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Quick Takes: Mac Mini Turning 3.5 Years Old, But Unlike Mac Pro, Apple Remains Silent About Future Updates
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Given my computer situation right now they would have to really mess it up or delay it for another year or 2 for me not to order on day 1.
Mac Mini is an awesome computer. I hope Apple will make a 4 or 6 core Mac Mini. They can add a couple of USB-C ports but don't take away the existing ports!
Just... no. iOS devices are all well and good for content consumption, but they still suck for productivity.
But, keyboard case! iOS multitasking!
These are improvements, but they still feel awkward as hell. Sorry. Maybe you've gotten used to it, but plenty of us haven't and won't. The "Files" app is nice, but it's no Finder and you know it.
But... but, a touch-based interface is the "future of computing"!
How many years has that narrative been pushed? And still, when you look around people are typing on *gasp* laptops or even *double gasp* desktops (been in an office before?). Prop up your iPad with its weird little keyboard on your lap at the ONE angle it has. Now go poke around on the screen and enjoy the sensation of the whole thing tipping back. Be the guy who brings his awkward-ass setup to the coffee shop instead of just, you know, opening a laptop. I'm not even going to start on the quality of your keyboard.
Traditional computers are dying!
Have you been in an office at all ever? Try it and report back on what 95% of people have on their desks. People may well be augmenting their productivity (cough YouTube) with a tablet, but they've all got actual computers with actual keyboard because they work.
Sorry, nice try though.
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The Mac MiniMin the only Apple computer that even slightly interests me and have had 5 of them starting with the late 2008 model and my last being the 2012. The 2014 mini was an abomination on so many fronts and the biggest reason I have almost completely left the Apple ecosystem.
If apple releases a Mac mini which has user replaceable memory and storage, I might consider going back, but the chances of that happening are slim. The last Mac I bought easeas 2012 MBA since then I have purchased 5 windows PC's for myself and the family.
If apple releases a Mac mini which has user replaceable memory and storage, I might consider going back, but the chances of that happening are slim. The last Mac I bought easeas 2012 MBA since then I have purchased 5 windows PC's for myself and the family.
Even DNF eventually materialised:I like how the buyer's guide says "don't buy - updates soon" - I wish I had that kind of optimistic outlook on life
https://encyclopediadramatica.rs/Duke_Nukem_Forever
We'll either get a Mac Mini at some point, or we'll get a new vapourware meme.
Actually; you could argue that the phrase "is an important part of our product lineup" is already a bit of a running joke.
Totally agree with you about the 2014 Mini. Not being able to replace/upgrade the memory is just wrong! Go to Windows? No thanks, no way!
Ugh, please don't compare anything to DNF. It's an awful game that would have been better off cancelled, far more enjoyable as a joke.
You wait.
If they crippled the 2012 Mac Mini "sequel" after just 2 years; just imagine what they could release now.
Well, I actually liked DNF when it eventually came out, but I do hope that when it appears the new Mac Mini is not the equivalent of a game with an outdated graphics engine that feels like it's a mixture of an 80s action movie with interspersed soft porn sequences.
You nailed it. Great for consuming content and for some kinds of content creation but not even close to being good enough for Pro users in a wide variety of industries.
Further, the most popular line of business software platform remains Windows. That will continue for a long time to come because of the costs associated with rewriting an application from top to buttom on another platform.
I liked it. It is campy humor shooter. It is not suppose to replace your Call of Duty or any serious game.
I bought one last year. Makes a good picture frame, sketch pad, and paper weight. Not even good for surfing.
Large-screen smartphones often satisfy the need for a convenient mobile device better than an iPad, and traditional laptop or desktop computers often satisfy the need for more demanding work (which can't be done on a smartphone) better than an iPad. iPads will always have their niche and can replace a laptop or desktop for some people, but they aren't the future of computing, and tablets in general already haven't taken off as well as some thought they would over the years.
Bam. Why is it that it that people outside of apple know the obvious seemingly better than people inside nowadays? Why does it seem like various decisions coming out of Apple seem to be from completely separate minds who don’t communicate a common cohesive vision? Those commercials with the little girl supposedly not knowing what a computer is (and coming off more clueless than avant-garde), plus Apple’s seemingly indifference towards computers anymore, and the introduction of iOS 7 which wiped out decades of best-in-class UI, and unnecessarily dumbing down the skin of their world class OS X as if it were flattened for appearance in a South Park episode, and this false necessity of removing ports and physical interfaces on various devices while tasking them to do more, and more, and more each year is painting a pretty sad picture for those of us who expect solid, balanced, attractive, engaging, and efficient design in our devices (which includes computers, Timmy).
Same critique about trying to use an iPad for productivity applies to apple’s burying commands behind hamburgers and various submenus now in iOS just to have an aesthetically simple interface -it’s those micro pauses to accomplish the same things that used to be done quicker that accumulate into mad frustration (for me at least, but apparently not enough other people to get apple’s attention). Similar to how the ease of accomplishing certain detail work with a mouse vs. touch compares to the ease of accomplishing certain tasks with physical home buttons and ports...
