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Mac Mini To Be Discontinued?
- Thread starter Planner Dude
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Yeah, that's what I was thinking ("Apple TV Extreme" was my name for it).
The mini is a great media server, but is too expensive and underpowered as a general computer (for the price of a Mini + Monitor + KB + Mouse you can get a much more powerful iMac that looks a lot nicer than a cheapo monitor.) I know there are some other niches for it besides a media server, but they are too small justify the product line.
An "Apple TV Extreme" would make sense though. I hope they don't cut out too much though. I'd want the full front-row experience, options for larger hard drivers, support for third-party apps, a web browser, email... Pretty much full OS X support. For my money they can drop the optical drive, though, and put in a low power CPU.
yay new from apple!!! check it out in the store!!! The New Apple Sphere!!! It is so much better than mini....NOT! hahahaha
i liked the idea though...
i liked the idea though...
Which they are likely getting rid of as well...
The AE and AppleTV are slightly different in footprint than the mini (ATV ~7.7"^2, mini 6.5"^2). I think it's more and more likely with each passing week with no mini update that there will be a big revamp of the mini line. I suspect it will be 7.7"x7.7"x4", and fill the roll of the old mini and the 17" iMac in the product line. A little more space means full sized HDD, and room for extra cooling so they can use a faster GPU, etc.
I'm predicting they drop the 17" iMac with the next revision, move the mini to a taller ATV box, and have two models at $499 and $749. The cheaper model being, more or less, the old mini with a C2D and more standard RAM, the more expensive one being the old iMac guts in a new box.
This would satisfy a lot of people without adding a new type of computer to the lineup, and without competing with the Mac Pro or iMac. Of course, those of us who want an iMac with an upgradable GPU are still out of luck, but it's an OK compromise.
I agree that the analysis in this article is very poor, but they base their conclusion on sources, not analysis. So this is a legitimate rumor.
If the Mini has failed to sell as well as Apple hoped then they only have themselves to blame. Too often has the Mini slipped way behind the iMac.
Everytime the iMac has gotten a bump the Mini should have as well, and it hasnt been the case. A couple of times now the Mac Mini has slipped way behind the iMac only to then get a handsome bump that makes it half way competitive again. It seems rather stop start for the Mini rather than regular bumps like the other macs.
Everytime the iMac has gotten a bump the Mini should have as well, and it hasnt been the case. A couple of times now the Mac Mini has slipped way behind the iMac only to then get a handsome bump that makes it half way competitive again. It seems rather stop start for the Mini rather than regular bumps like the other macs.
Can't be much profit on a Mini, Apple makes more on osX.
Low end machines will -like the Apple TV- geared towards special uses or be replaced by low-end machines from Dell with OEM osX license.
Big mistake if true. I personally know switchers that would still be using Windows PCs today if it weren't for the Mac mini. Apple needs to update the current mini as well as lower the price and they would sell a lot more of them. Right now it's underpowered and overpriced, and that's why they're not moving many of them, it's not because the mini is a failed idea...
Just want to add my groan to the list
I really hope this is a bad rumor......the whole mini concept was brilliant and I thought it had been good for Apple in several important areas.
Does anyone know any sales figures?
It certainly seemed to capture a lot of switchers.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the next iMac and it's groundbreaking new design?
Regardless, some kind of headless Mac in ultra small form factor is a piece of gear that I hope remains in the Apple portfolio.
I really hope this is a bad rumor......the whole mini concept was brilliant and I thought it had been good for Apple in several important areas.
Does anyone know any sales figures?
It certainly seemed to capture a lot of switchers.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the next iMac and it's groundbreaking new design?
Regardless, some kind of headless Mac in ultra small form factor is a piece of gear that I hope remains in the Apple portfolio.
Kinda sad to see it go if it does. My dad has an Intel Mac Mini and it works very well for him. All he does is surf the web, e-mail and word processing so the Mac Mini is perfect.
I read the article on Appleinsider and it says that Apple thinks there isn't much interest in it. I have a feeling that Apple doesn't think there's much interest in it so the Mini's not updated often. B/c it's not updated often, there's little interest in it which causes Apple not to update and keeps cycling like that. Maybe they can combine the Mac Mini &
TV into the same product and hopefully add a TiVo/DVR functionality? That way, it can be used as both a computer & a TV set-top box. How successful that idea is, I don't know.
IMO, Apple should have 4 desktops: the low-end one like the Mac Mini, an iMac kind of one, a midrange tower and a high-end work station a little heftier than the Mac Pro (probably add SLI graphics and better graphics cards).
