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Mac Mini To Be Discontinued?

Ignorant

I expect more from MacRumors. This is the most ignorant analysis I have seen to date. If their logic holds, then in addition to the Mini, also dead are all iPods except for the Shuffle, the iMac and the MacBook Pro, as all of these products are currently "overdue" for a refresh.

You know, it could just be that Apple is busy, what with the iPhone, AppleTV, Leopard and WWDC.

Give me a break.
 
Mixed feelings on this - the Mini has been the perfect replacement for aging Macs (the original Bondi iMac G3 - yes, they still run) at our nonprofit, and allowed us to have decent machines with the wide array of older monitors, keyboards and mice we have lying around and get really cheap or free from CraigsList.

Then again, I just recommended we move up to the iMac for the reasons of the LCD, iSight, and better processor for only a few hundred more dollars per computer (less if we buy refurbs and count the time and turnover of locating and replacing used monitors and keyboards).

It would sure be keen if Apple kept a low-end machine, though - maybe the 17" iMac in the old form-factor when this lineup is revised? Or, as others have suggested, replaced the Mini with a single model, moderately configurable "Mac Nano" or small-form tower?

I'll be sad to see it go, but take some heart in that it will live on in the refurb section of Apple's Web site for at least another 8 months (though only the original Core Duo isn't very attractive anymore without a steep discount).
 
Turkish said:
No, it's a fact. It never has been a big seller.

Ever.

Companies don't drop products that are making money.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ - Nokia discontinued the 6310i, quite possibly the best phone they've ever made.

I've had more than 10 new phones partnering my 6310i since i bought it in 2002, and all of them are now with new owners... 6310i still going strong. I call it my 'charge on a Sunday phone' hehehe :D :D :D
 
tyr2 said:
The Mac Mini was the Mac that bought me to OS X. At £320 it was cheap enough to 'have a go' with and try out OS X.
Click to expand...


Me Too. It was a very good way to coax me into the fold. And, while I now have four other macs, the mini is still my favorite machine. Stable as a rock and perfectly capable of doing what I need it to do.

However, with iMac 17's being only a couple of hundred dollars (or Euros) more, and with the iMac delivering a bigger hard drive, faster processor, better graphics, a screen, keyboard, mouse, camera and that cool "where's the computer" experience, the mac mini did not make much sense in the product lineup. In my opinion, anyway.

It does make me think that the rumors of the demise of the iMac 17" might be wrong, though, since it will now be the price leader. If it is not updated with the rest of the iMac line up, I can see a bit of a price reduction.
 
aquafina said:
I expect more from MacRumors. This is the most ignorant analysis I have seen to date. If their logic holds, then in addition to the Mini, also dead are all iPods except for the Shuffle, the iMac and the MacBook Pro, as all of these products are currently "overdue" for a refresh.

You know, it could just be that Apple is busy, what with the iPhone, AppleTV, Leopard and WWDC.

Give me a break.
Click to expand...

*nods*

The iMac similarly has a very erratic product cycle, and is overdue for an update -- just as much as the Mac mini.

https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//#Mac_mini
 
IIRC, the CRT iMacs used to sell for $799 at one point. That was a pretty sweet price for an all in one computer. I know. I bought one when I was a student. It was a complete computer and lasted me for five and a half years. A friend has it now, and it is still going strong (albeit with a bigger hard drive I put in, Panther, and some more RAM).

Apple needs to aim its lowest complete consumer desktop at that price or not much above it. I'm guessing that the price of flat panels has been keeping the price higher than Apple would like it.
 
Maybe it has to do with the fact that the Mini goes against everything Apple pushes in their latest ad campaigns.

Apple pushes how simple Macs are out of the box. Well granted the Mini is as simple as any other Mac to use, but you need to have your own monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

And Apple pushes that you can video chat out of the box. Well with the Mini there's no camera included let alone built in, and Apple apparently doesn't even sell a stand alone iSight anymore!

This ad describes what I mean:
http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac_ads2/box_480x376.mov
 
mini stack

MrCrowbar said:
Hmm... why would they make the Apple TV and Airpot Extreme in the same format when they're planning on discontinuing the Mini. :(
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Actually, the AppleTV is an inch bigger than the mini and Airport Extreme. I wouldn't read much into the fact they share similar encolsures.

I would like to see them create a series of systems that would connect to the AppleTV. One could be a PVR, another could have a slot loading Blu-Ray player, another could just be a hard drive array for backup. Just add what you want and stack them.