Hoping somebody does to Apple what Apple did to Microsoft 10+ years ago - Think Different and return to greatness.
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I'd enjoy a campy humour shooter.....I just didn't think it was that good as a campy humour shooter.
If you like it, fair enough of course.
I don't have the experience you do. I only remember the transition to intel. I'm clearly naïve on this subject but just from the gut, apple being in control could mean an annual update cycle, better power management, maybe faster? at least on the single core, fanless Macs, + the Mac won't be so left behind. I'm sure there are downsides that I'm not aware of but overall it seems like a good business move as well. Might bring down the prices of Macs too since I'm sure Intel is getting a nice profit margin on their processors.
Oh man. Wishful thinking for a company that charges $79 for charging cable and $29 for the simplest of accessories.
Apple's lack of Mac Mini updates is entirely Apple's choice.
Intel released chips since 2014 (and 2012) that were suitable for the Mac Mini. But Apple didn't use them.
Even Intel themselves jumped into the tiny-desktop PC market. They produced dozens of NUC mini PCs in the time since the Mac Mini stopped being updated.
And literally every other computer manufacturer has been able to update their machines using chips from Intel.
So I'm not really seeing the "Apple needs to be in control of CPUs in order to make updated machines" argument.
The last (good) Mac Mini was available with a quad-core Intel i7-3720QM in 2012. (we'll forget the 2014 dual-core mistake for now)
Intel released various quad-core 45W processors like the i7-4720HQ, i7-5750HQ, i7-6700HQ and i7-7700HQ in the following years which would have been perfect for the Mac Mini.
But Apple didn't use them. Instead... the Mac Mini remained stagnant since 2014. (or some would say since 2012)
That was Apple's fault... not Intel's.
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To be fair, I find the iPad is also a good recipe device (Paprika is an incredible recipe app) and we get a lot of milage out of ours as a music control/streaming device. You won't catch me trying to work on it, but it's nice for some things.
Yep. My NUC hangs on the wall and runs our security cam software. It was $950 with a super fast SSD and 32 gb RAM, i7, and integrated video card that runs just fine with my 40” 4k Samsung monitor. Been running almost a couple years now. Could have been a mac mini.
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For traditional computer buying users Apple has become more than frustrating. After my 2008 24 inch iMac went through 2 graphics cards I vowed to never buy another iMac. I felt a refresh of the Mac Mini was imminent so I waited a few months. The refresh was a disgrace. The only thing better about the "new" version was perhaps the graphics card. A pathetic effort of non upgradable parts in a sealed box.
Apple has become a company that has made the better the enemy of the great. Apple just can't bring its high minded self to put out a better machine, no it has to put out a self proclaimed great machine. Apple has never been so slow to react. The Pro Mac should have long ago been put on the path it is now. Only a company so consumed with its own surety of the rightful path it is on would have taken this long to recognize the error of its decision making. I refuse to support a company by buying their mistakes. I have continued to use my 2012 laptop for both a home and mobile computer. This is not great. I want a Mini to sit in my office pulling down my email and Cloud files and serve out to my TVs and sound system my music and movies both home and Apple purchased.
Come on Apple, enough of everything needing to be "amazing" most of us just want better in a timely manner and we would be quite happy with that. Sure, work on amazing and wow us every five years with it but every 18 to 24 months give us better.
We are waiting on you!
A very disappointed, Mac only, buying computer user. One day, I won't be able to say that any longer unless you change your erroneous ways.
WAKE UP!
Apple has become a company that has made the better the enemy of the great. Apple just can't bring its high minded self to put out a better machine, no it has to put out a self proclaimed great machine. Apple has never been so slow to react. The Pro Mac should have long ago been put on the path it is now. Only a company so consumed with its own surety of the rightful path it is on would have taken this long to recognize the error of its decision making. I refuse to support a company by buying their mistakes. I have continued to use my 2012 laptop for both a home and mobile computer. This is not great. I want a Mini to sit in my office pulling down my email and Cloud files and serve out to my TVs and sound system my music and movies both home and Apple purchased.
Come on Apple, enough of everything needing to be "amazing" most of us just want better in a timely manner and we would be quite happy with that. Sure, work on amazing and wow us every five years with it but every 18 to 24 months give us better.
We are waiting on you!
A very disappointed, Mac only, buying computer user. One day, I won't be able to say that any longer unless you change your erroneous ways.
WAKE UP!
I think all wishing for a new Mac mini are really wishing for a 'desktop' type system instead of an iMac. Even if apple releases a new one it will be slow and non-upgradeable. Apple wants you to buy the iMac high end or iMac pro. Its a shame apple discounts peoples desire for an affordable desktop. Its pathetic you have to spend $3-4k just to get a decent Mac, shame on apple, wish I could run on a windows pc instead which gives you all the options in the world
There's always the Hackintosh route, but a lot of what I've read seems to imply that it becomes something of a hobby keeping everything working.
Anybody here successfully put together a Hackintosh in a mini form factor?