Poll: Who'll buy a new Mac Mini?

[Micky Do]

A thread started recently asked "If a new Mini is released, who's left to buy one?"

The question was rhetorical, with the apparent assumption that the answer was very few, if anyone at all. As it turned out quite a bit of interest in a new Mac Mini was expressed.

So, lets see how interested folks here are interested in getting a new Mac Mini.

 

[reallynotnick]

No one knows if they are going to buy it until it is announced, we don't know what it is or how much it will cost.

 

[The Hammer]

If a new one was already out, I might have bought one instead of my iMac.

 

[alien3dx]

i moved to imac and sold my mac mini 2014 one year ago.. too late.. Unless my idea business getting work out then think again..

Mac mini need a keyboard and need a mouse and need a monitor, if you have existing old keyboard and mouse go for it . I thinking future macbook air instead for now for travel since the third windows laptop fail on me.

Mac mini if modular will give high risk to mac pro and imac 21 which not accesable ram and hardisk. I would assume don't hope much if modular unless Apple lazy repackage Intel NUC..

 

[danmart]

I have a Mini set up as my local media hub at home. It works ok but struggles a bit. If there were new and more powerful devices I would upgrade and potentially get rid of my MBP as my iPad Pro gives plenty of mobile capability.

 

[OLDCODGER]

If accessibility/upgradability is back on the menu, I don't care about price. Otherwise, it had better be cheap!

But, we are talking about Apple!

 

[firewire9000]

I had a Mac Mini plugged to the TV but I replaced it with an Apple TV 4K, enough for me.

 

[Kebabselector]

Voted to replace my existing Mac Mini - however a lot depends on the package. I do need a monitor upgrade, so it might be more cost effective at the moment to pick up an iMac.

 

[Miat]

Probably, depending mostly on specs, and partly on price.

Actually, I am feeling uncharacteristically optimistic about Tuesday.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

My 2011 is doing just fine as a media center. Will continue to use it, until it fails, which hopefully won't be for a while.

If it has an upgradeable GPU though, then I may consider it as an upgrade to my main 2011 iMac though.

 

[chooyoshi]

I would probably buy one to replace my 11.6 2012 mba for imovie for my youtube channel.
but would also see the other macs from apple and compare.

 

[Yvan256]

I have to vote "low-cost MacBook Air replacement" since I'm tired of being chained to a desk with my mid-2010 Mac mini.

 

[tromboneaholic]

I would have voted:
Possibly; provided the Mac Mini can be specced to fit my needs / desires.

 

[mcnallym]

Looking to replace 2009 mini as iTunes/dvr server. Really don’t need high performance.

Even a quad i3 would be powerful enough. Then a hdmi port to attach my fit headless 4K dongle.

For heavy tasks then have my Mac Pro. Move the apple display to my Mac Pro and simply screen share to the mini.

If move up to far with increase in power and price then may need to rethink.

 

[spooklog]

Without question I'll be poised to get the new "Mini Pro" barring a sky high price. I've relied on the Mini for a decade as my primary computer and it's come through nicely. I always have a closet full of hardware (monitors, keyboards, mice) so the simple Mini form-factor is perfect for me.

I do hope Apple makes this new Mini upgradable, as far as RAM and storage goes. It would also be excellent if the graphics were beefed up; perhaps offering discrete graphics as an option would be reasonable.

My 2012 Mini is on the sidelines after trying to upgrade its hard dive to an SSD. After opening the case per instructions, little bits and pieces of plastic and metal fell out by themselves--it turns out that parts of the system seemed to be falling apart (or decomposing) even though the computer sat untouched on my desk for years. I trust that the new Mini Pro will be a superior device.

 

[Wild-Bill]

Depends. I still love my quad-core 2012 mini because I was able to upgrade it to 16GB of memory and add an SSD myself.

If the 2018 mini is a locked-down un-upgradable mess like the 2014 was, then no. Apple's track record in the computer department has been pitiful lately. Trash can Mac Pro, MacBook Pros with no ports and a useless touchbar no one asked for. They haven't upgraded the Mac Pro, Mac Mini, or MacBook Air in ages. And their computer sales have suffered for it. After over 1,000 days without an update, the Mac Mini refresh had better be spectacular.

