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.
Mac Mini End Of Life?
- Thread starter Dont Hurt Me
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
Damn, if this proves true, I'll have a mini and MB, Both in glass and aluminum
freakin sweeeeet!
I hope all of Apples products continue to veer into the pro design/aesthetic.
The idea of limiting a products specs to push for a minor upgrade does make financial sense, though shipping a product without enough ram (for example) just lowers consumer satisfaction.
I think the profit margins will follow the high-end engineering.
Apple understands this and executes it to a certain extent.
They are one of the few companies that actually has the ability to offer seamless, toped up systems, with form factor being the only deciding factor.
santa rosa macbooks are here, but no santa rosa mini (yet)
Well, I was hoping that when the macbooks were updated with the santa rosa chipset that the macMini would be updated at the same time. But the macbooks were stealthily updated today, so I guess not. Does anyone think it might still happen in the next few days?
Well, I was hoping that when the macbooks were updated with the santa rosa chipset that the macMini would be updated at the same time. But the macbooks were stealthily updated today, so I guess not. Does anyone think it might still happen in the next few days?
dropping it (without a replacement device ) would be a huge mistake, after all the mac mini is single handed the most popular switcher desktop mac laptops are a different game there apple is competitive
i remember the moaning before the mac mini got released that a cheaper desktop without integrated screen was in dire need (and i still remember the comments "why don't you simply buy an eMac with integrated CRT and 128 mb RAM" i got for like a year)
i switched as soon at it was released and still use the 1.gen 1.42 G4 mac mini as my main desktop (i switched screen a few times in that time frame)
more unfortunate is that when i'll be finally looking for a replacement 1 - 1 1/2 years from now there simply is little which i can upgrade to.. after all the mini power is not enough for all my needs (no single CPU desktop with more performance and no integrated screen)
i remember the moaning before the mac mini got released that a cheaper desktop without integrated screen was in dire need (and i still remember the comments "why don't you simply buy an eMac with integrated CRT and 128 mb RAM" i got for like a year)
i switched as soon at it was released and still use the 1.gen 1.42 G4 mac mini as my main desktop (i switched screen a few times in that time frame)
more unfortunate is that when i'll be finally looking for a replacement 1 - 1 1/2 years from now there simply is little which i can upgrade to.. after all the mini power is not enough for all my needs (no single CPU desktop with more performance and no integrated screen)
If the mac mini is really discontinued I predict millions will rise and march the streets to protest.
In my opinion the mini is the best form factor Apple has ever released. Put it right under a big cinema display and you have the best looking mac in the world.
Only thing it needs is better specs...
In my opinion the mini is the best form factor Apple has ever released. Put it right under a big cinema display and you have the best looking mac in the world.
Only thing it needs is better specs...
Are you sure about that? All I've read is that the Mini doesn't sell well and Apple is probably going to discontinue it?
Apple builds "some" products with specs & price that makes them fail. Apple could have spent $20 on its graphics instead of the $5 it was for the 950 and had something. Integrated graphics are just so so far behind todays graphics. Many games wont run on the stuff. So Apple gives us a mini with no graphics or an iMac with broken graphics. Amazing.
It seems with every new update of an Apple product the Mini is teh d00m3d.
It might be, but enjoy it whilst it's still here.
It might be, but enjoy it whilst it's still here.
I guess that is why the company is doing so poorly and is about to go out of business....NOT!
New Apple Pro Profile featuring the Mini
Well I hope that since Apple posted a new Pro Profile, featuring the Mac Mini, this means they are keeping it around.
http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/schatz/
Well I hope that since Apple posted a new Pro Profile, featuring the Mac Mini, this means they are keeping it around.
http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/schatz/
That's pretty neat. Thanks for the link.
My Mini is just awesome. Since Leopard, I am going to be more productive than ever. I say going to be, since I'm still having a blast not studying while I play with Leopard. But with spaces, I have stuff everywhere, and readable. The Mini actually runs way quieter and cooler since the install.
LOVE IT.
(But it wouldn't suck to get a newer Mac that can do 4GB of memory...)
I Love my mini
I really like my mini...its simple and I think apple has done a great job of comming out of the box and creating something for everyone.
I really like my mini...its simple and I think apple has done a great job of comming out of the box and creating something for everyone.
I really like my mini...its simple and I think apple has done a great job of comming out of the box and creating something for everyone.
I'm glad that you are happy with your Mac mini, but I wouldn't go so far as to say Apple is creating something for everyone.
Hey
If they can update the mini with the itv form factor, iPod/iPhone price and Al Gore, the world is ruled.
If they can update the mini with the itv form factor, iPod/iPhone price and Al Gore, the world is ruled.
I keep hoping that Apple will release something that is more competitive with other lower-end desktop PCs. Heck, they'd be doing good just competing with lower-end Windows laptops.