Still, the mini has interesting uses. Maybe they should make an advanced mini/AppleTV with all the above features I mentioned: HDMI, PVR, Blu-Ray, large hard drive. Then again, it would be pretty expensive and the mini's strength, at least initially, was that it was cheap. Shame if they get rid of it.
 
tyr2 said:
The Mac Mini was the Mac that bought me to OS X. At £320 it was cheap enough to 'have a go' with and try out OS X. I've since purchased a Mac Pro and a MacBook so it worked out pretty well for Apple.
Click to expand...
The Mini was also my first Mac after 20 years of using MS Windoze crap
The mini was followed by a 2 Ghz Power Mac G5, followed by Mac Pro. Also got 2 Mac Books here as well, one for the wife and the other for me. Apple has received a fair bit of my cash as well, but I'm so glad I switched :)

FJ
 
swingerofbirch said:
Maybe it has to do with the fact that the Mini goes against everything Apple pushes in their latest ad campaigns.

Apple pushes how simple Macs are out of the box. Well granted the Mini is as simple as any other Mac to use, but you need to have your own monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

And Apple pushes that you can video chat out of the box. Well with the Mini there's no camera included let alone built in, and Apple apparently doesn't even sell a stand alone iSight anymore!

This ad describes what I mean:
http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac_ads2/box_480x376.mov
Click to expand...

But if your PC dies, and they all do at some point and far sooner than most Macs, you have the screen/kbd/mouse already. It was a switchers machine from day one. If they do drop it and the 17" iMac, they must have something else in place for the low end. I can't see Apple abandoning the sub $1000 market altogether.
 
Maybe Steve just tired of saying BYOKDM or whatever that not-so-easy-to-roll-off-you-tounge abbreviation the marketing folks came up with was?
 
I would say depending on where Apple takes the next iMac it is very possible this rumor is true. If the cost of the iMac comes down and more options are available then it is better to sell an all-in-one to these customers. More profit for Apple and a simple machine for customers that are new to Apple to use.

If Apple ditches everything under the 20" iMac, then it will show that they want to focus only on the middle and upper end consumers. Fact is the most profit is made on the higher end models. Plus laptops have really taken over the market.

With laptops so popular maybe Apple only needs to offer 20 and 24 inch iMacs and a Mac Pro. From a business perspective I doubt Apple makes much money if any money at all on the Mac Mini.
 
I really hope this isn't true... The only way I can see it becoming true is if Apple releases a headless iMac. Until we see that product released, I don't think the Mac mini is going away anytime soon.
 
I'm hoping that it's replaced by a new slightly larger machine running a G965 chipset and E4000 series CPUs with desktop hard drives. Then again, this is Apple we're talking about. they'll probably just discontinue the two Mac Minis and the bottom two iMacs and make the platform even more unaccessible for both the education market those who want to make the jump. One thing remains though that the Mini is a very flawed system and is not competitive due to that notebook hard drive. I hope Jobs and Co is capable of understanding that.
 
A discontinuation of the Mini along with a midtower release would make sense. Essentially dropping the low end and introducing a more formidable desktop, ie. dedicated gpu, full size hdd, replacement.
 
p0intblank said:
I really hope this isn't true... The only way I can see it becoming true is if Apple releases a headless iMac. Until we see that product released, I don't think the Mac mini is going away anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Not headless iMac. Mini Mac (Pro), socket 775. The graphics card should be upgreadable, and it must have at least one additional PCIe slot.
 
Please let this not be true. The Mini is my favourite Mac of all time, mine sits on top of a matching LaCie HD which in turn sits on a matching Belkin Hub thing with USB and FireWire available at the front as well.

I can use my favourite black Apple Professional keyboard, my own choice of monitor, my own five button Microsoft mouse and have two drives available right there. BTW it runs faster and better off the LaCie than it's own internal.

No wonder Jobs wants to ditch it and make us buy a 100% Apple machine like the iMac or MacBook!
 
If this turns out to be correct...it's a bummer! Despite the integrated graphics, the mini had some excellent features. But sadly, sales weren't exactly encouraging & it's no great surprise that it could be discontinued.

Maybe Apple now recognize the growing importance to many consumers of having discrete graphics in their desktop computers & will have the iMac as their lowest spec desktop.
 
Oh noes! I was going to make my mum get a Mac Mini now she will have to stay on the evil windows side. Noessssss! :(
 
cube said:
Not headless iMac. Mini Mac (Pro), socket 775. The graphics card should be upgreadable, and it must have at least one additional PCIe slot.
Click to expand...

No it would just be called the Mac. The Apple Mac.
 
Even with integrated graphics, it's not that bad of a machine (look at the MBs and low-end iMacs with IG). Apple needs to keep the Mini, or some other inexpensive (do not read <i>cheap</i>) smallish form factor machine to stay competitive. If they get rid of the Mini, it'll be a replacement to the existing form, not a wipe of the entire line, IMHO.
 
If both of these rumors are true, it means that either there are replacements coming, Apple plans to license OS to take care of the traditional desktop segment, or that Steve's ego has grown so large that he as complete gone off his rocker. I see any of the three as very possible...especially the last one.
 
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