac Pro's if they get released next year.
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Well, considering the iMac Pro starts from 5 grand, remove the screen say a grand, but it will be a new Apple toy so I would still say around 5 grand?

As for the Mac Mini, you know it came about I think thanks to the first Apple TV box. The Mini certainly seems to have it’s fans.
 
Why do we want a smaller mini? Why do we write that? Is it because we think Apple can only operate in a "thinner & lighter" mentality and thus we should want the same so that we can be delighted when Apple actually rolls out such a thing?

It's NOT a mobile device. It's pretty much stationary. If it weighed 2 lbs MORE and was thicker, what difference would it make for probably nearly all of us that buy this kind of computer.

Furthermore, how does the modern-day Apple achieve thinner & lighter? They jettison stuff that is useful. Do we want a new mini with hardly any ports (that begs us to buy some kind of docking-like accessory to get common ports back)?

Do we want a less accessible/less upgradable Mini so that a few mm can be shaved off?

How about shifting storage OUTSIDE the next one in a "bring your own storage" solution(?)?

How about gluing or soldering everything down so that you can't make any changes inside?

All this "thinner & lighter" drive for stationary technology and I'm yet to have one guest come over and gush about how thin any of it is. And none try to lift it to marvel at the lightness of it. That's just an Apple thing... a few seconds of marketing spin at the big reveal... like someone getting a tattoo and then showing it: one quick flash of oooooh & ahhhh and then it's over. And in technology, we then pay for those few seconds by needing to spend more on accessories to bring back functionality & utility that used to be built INSIDE.

How about a little thicker, little wider, little heavier next Mac Mini that can still claim "mini" but gives us plenty of internal options and upgradability/repairability? If Apple rolled out such a thing, how many of us would thoroughly whine at it not getting "even thinner & lighter" (as if that's some huge lost "benefit"(?) for any of us)?
 
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I expect a refresh but don’t blame Apple for not having one in 3 years. It’s a machine that isn’t meant for heavy-duty computational or graphical work. If it worked in 2014, it works now. It’s a budget machine.

But 3 years is reaching the limits, as components get cheaper, at least update internals.
 
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I would utterly love a Mac Mini that comes with a nice dGPU, RAM and SSD capabilities. Would attach it to my aging 2013 27" iMac and use that as the display.

So, I'd like to ask the top brass at Apple, show us how "important" the Mini and Macs are by releasing something that isn't a cash grab like the 2014 Mini.

--

@Cursor Love the idea of the modular Mac Pro (coming in several "sizes" from Mini to Pro)
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
Why do we want a smaller mini? Why do we write that? Is it because we think Apple can only operate in a "thinner & lighter" mentality and thus we should want the same so that we can be delighted when Apple actually rolls out such a thing?

It's NOT a mobile device. It's pretty much stationary. If it weighed 2 lbs MORE and was thicker, what difference would it make for probably nearly all of us that buy this kind of computer.
Click to expand...

Well everything else is thin... and having something thicker would just "stand out" ..

Besides, most Mac's now have SSD's to compensate for design... yet the mini still has a spinning hard drive. Its good to bring everything in line eventually.

Either that, or discontinue it.
 
Such a shame, I'm a big fan of the Mac Mini.

I'm sure the truth is that Apple can't think of any more ways to butcher it any more than they have. Soldered on RAM, then glued the easily removable base on so it can't be removed any longer. Take the quad core offerings away, and then replace the older version with a more expensive, slower machine. This is innovation Apple-style.

They are quite capable of making a decent machine of it yet with thunderbolt 3, and more recent CPU advances. They can keep the integrated graphics, because now eGPUs are finally a reality, people have the option of using an external Thunderbolt 3 GPU. This would make a killer little machine.

But Apple don't want you to buy that, they want you to drop 5K on an iMac Pro. Or wait even longer for a Mac Pro, which will be equally as ludicrously priced.

Apple stopped making Macs that people actually wanted to buy years ago, they just make machines that they can make as much money from as possible.

I'll believe it when I see it, but I'm getting cynical in my old age...
 
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I hope they don't kill the Mini. I don't want a fridge-toaster either. That's why I use a MacMini.
 
We are running 2013 MacBook Pros (my husband’s main machine, and my carry-around). My main rig is a maxed out 2013 iMac. We have a 2012 Mac mini for a plex server. I have my frickin 2006 Mac Pro running in my office at work (let them pay for the electricity).

At this point, given the lineup Apple is offering, we have absolutely no motivation to replace any of these machines. Fortunately the ones we have are humming right along and doing the job with distinction.