 

[NyUC]

With the hope that its components meet or exceed the Hades Canyon I am looking to move away from, and especially if it is user upgradeable, even if limited, then yes.

 

[Naimfan]

Depends on what it is.

 

[FlyingTexan]

I have a Mini set up as my local media hub at home. It works ok but struggles a bit. If there were new and more powerful devices I would upgrade and potentially get rid of my MBP as my iPad Pro gives plenty of mobile capability.

Same boat. The Mac mini was my HTPC setup. Worked great. Plugged into my receiver then ran through into my 60” 4k tv. Looked beautiful and became my primary computer. Only issues were the dual core processor and only 4GB of memory really had it struggling. Took forever to run apps. Internet browsing felt like dialup. It also had limited bandwidth due to old standards so it could only do 4k at 24hz.


Im hoping the mini comes with Vega M graphics. Would be the complete game changer we’ve been looking for. It’d have the ability to do 4k output at any needed hz and have hardware support for newer audio and video codecs. 8th gen Intel hardware decodes HVEC and h265. Just a newer gen processor will be huge leaps since it wouldn’t stutter having to software decode torrents.


Ultimately having more ram, quad core (at a minimum), a SSD, and updated hdmi standards will allow it to once again be my perfect HTPC/main desktop. The hiDPI setup with Mac scaling is so much better than windows.

Anything they can put in a MacBook Pro they can put in this. More internal volume and no need for battery.

 

[Boil]

Same boat. The Mac mini was my HTPC setup. Worked great. Plugged into my receiver then ran through into my 60” 4k tv. Looked beautiful and became my primary computer. Only issues were the dual core processor and only 4GB of memory really had it struggling. Took forever to run apps. Internet browsing felt like dialup. It also had limited bandwidth due to old standards so it could only do 4k at 24hz.


Im hoping the mini comes with Vega M graphics. Would be the complete game changer we’ve been looking for. It’d have the ability to do 4k output at any needed hz and have hardware support for newer audio and video codecs. 8th gen Intel hardware decodes HVEC and h265. Just a newer gen processor will be huge leaps since it wouldn’t stutter having to software decode torrents.


Ultimately having more ram, quad core (at a minimum), a SSD, and updated hdmi standards will allow it to once again be my perfect HTPC/main desktop. The hiDPI setup with Mac scaling is so much better than windows.

Anything they can put in a MacBook Pro they can put in this. More internal volume and no need for battery.

Kaby Lake G CPU - an Intel quad-core CPU with standard Intel iGPU, AND a Vega M discrete GPU (w/4GB HBM2) on the same package...!

 

[Steve121178]

No one knows if they are going to buy it until it is announced, we don't know what it is or how much it will cost.

This. I'll wait for the announcement & pricing before deciding.

 

[arkitect]

Surely this is too early?

1. Has a new Mini been released?
2. Specs?
3. Price?

I'll be back to cast my vote after the event on Tuesday.

Right now you could put me down for a "Possibly; will check the Mini out and compare with other options." Noting that "other options" for me means Windows machines and not other Apple offerings…

 

[Starfia]

Every serious change Apple makes seems inspired by some philosophical directive, or sometimes a few of them, after some quest for a prominent read on what customers might need. If they're doing something dramatic with the Mac mini, I'm almost more curious to learn about their thinking than about the product. Whether I'll be tempted by the product probably depends on how closely my own thinking happens to align with it.

 

[archer75]

Need to see specs/price first. No way to know until then. The CPU would have to be more powerful than the 5820 in my desktop. I do a lot of video encoding and transcoding.

 

[theluggage]

If a new one was already out, I might have bought one instead of my iMac.

Same here, assuming there's something to the rumour of a "pro-focussed Mac mini". I very nearly went Windows or Hackintosh last year instead of getting the iMac - that's the risk of letting models get so hopelessly out-of-date.

I'll be watching with interest, though - but the question for me is whether any new machines will be kept up-to-date so that there's something "current" in a year or two when I'm ready to consider replacing the iMac.