Should I get the 2020 Mac Mini or wait for next gen?

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

It is not new, it is not a 2020 model, it does not have a new badge, it is the 2018 model with a price adjustment for the storage.

The question as always is what are you going to use it for?

Any refresh will be nothing more than a CPU bump, there won't be a new design, a GPU added or anything else. So the reality is all you are waiting for is an updated CPU that at best will provide a marginal increase in performance.

Bottom line, the Mac Mini is as good as it is going to get.

LeeW, you seem very knowledgeable computer user so sorry for questioning you, but how can you be so certain about this:

"Any refresh will be nothing more than a CPU bump, there won't be a new design, a GPU added or anything else. So the reality is all you are waiting for is an updated CPU that at best will provide a marginal increase in performance."

I'm thinking about buying a Mac Mini so I'm eagerly following this thread!

Isn't it possible Apple will do a hardware re-design of the Mac Mini's current shell?

 

[LeeW]

Isn't it possible Apple will do a hardware re-design of the Mac Mini's current shell?

It is, of course, possible albeit unlikely. The current Mini has an important use in Data Centres and Apple get a lot of Mac Mini business from them so it would not be a good move for them to change the design and damage that revenue stream.

That aside, any re-design would need to serve a purpose, what would that purpose be? It would only make sense if they were to add a GPU or a socketed CPU. In terms of the CPU, neither of these make sense, for Apple.

For most a GPU would be great, but Apple really are pushing for eGPU option instead.

Right now, the Mac Mini is as close as it can be to the iMac or MBP without it making them look less desirable options. If they were to add a GPU to the Mac Mini, even if that meant pushing the base price from $1,099 to $1,499 and become a better option for many to their other devices.

Simply put, Apple wants to sell their Laptops in the high numbers, then the iMac, they do not want the Mini affecting sales volumes of those, too much.

 

[Azrael9]

LeeW, you seem very knowledgeable computer user so sorry for questioning you, but how can you be so certain about this:

I'm thinking about buying a Mac Mini so I'm eagerly following this thread!

Isn't it possible Apple will do a hardware re-design of the Mac Mini's current shell?

Unlikely. However, we once thought the Mini was a dead machine. And that the Mac Pro was also...effectively, 'dead.'

The mini got 6 cores and a paint job. Not a disaster. But not great as it got a hefty price rise too.

Shell? What we'd like and what Apple will do are two different things. I'd like a double size Mini that has a GPU in there. Even a lowbie 580 (what's that now? A £130-150 card?) or the gpu option the macbook pro has in there. You look at the Ryzen 4000 laptop series cpu with iGPU and that is just what the Mini could do with. 8 core. Decent built in graphics.

But for political and upsell and profit reasons, we won't see it.

So, we won't see the shell improved, nor a decent Macbook Pro (gpu) option (upsell reasons) or AMD cpu (Apple's pricing is based or aligns around Intel's very own premium pricing for components...)

They have options. But they're myopic (well, actually, they have a long term view about crippled systems...) about them for profits...instead of making a good product for the end user.

They don't have to put a Nv Titan in the Mac Mini but with a design tweak and better selection of components (eg MacBook Pro gpu option...) at the very least, the Mini could be the 'mid tower' substitute many want.

Azrael.
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It is, of course, possible albeit unlikely. The current Mini has an important use in Data Centres and Apple get a lot of Mac Mini business from them so it would not be a good move for them to change the design and damage that revenue stream.

That aside, any re-design would need to serve a purpose, what would that purpose be? It would only make sense if they were to add a GPU or a socketed CPU. In terms of the CPU, neither of these make sense, for Apple.

For most a GPU would be great, but Apple really are pushing for eGPU option instead.

Right now, the Mac Mini is as close as it can be to the iMac or MBP without it making them look less desirable options. If they were to add a GPU to the Mac Mini, even if that meant pushing the base price from $1,099 to $1,499 and become a better option for many to their other devices.

Simply put, Apple wants to sell their Laptops in the high numbers, then the iMac, they do not want the Mini affecting sales volumes of those, too much.

In a nutshell.

Azrael.

 

[LeeW]

The iMac and the Mini really are way down Apples interest list, it took 4 years for them to do anything with the Mini, the iMac other than spec updates was last redesigned in 2012, hitting 9 probably closer to 10 years by the time we see anything new.

But then look at the iPhone, iPad and the Macbook ranges, way more regular updates and design changes. What does that tell you? It's where their interests lie.

The fact is that the world is changing, people (general consumers, not corporate) are buying less and less desktop type devices. Laptops are the preferred option now, people are even starting to get into using an iPad for all their tasks, some even get by on just a phone.

Not saying that desktop type devices are going away, but the mix has changed so much.

For Apple they see stagnation, this is why they are moving to services to make up the difference, even the new iPhone SE, that is all about getting new users into the eco-system, not just buying a device, but buying services. A new to Apple customer that buys the cheaper SE will likely buy another device, purchase Apple music, and so on, then they start getting locked in.