But, come on Apple, wtf. I’d say take my money but it’s pretty clear that when it comes to Macs, they don’t really want it.
 
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The thing for me is that a good display lasts far longer than any computer attached to it when it was new. I bought a Thunderbolt display back in 2014 which was hung off a retina MBP. The MBP is currently out of service, but it's still a kick-ass display. I've got my keyboard and trackpad as well and they work great.

But since my retina MBP went out of service, there isn't a good display-free option to replace it with. The Mac Pro is still a sexy beast, but as specs go, it's almost 4 years old. The mini is 3 years old and probably wouldn't be so bad if they didn't waste the effort by making it come with a hard drive or a paltry amount of on-board RAM. I understand the push to be thin and light in the laptop line ... but the desktop line didn't need to be thinned so aggressively.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Why do we want a smaller mini? Why do we write that? Is it because we think Apple can only operate in a "thinner & lighter" mentality and thus we should want the same so that we can be delighted when Apple actually rolls out such a thing?

It's NOT a mobile device. It's pretty much stationary. If it weighed 2 lbs MORE and was thicker, what difference would it make for probably nearly all of us that buy this kind of computer.

Furthermore, how does the modern-day Apple achieve thinner & lighter? They jettison stuff that is useful. Do we want a new mini with hardly any ports (that begs us to buy some kind of docking-like accessory to get common ports back)?

Do we want a less accessible/less upgradable Mini so that a few mm can be shaved off?

How about shifting storage OUTSIDE the next one in a "bring your own storage" solution(?)?

How about gluing or soldering everything down so that you can't make any changes inside?

All this "thinner & lighter" drive for stationary technology and I'm yet to have one guest come over and gush about how thin any of it is. And none try to lift it to marvel at the lightness of it. That's just an Apple thing... a few seconds of marketing spin at the big reveal... like someone getting a tattoo and then showing it: one quick flash of oooooh & ahhhh and then it's over. And in technology, we then pay for those few seconds by needing to spend more on accessories to bring back functionality & utility that used to be built INSIDE.

How about a little thicker, little wider, little heavier next Mac Mini that can still claim "mini" but gives us plenty of internal options and upgradability/repairability? If Apple rolled out such a thing, how many of us would thoroughly whine at it not getting "even thinner & lighter" (as if that's some huge lost "benefit"(?) for any of us)?
Click to expand...

Mate... Apple ditched the DVD drive and made the iMac bezel ultra thin, and people on here vihorently defended that decision, and then we had overheating iMacs... :rolleyes:
So yes people do seem to want ever thinner devices even if they will never be mobile, not like the Mini has ever been anything but portable.
 
The next Mac mini:

g4cube.jpg
 
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Knowing what most of us already know - Intel is starting to pump out v8 processors and AMD may be a viable/real option for processors soon, Optane may be available for the masses, Samsung and WD are just starting to come out with upgraded SSDs, and (last but certainly not least!) eGPU options may make the upgraded Mini a fantastically-updated beast as a desktop option soon…

Yep, I'll be patient and keep my 2012 quad Servers running just a bit longer… :evil grin:
 
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Is anybody surprised by this?

Apple is continuing to neglect the Mac line because year on year, the costs of manufacture goes down whilst the asking price is the same. When you don't have a new hot cash cow, you milk the others hard.

You don't become the most valuable company in the world by cutting into the 40% mark up and year on year growth has to be relentless or the company is a failure.

Apple hasn't updated the look of the iMac (aside from bizarrely making it far thinner) since 2007.

Check out HPs current all in one. If this was 2010 I wouldn't have given it a second look. Did the AIO design become perfect in 2007? Why is Apple not making iMac G3 to iMac G4 to iMac G5 design leaps any more? I was actually envious of the Microsoft Surface Studio last year.

I wish someone would do a product by year progression since 2001 of all Apples lines. The last few years have been the definition of coasting and skimping on new ideas. Products like the Watch are bound by human aesthetics, everything else is not. Why is the Pro machine an iMac Pro in the shame shell? Is there no way to make the monitor more manoeuvrable and still be elegant? Does the chin need to be there? Why does the VESA mount have to be factory installed or not at all?

I used to think that Apple was busy with other products but there's no way a company that size and funds can't make it happen.

The iPhone 8S next year will be the same shell as iPhone 6 and the Mac Mini will not be improved. To me, that's really disheartening from someone who once stood in line for 3 hours for the 2005 Mac Mini.

I can see the upcoming divorce on the horizon and it'll be heart wrenching but it's not 2011 anymore. Apple cannot compete on cutting edge tech, industrial design or price and I've fallen out of love.
 
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