I read the article on Appleinsider and it says that Apple thinks there isn't much interest in it. I have a feeling that Apple doesn't think there's much interest in it so the Mini's not updated often. B/c it's not updated often, there's little interest in it which causes Apple not to update and keeps cycling like that. Maybe they can combine the Mac Mini &
TV into the same product and hopefully add a TiVo/DVR functionality? That way, it can be used as both a computer & a TV set-top box. How successful that idea is, I don't know.IMO, Apple should have 4 desktops: the low-end one like the Mac Mini, an iMac kind of one, a midrange tower and a high-end work station a little heftier than the Mac Pro (probably add SLI graphics and better graphics cards).
They also tried to make the Mini as small as they could instead of making it as usable as they could in a small package. Apple's experiments usually don't turn out so well.
It'll be sad to see the Mini go.
My first Mac was a Mac Mini G4, I was looking at reviews for Shuttle cube computers and stumbled on the Mini, after 3 months of thinking about it I bought one. Best computing decision I've made.
After that I bought a Mac Pro and quite a few other Apple products (my Mini's now connected to a TV). Without the Mini I would still be using/buying PC's.
My first Mac was a Mac Mini G4, I was looking at reviews for Shuttle cube computers and stumbled on the Mini, after 3 months of thinking about it I bought one. Best computing decision I've made.
After that I bought a Mac Pro and quite a few other Apple products (my Mini's now connected to a TV). Without the Mini I would still be using/buying PC's.
If the Mini and/or the 17" iMac are gone, it will be interesting what Apple will do to fill the gap for that market. Would they expect everyone with a low budget to get a Macbook? Or an iPhone? I agree that it's unlikely that both will be discontinued, but one.. maybe.
That was the most Emo computer article ever.
Waaaaaaay to emotional.
I was contemplating doing this too, then i thought about theTV but no one make an HD head unit yet (i dont think). Also, from a fellow Infiniti owner, the cars are spelled with an "i" not a "y"
Waaaaaaay to emotional.
I've been waiting forever for Apple to update the MacMini so I can buy one to put in my Infinity
I was contemplating doing this too, then i thought about the
TV but no one make an HD head unit yet (i dont think). Also, from a fellow Infiniti owner, the cars are spelled with an "i" not a "y"
sounds like a bunch of bullcrap to me... just because it hasn't been updated in its "average update timeline period yadda yadda yadda", doesn't mean they're not updating it again, jeez. get a grip, people...
i will admit, though, that since the announcement of the iphone, it seems as though everything else has been placed on the backburner, which is not only disconcerting as a consumer, but also as an (dare i say it?) apple fanboy... i don't really want to look forward to apple placing their focus on the cell phone market. while i'm ecstatic about the iphone, and i'll be one of the first to get one, my main interest is in their computers, and it would stink if updates/refreshes get overlooked because of a cell phone; which already looks to be the case with leopard and mac mini refreshes.
*sigh*
i will admit, though, that since the announcement of the iphone, it seems as though everything else has been placed on the backburner, which is not only disconcerting as a consumer, but also as an (dare i say it?) apple fanboy... i don't really want to look forward to apple placing their focus on the cell phone market. while i'm ecstatic about the iphone, and i'll be one of the first to get one, my main interest is in their computers, and it would stink if updates/refreshes get overlooked because of a cell phone; which already looks to be the case with leopard and mac mini refreshes.
*sigh*
This is what I think will happen too. If you look at the AppleTV page on Apple's website, it has a similiar format of product pages that have multiple versions (ipod, imac etc) rather than a single product (airport).
If they introduce a higher spec AppleTV, this will be too close to a mac mini so they may decide to just drop the mini and grow the appletv brand.
Ofcourse, the other option of making a mini2 in the same form factor as the appletv and airport also makes sense, to cater toward the edu market and to switchers/media box enthusiasts.
Stupid
Businesses use the mac mini for word processing stations. This will only push them to PCs.
Businesses use the mac mini for word processing stations. This will only push them to PCs.
Don't believe it? Go stand in an Apple Store on a Saturday and see how many mini's roll out the door...
If it's such a hot seller, why haven't they put a C2D into it or larger drives?
It's got no future. Dead product.
The mini addresses a gaping hole in the Mac lineup. I would even argue that with the mini, there is still a gap, and removing it can only hurt the overall corporate project of getting more people on OS X.
One way Apple can address this gap is by eventually bringing down the prices of its MacPro.
.02
One way Apple can address this gap is by eventually bringing down the prices of its MacPro.
.02
I gave a G4 Mini to my Dad some time ago, and it was his intro to the Mac world as well...it works just fine...
Anyway, it's funny to see people defending the Mini now that it's pronounced dead...many pundits in THIS forum have always bashed it because it's not "powerful enough"...just silly.
What's REALLY gonna happen:
The same as happened with the iPod Mini...it's gonna be replaced by something EVEN better...wait and see.
