How risky is it to keep my 2012 Mini?

[AZRob]

Hi all,
I have a 2012 Mac Mini, which I am thinking of either upgrading or replacing. Now it appears that it will cost a LOT to buy a new 2018 model to replace it.

So I have to ask, what is the risk of holding on to a Mac that is no longer supported by Apple? I expect that next years major MacOS upgrade will exclude my model from coverage - it's right on the edge. Would that mean that future updates after that would not be able to be loaded, or just that they might slow down, or worse render the unit vulnerable to viruses that would otherwise be handled by future upgrades? What kind of drawbacks/risks are we talking about here?

Thanks in advance,
Rob from AZ

 

[ElectronGuru]

couple of points

a bunch of models just got outdated for the lack of one specific features, metal support. if I could add metal to my 2010 mini, it would run metal and Mohave just fine. point being, its not an age thing so much as a generational thing. and generations are more than a year long. the next culling will be several years deep, so it won't happen next year.

even when it does happen, not supporting the current OS is not the same as being totally unsupported. apple still issues critical updates to some older OS. 10.13 is no longer current, but will receive an update if some new vulnerability is found.

based on 1 and 2, that's minimum two more years before you have to worry about unsupported consequences. In the meantime, retailers will start offering deals, making the nMM easier to get. Until then, the main question is how does the machine work for you and your software?

 

[MRrainer]

I think they'll support Mojave at least for another year with security updates, if not longer.
El Capitan got the Spectre Updates, too.

Start saving now and upgrade when you've got the money together.
I haven't even upgraded to Mojave (for various reasons).

 

[Herbit]

The 2014 Mini has no better specs then the 2012 and was sold until now. I think Apple has to support the 2014 for at least 3 years and the 2012 will also get the updates, because it is not really different.

I upgraded my 2012 with 1 TB SSD and 2 TB Hard Drive (both internal). It would be insane cost wise to replace this with the 2018 Mini at this point.

 

[MRrainer]

The 2014 has a better GPU.
That could be the deal-breaker.

 

[chrfr]

The 2014 Mini has no better specs then the 2012 and was sold until now. I think Apple has to support the 2014 for at least 3 years and the 2012 will also get the updates, because it is not really different.

The 2012 is a very different architecture than the 2014. It's not a safe assumption to think that both the 2012 and 2014 will continue with the same level of OS updates.
That said, if GPU performance is not a factor, I don't see any risk in keeping a 2012 in service for another year or two.

 

[Luap]

The new 2018 Mini looks fantastic, but im also the owner of a 2012 Mini (2.6 quad i7) And it runs so well that im not really in a rush to upgrade. Also, im still running Sierra on it, not even Mojave. It does everything I need. So even if Mojave is the last OS these will run, it will still be more than useable for a good couple of years or more yet.

 

[now i see it]

There's no risk using an old machine. I have a 2010 Mac Mini running El Capitan (& Snow Leopard sometimes) and everything works fine for casual workloads. It certainly isn't as powerful as my cheese grater Mac Pro, but it does everything just fine.

 

[teohyc]

Don't worry too much about not being supported.

You can still run the apps you have been using all along until your Mac Mini physically breaks down.

 

[Fishrrman]

The OP ponders:
"So I have to ask, what is the risk of holding on to a Mac that is no longer supported by Apple?"

Does the Mini still run?
Does it run well?
Does it do everything you need for it to do?
If so... then why are you wringing your hands?

When the time arrives that it DOESN'T do what you need, perhaps that time will become the time to replace it.

The VERY LAST THING I care about is that any of my Macs will not be able to be "updated" with Apple's "latest and greatest" software any more.

And... they all still run just fine, thank you very much.

"What kind of drawbacks/risks are we talking about here?"

My opinion only: not many.

ONE EXCEPTION:
If you have a lot of older 32 bit software that you want to keep using for the foreseeable future, you might plan on buying "one of the last 32 bit-bootable Macs".

Once the successor to Mojave (OS 10.15) is released by Apple next fall, and once new hardware is being sold that requires 10.15, 32 bit software will no longer run on those Macs. (exception -- could it run under emulation?)

I have 32 bit software that I like and that will not be upgraded, so I plan to buy either a 2018 Mini or a 2017/2019 iMac that will be bootable to either Mojave or High Sierra for the life of that Mac.

That way, I'll have a way to "boot back into the past" when needed to run that software...