They should just be ashamed that http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7811083 smacks around the $600 mini on most specs, plus has a display, keyboard, trackpad, and battery. In that $600 Apple could surely be including a decent-size hard drive (160GB) and a DVD burner, at the very least. At that price the integrated graphics could be forgiven as just being par for the course, so long as the rest of the specs were bumped up.
Now at the $800 end, the mini looks even worse. Even with the existing specs for both machines, it's a terrible value compared to its own combo-drive sporting brother. And compared to even cheap Windows laptops for that price it's RAM and hard drive specs are jokes. There is no hope for it against Windows desktops for that same price. For $800 it needs a bigger hard drive, twice the RAM, and discrete graphics. It is not unreasonable to expect a 250GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, and at least something like an ATI X1350 or NVIDIA GeForce 7300 graphics chip with 64MB of graphics memory.
I really, really want them to improve the mini. I'd like to replace my 2 1/2 year old iBook next year with a mini since right now my iBook is being used pretty much as a desktop anyway. But right now the mini is a horizontal move, and in some regards, a downgrade. I am even willing to deal with integrated graphics if the rest of the machine was an upgrade from my aging iBook. Too bad that except for the CPU, the machine represents roughly what I would have expected my iBook sans LCD, trackpad, keyboard, upper lid, and battery to have costed back in mid-2005. Oh wait, the G4 mini of that time for $600 did indeed represent that. Which is what helps makes the mini of today look even worse.
The mini needs to be kept, but is in serious need of being brought to somewhat competitive specs. The CPU is more than fine in them, just that the rest of the machine lags.
They should just be ashamed that http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7811083 smacks around the $600 mini on most specs, plus has a display, keyboard, trackpad, and battery. In that $600 Apple could surely be including a decent-size hard drive (160GB) and a DVD burner, at the very least. At that price the integrated graphics could be forgiven as just being par for the course, so long as the rest of the specs were bumped up.
Now at the $800 end, the mini looks even worse. Even with the existing specs for both machines, it's a terrible value compared to its own combo-drive sporting brother. And compared to even cheap Windows laptops for that price it's RAM and hard drive specs are jokes. There is no hope for it against Windows desktops for that same price. For $800 it needs a bigger hard drive, twice the RAM, and discrete graphics. It is not unreasonable to expect a 250GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, and at least something like an ATI X1350 or NVIDIA GeForce 7300 graphics chip with 64MB of graphics memory.
I really, really want them to improve the mini. I'd like to replace my 2 1/2 year old iBook next year with a mini since right now my iBook is being used pretty much as a desktop anyway. But right now the mini is a horizontal move, and in some regards, a downgrade. I am even willing to deal with integrated graphics if the rest of the machine was an upgrade from my aging iBook. Too bad that except for the CPU, the machine represents roughly what I would have expected my iBook sans LCD, trackpad, keyboard, upper lid, and battery to have costed back in mid-2005. Oh wait, the G4 mini of that time for $600 did indeed represent that. Which is what helps makes the mini of today look even worse.
The mini needs to be kept, but is in serious need of being brought to somewhat competitive specs. The CPU is more than fine in them, just that the rest of the machine lags.
While I do think the mini serves its purpose as is, I would like a mac mini pro alternate.
Apple Store Employee Answers...
Once a week I stop in my local Apple Store at the Mall and I always ask any employee that approaches me the latest "Macrumor" to see their reaction/response. The best "canned/generic" response I got the other day when I asked if the Mac Mini was going to be around much longer was "I couldn't tell you if the store here will be open in the morning." Most employees tell me the Mac Mini isn't at the end of it's life, but that's the same thing they said last X-Mas when the iSight camera disappeared from inventory and they kept telling me to stop back in a few more days...the iSight went away forever.
Once a week I stop in my local Apple Store at the Mall and I always ask any employee that approaches me the latest "Macrumor" to see their reaction/response. The best "canned/generic" response I got the other day when I asked if the Mac Mini was going to be around much longer was "I couldn't tell you if the store here will be open in the morning." Most employees tell me the Mac Mini isn't at the end of it's life, but that's the same thing they said last X-Mas when the iSight camera disappeared from inventory and they kept telling me to stop back in a few more days...the iSight went away forever.
The response I got when I asked about a rumor I'd heard that the mini was to be EOL'd was very defensive and aggressive. "It's JUST THAT - a rumor" he says. "Apple NEVER says in advance when they do things like that".
As if this was going to make me feel better about buying one. After all Apple might discontinue it tomorrow and even he wouldn't know.
As if this was going to make me feel better about buying one. After all Apple might discontinue it tomorrow and even he wouldn't know.
If the Mini didn't come out when it did, I wouldn't have switched back.
I wouldn't have bought a notebook, or an iMac, and I certainly wouldn't have spent Mac Pro money to come back to Apple products.
The mac mini has been my saviour - A simple way out of constant tech support with family and friends.
I set it up once, and their good to go. The only exception is when they decide to upgrade their peripherals to suit the quality of their mac.
- Status