Does gimping the Mac Mini increase sales of iMac?

[now i see it]

Do you think that Apple's strategy of intentionally gimping the Mac Mini actually pushes customers to buy higher priced iMacs & MacBooks instead?

Or does all it do is piss people off, yet they begrudgingly buy the watered down Mac Mini anyway?

 

[milk242]

Apple is just gimping the whole computer line in favor of their iPhones and iPads

 

[MechaSpanky]

I'd say yes, but that is only part of it. The other part is Apple's complete lack of offerings in the mid-range non-all-in-one machines. Apple used to offer some Towers that were affordable and priced so regular folks could buy them. The last Mac Pro was ridiculously overpriced, especially when you consider it's lack of upgradeability. Apple needs to offer something for people who don't like the iMac, people who value accessibility (to things like RAM and the hard drive, etc) and upgradeability. People who want to choose their own monitor.

 

[opeter]

Apple needs to offer something for people who don't like the iMac, people who value accessibility (to things like RAM and the hard drive, etc) and upgradeability. People who want to choose their own monitor.

Apple doesn't want to sell a product to these people. I am part of this group.

 

[d5aqoëp]

Since last few years Apple just wanted to sell you iPhones and iPads because that's where they make profits. But one fine night, Steve Jobs came into dream of Federighi and Cook and yelled at them "Who is going to make apps if your Pro developers abandon Apple you dumbos!" That was a moment of Epiphany that Apple decided not to ignore iMac users. We can expect slight specs bump for minis. Nothing more.

 

[EmlynDewar]

Does gimping the Mac Mini increase sales of the Intel NUC?

 

[cynics]

Tough to sale for certain. Without analysis the best we can say is maybe....

If you had to have MacOS, then yes I'm sure to some extent the Mini specs pushes iMac sales. I think I'm one of those people. Apple would need to offer a Mini that can compete with the iMac for me to say for certain though.

For people looking for SFF, then no. An AIO is obviously not in the same segment as SFF computers. Only thing gimping it would do is help competitor sales. A lot of people linger around here so long complaining about it I'm not sure that is the case either though. lol

 

[JMacHack]

"Who is going to make apps if your Pro developers abandon Apple you dumbos!"

I don't think Steve would have been that nice...

 

[Richard8655]

Apple needs to offer something for people who don't like the iMac, people who value accessibility (to things like RAM and the hard drive, etc) and upgradeability. People who want to choose their own monitor.

Apple doesn't want to sell a product to these people. I am part of this group.

I think Apple would be smart to want to appeal to this customer base. Users are getting more savvy with their hardware. I'm of the group which doesn't want everything ready-made and handed on a platter at inflated prices. I'd rather be able to upgrade components myself that I can select.

 

[MechaSpanky]

I think Apple would be smart to want to appeal to this customer base. Users are getting more savvy with their hardware. I'm of the group which doesn't want everything ready-made and handed on a platter at inflated prices. I'd rather be able to upgrade components myself that I can select.

Richard,
I completely agree with you. Apple needs to offer something that will cater to people who want to be able to add another hard drive, install their own RAM, or upgrade a video card. With the iMac it is near impossible and even with the mini many things aren't possible to change or upgrade and the things that are possible are unnecessarily difficult. What happened to the machines that used to be easy to open and you had easy and quick assess to the internals like the cheese grater Mac towers or the towers that came before them? I want to see a machine like that again. One that isn't $3000 either.

 

[Richard8655]

Richard,
I completely agree with you. Apple needs to offer something that will cater to people who want to be able to add another hard drive, install their own RAM, or upgrade a video card. With the iMac it is near impossible and even with the mini many things aren't possible to change or upgrade and the things that are possible are unnecessarily difficult. What happened to the machines that used to be easy to open and you had easy and quick assess to the internals like the cheese grater Mac towers or the towers that came before them? I want to see a machine like that again. One that isn't $3000 either.

Exactly, MechaSpanky. I couldn't have said it better.

 

[49JC]

I think it does sway it a bit but not by much. I personally think it would more likely sway someone to pick up something other than a mac.

 

[now i see it]

I want to see a machine like that again. One that isn't $3000 either.

Circa 2006

 

[MechaSpanky]

I think it does sway it a bit but not by much. I personally think it would more likely sway someone to pick up something other than a mac.