 

[AZRob]

Hi again,
It's been 4 (!) years since I posted the original question and now I am going to ask again, but this time more specifically as to security. I still have my Mac Mini 2012 and it runs just fine, especially since I started running it off an external SSD. I have no reason to replace the device in terms of functionality. I mostly just read mail, surf and stream from Netflix and Amazon Prime.

My concern is solely security. I am at Mojave level now, and could go up one step to Catalina. But being as how my device is now 10 years old, and Apple won't even take it back for a trade-in, I wonder how much at risk am I in terms of not being able to get future security updates. It is not clear to me if Apple will bother to send any future security updates for a machine as old as mine. I know there is a grace period where they do this once you can no longer upgrade to the latest MacOs level, but I think I'm out of that window at this point.

Any insights would be appreciated....

Rob from AZ

 

[reallynotnick]

Catalina appears to be dropped from security updates now since it hasn't had an update during the last 2 security updates. You haven't had a security update on Mojave for a year now I believe, so upgrading to Catalina at the very least might be wise just to get those updates.

I believe there are ways you could get a newer version of MacOS to run on it through some hacks if you wanted, but I personally am ready to retire my 2012 machine as soon as the next Mac Mini comes out so I can get back on the latest secure OS (also I need a little extra power too)

 

[spiderpumpkin]

You can install Monterey on most 2009 and later Macs. There will likely be Ventura support for a lot of older Macs soon too.

macOS 12 Monterey on Unsupported Macs Thread

This thread will be dedicated to the discussion of running macOS 12.0 on unsupported Macs At the time of writing, WWDC has wrapped up and Developer Seeds have been sent out. We're eagerly awaiting for all our community developers and enthusiasts to test out the new version of macOS We will...

forums.macrumors.com

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-13-ventura-on-unsupported-macs-thread.2346881/

 

[EugW]

Since this thread was posted on Nov. 1, I was wondering why Rob from Arizona was posting from overseas where it would be Nov. 1 when it was Halloween here. Then I realized it was from 2018.

If all you do is read mail, surf, and stream Netflix and Prime, I'd just update to Catalina and continue using it.* You might want to consider using Chrome instead of Safari for surfing though at some point in the not-too-distant future, since Safari is no longer supported. Or you could try upgrading it to Monterey 12.6.1 with OCLP. (It's too early for Ventura.)

*What are your specs? As long as you have 8 GB or more RAM and SSD, you should be fine to continue using that 2012 Mac mini. Eventually though I would consider upgrading if budget isn't a big concern, just for fun. Assess how things go with your 2012 Mac mini for the next half-year, and then check out the new Apple Silicon models when they come out. They are rumoured to arrive next spring, and you could pick up a nice M2 Mac mini with 16 GB RAM, which should last you another decade with that workload.

 

[Soondae]

Hi again,
It's been 4 (!) years since I posted the original question and now I am going to ask again, but this time more specifically as to security. I still have my Mac Mini 2012 and it runs just fine, especially since I started running it off an external SSD. I have no reason to replace the device in terms of functionality. I mostly just read mail, surf and stream from Netflix and Amazon Prime.

My concern is solely security. I am at Mojave level now, and could go up one step to Catalina. But being as how my device is now 10 years old, and Apple won't even take it back for a trade-in, I wonder how much at risk am I in terms of not being able to get future security updates. It is not clear to me if Apple will bother to send any future security updates for a machine as old as mine. I know there is a grace period where they do this once you can no longer upgrade to the latest MacOs level, but I think I'm out of that window at this point.

Any insights would be appreciated....

Rob from AZ

I still run a 2011 model that is in my vacation home that I only spend a few months a year in, and it is just fine for all my needs. I think is stuck on High Sierra, I modified it boot on an internal SSD and use the old original HDD for data with 16GB memory. That aside, if you are really concerned about security.... Chrome has recently released an operating system similar to their Chromebook's for older intel units that might be worthwhile looking into. Chrome OS FLEX:

How To Turn Your Old PC Into a New Chromebook with ...​

https://www.tomshardware.com › How-to

 

[AZRob]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I happened to be in Costco last weekend and they had the lowest end Mac Mini 2020 on sale for $130 off, so I went and grabbed it ($569). I was not happy being so out of synch with Apple's upgrades and yes, it is not right, but that's the reality of staying within their system. This should hold me for another 8 years I figure.