Going dual core only with U series processors and a smaller form factor makes sense. Keeping the same form factor and moving to the corresponding Haswell processors makes sense. But same form factor and dual core only??
Curious to see the iFixit teardowns, I can't recall seeing any SO-DIMMs labeled as LPDDR3, mostly DDR3L. If the move was to soldered RAM and non-replaceable PCI-e the Mini has effectively lost its hobbyist appeal (not that it was ever a huge market in the first place, but shows how much

cares).
No 4k support, no quad core, oddly misleading configurations, nothing special and it arrives a year late.
I had low hopes for an upgraded Mini, if it wasnt killed off altogether of course, but this just leaves me scratching my head. What it does say is that Apple will unapologetically force users towards whatever they "feel" is best, motivated by their margins of course. Want a moderately powerful (quad core) desktop? iMac, rMBP or Mac Pro are your options, starting at $2,000.