I think this is an important point. It seems, and many people have speculated, that Apple is worried about cannibalizing it's own sales (of the iMac) by making a cheaper (not cheaper but cheaper than $3000) tower or a little more expensive mac mini with more power. I don't know whether this is true or not but that is what it looks like. I think Apple shouldn't worry about cannibalizing it's own stuff. They should worry that they are forcing people to move out of the Apple-eco system because of a lack of choice. If they continue to have gaping holes in their product line then consumers will eventually be forced to look elsewhere to find a company that is selling what they need and want.

 

[EightyTwenty]

Since last few years Apple just wanted to sell you iPhones and iPads because that's where they make profits. But one fine night, Steve Jobs came into dream of Federighi and Cook and yelled at them "Who is going to make apps if your Pro developers abandon Apple you dumbos!" That was a moment of Epiphany that Apple decided not to ignore iMac users. We can expect slight specs bump for minis. Nothing more.

Entry level with 8GB of ram and SSD standard is just fine. That's all I ask for.

Give it the same damn internals of the Macbook, and have it on a regular update cycle (released 6 months after the Macbook), sell it for $599 and call it a day.

Mac Mini was always meant as an entry-level into the mac ecosystem. This solution avoids cannibalizing sales of higher-end machines due to the relatively modest CPU, but at the same time provides a fantastic user experience for 90% of PC users who surf the web and do basics tasks like word processing.

 

[jpietrzak8]

Entry level with 8GB of ram and SSD standard is just fine. That's all I ask for.

And this is the fundamental problem with today's Apple. Not that they are offering entry level machines that are barely sufficient to run the operating system plus one lightweight application (which is, indeed, a problem). No, the real problem is that you have to ask Apple to give you the hardware you really need. You have to hope that they make a wise decision.

Apple has completely thrown out the concept of providing a machine with user-upgradeable RAM. With user-upgradeable drives. With user-upgradeable graphics. With, well, any modularity at all!

I wouldn't be so annoyed at Apple if there was a decent excuse for this choice; that, maybe, modularity was hard to do, or that it was so expensive to design a modular computer that it wasn't worth the cost. But every other desktop computer manufacturer today can bang out a decent modular PC in their sleep.

So no, I don't think gimping the Mini is really about making more money. It's not really even about an attempt to upsell customers to the iMac. Ultimately, it is a question of control; of keeping customers from ever interacting with third party manufacturers in any manner, and routing all their hardware purchases through Apple itself.

 

[tibas92013]

I will stick with some model of the MAC as there is no "OS X" Operating System on the "Beer Budget" PC.

 

[jpietrzak8]

I will stick with some model of the MAC as there is no "OS X" Operating System on the "Beer Budget" PC.

? Actually, I think I would rate the entry-level 2014 Mini as very much a "beer budget" PC, even if the actual retail price is a bit higher than the value of its components...

 

[cynics]

Circa 2006

View attachment 695674

With inflation that is over 3000 dollars...albeit just barely.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Does gimping the Mac Mini increase sales of the Intel NUC?

AND it will run OSX

 

[49JC]

And this is the fundamental problem with today's Apple. Not that they are offering entry level machines that are barely sufficient to run the operating system plus one lightweight application (which is, indeed, a problem). No, the real problem is that you have to ask Apple to give you the hardware you really need. You have to hope that they make a wise decision.

Apple has completely thrown out the concept of providing a machine with user-upgradeable RAM. With user-upgradeable drives. With user-upgradeable graphics. With, well, any modularity at all!

I wouldn't be so annoyed at Apple if there was a decent excuse for this choice; that, maybe, modularity was hard to do, or that it was so expensive to design a modular computer that it wasn't worth the cost. But every other desktop computer manufacturer today can bang out a decent modular PC in their sleep.

So no, I don't think gimping the Mini is really about making more money. It's not really even about an attempt to upsell customers to the iMac. Ultimately, it is a question of control; of keeping customers from ever interacting with third party manufacturers in any manner, and routing all their hardware purchases through Apple itself.

I completely agree. Apple is a cash hog. They look to capitalize on every piece of the apple product line by building everything proprietary and forcing the user to have no choice but to upgrade thru them. Then on top of it is the so called "apple tax". Im sure this strategy is completely working for them judging by how their stock has done nothing but go up the last how many years. But to me its starting to turn off a lot of mac users and pushing them to other solutions. Upgrading the product line every 3-4 years may work for the person buying in year 1. But what about the folks who need to purchase in year 3 or 4. No way Id dump more money in an outdated product.

 

[MysticCow]

There's a few important things impacting my desire to NOT purchase a Mac.

1. Everything is soldered on, so I can't even change out the RAM. If one piece of the soldered puzzle fails, it all fails and there's no chance in hell lowly little me can fix a soldered hardware failure.

2. Less powerful. I know the graphics chip now is supposed to be better than the Radeon in my trusty 2011 mini, but that Radeon is what's keeping me on the mini. However, more and more of that time is spent in Windows 10 anymore, because Win 10 works better for what I need (more or less Java and OpenGL issues that Win solved and Apple didn't). Intel Integrated Iris Pro 9000 Pro Model graphics just doesn't compare to a discrete graphics card.

3. Apple turning to "what's shiny" rather than "make this work correctly." In particular, I need Java and OpenGL to function. These two things are something Apple has dropped the ball on--HORRIBLY. But I guess getting Siri and Watch Unlock, which I don't use, is a trade-off for actual performance issues, right?

4. To get a decent model, you have to skip the baseline Macs, save for a new Mac Pro. Same processor and the base model is so horribly gimped. The entire point of the mini was to have around the same performance of an iMac (maybe slightly less) without the cost bump an iMac tends to have compared to the mini.

I understand people like pretty, shiny objects and I equally understand that Apple has stepped in to become the Pretty, Shiny Objects Show. However, that can't go on forever...

 

[tubular]

Apple needs to offer something for people who don't like the iMac, people who value accessibility (to things like RAM and the hard drive, etc) and upgradeability. People who want to choose their own monitor.

Exactly.
[doublepost=1492039871][/doublepost]

Mac Mini was always meant as an entry-level into the mac ecosystem.

I think this is almost true. It was meant for people to switch into the Mac ecosystem, but it's only fairly recently that the machines were dumbed down.

 

[d5aqoëp]

One can actually make a small mini-ITX based system
This case Thermaltake Core V1 goes a long way

It can take a full length GPU like 1080/1070/1060 and still be small. Well, it will not be mac mini small but very much manageable.
Since Nvidia has released Pascal drivers for mac, I have got everything working in the above case just that I prefer the black version of it.

1. CPU: Intel i5 6500
2. Motherboard: MSI Z170 Pro Gaming ac Mini-ITX
3. Case: Thermaltake Core V1 (Black)
4. PSU: Thermaltake 650W
5. RAM: 2 x 8GB DDR 4 3000 Mhz RAM
6. BCM94352Z NGFF M.2 WiFi WLAN Bluetooth 4.0 (Remove and replace with this one on motherboard)
7. GPU: Zotac GTX 1060
8. Corsair Hydro H70 CPU liquid cooler. (Optional)
9. SSD: Samsung 850 EVO

I have everything working from Handoff, Continuity, Airdrop to iMessage, etc.

 

[49JC]

One can actually make a small mini-ITX based system
This case Thermaltake Core V1 goes a long way

It can take a full length GPU like 1080/1070/1060 and still be small. Well, it will not be mac mini small but very much manageable.
Since Nvidia has released Pascal drivers for mac, I have got everything working in the above case just that I prefer the black version of it.

1. CPU: Intel i5 6500
2. Motherboard: MSI Z170 Pro Gaming ac Mini-ITX
3. Case: Thermaltake Core V1 (Black)
4. PSU: Thermaltake 650W
5. RAM: 2 x 8GB DDR 4 3000 Mhz RAM
6. BCM94352Z NGFF M.2 WiFi WLAN Bluetooth 4.0 (Remove and replace with this one on motherboard)
7. GPU: Zotac GTX 1060
8. Corsair Hydro H70 CPU liquid cooler. (Optional)
9. SSD: Samsung 850 EVO

I have everything working from Handoff, Continuity, Airdrop to iMessage, etc.

Are u running Sierra on that? I've been contemplating a hackintosh. But more along the $682 mini-hack that's been published.