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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

I just hope someone asks Apple in the next Q&A:
1. "Do you think it's fair for the mac user, that you sell them a model, witch is 3 (or 4) years old with same price as 3 (or 4) years ago? At the same time 5 (or 6) year old version of this model is still the most powerful and is being sold in 2nd hand with higher price than new.

2. "I know that Apple won't release sales of individual models, but how would you describe the sales of macpro and mini?"
 
Sam Luis Obispo said:
So... the new Mac Mini will be running an A11x ARM processor (or whatever name they cook up)? Would it make more sense to trial that in the Mac Mini before releasing it for a MacBook?
Click to expand...
My thought exactly. The average consumer won’t know or care and it will be a sealed box, like a tablet without a screen but with extra connectors. No fan. They will play up how silent and portable it is, smallest ever. New price - $399 at entry level.

Of course, they could also use Intel chips for the same thing. But it firmly keeps the Mac Mini at the bottom of the food chain.
 
jpietrzak8 said:
I'm talking about having both of my minis (a 2007 and a 2010 model) develop hardware issues earlier this year. Looking at the available options, and seeing that the best replacements for them would still be using five year old hardware. Looking at non-Apple desktop computers, and realizing that the rest of the world has passed Apple by.

Apple's desktop offerings today are inferior to the competition. I can't say it any more plainly than that.
Click to expand...


Well, from a performance point of view, they sure are inferior.
(Until they release the iMac Pro, that is).
But they're the only All-In-Ones that offer 5k resolution.

If all you want is one nice display and one display only, forever, the iMac is great (and if you can live with the idea of potentially having to write-off the whole thing after a screen-failure once AC has run out - or blow something like 800 USD on the repair-bill - or whatever the current going rate for a 27" iMac screen replacement is).

The non-AIO offerings OTOH...
Yeah, it's pretty dire.
2013 MacPro
2014 MacMini

I'd really, really like to know how Apple (AAPL) does large-scale, automated software build/regression testing etc.
I mean, we know Facebook has like a thousand MacMinis doing that.
I can't imagine Apple hasn't got a patch for macOS to enable it to just run virtualized on huge Quanta (or whatever ODM they chose after they fired SuperMicro) servers. Complete with vGPU support.
How long would it take to do a full build of macOS on a 16GB Dual Core i7 MacMini from 2014?

I wish Apple would offer something like Lenovo's Think Station Tiny 320, where you can attach 6 displays.
That would be cool.
I'd start with two and build it up over the years.
I'd probably buy Apple Displays, given they're not absurdly priced (hahaha), come with VESA mounts and they could offer ones with a thin bezel.
The LG displays are very nice - but due to the camera, the bezel is huge. And if you need two displays... who needs two cameras? God forbid if you want three or four displays...

Does LG offer these displays also without a camera?

I love the fact that my Mini doesn't have a microphone or a camera. Until I'd like one to Facetime with mom...
 
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jpietrzak8 said:
I'm talking about having both of my minis (a 2007 and a 2010 model) develop hardware issues earlier this year. Looking at the available options, and seeing that the best replacements for them would still be using five year old hardware. Looking at non-Apple desktop computers, and realizing that the rest of the world has passed Apple by.

Apple's desktop offerings today are inferior to the competition. I can't say it any more plainly than that.
Click to expand...


yeah you are correct. This is because they insist on the iMac which has been dead for years and it sucks the life out of the mac min and the mac pro.
Boy would I like to see them drop the iMac and make a mac mini and a mac pro the right way.
Just go this this page and see what the mac mini is supposed to be

ThinkCentre M Series Tiny Desktop: Full-Featured Micro Desktops | Lenovo US


buy the latest m910x


Intel Core i7-7700T Processor (8MB Cache, up to 3.80 GHz)
Windows 10 Pro 64
32GB ( 16+16 ) DDR4 2400 SODIMM
AMD Radeon RX 460 4GB DDR5 128bit 4xMini DP Tiny
M.2 Storage Card
128 GB Solid State Drive, M.2 - NVMe
 
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Most of you know that if there is a new Mini it will be under powered as the 2014.
If they are not under powered they will be throttled.

They will not compete with sff that are offered by pc makers.
 
Micky Do said:
Depends on your point of view.... Underpowered for some, but more than adequate for others.
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Sigh. The problem with this argument is, ultimately, you can get similarly underpowered hardware from other manufacturers for far, far less cost (and greater upgradeability); and, more importantly, OS X is no longer all that far ahead of the competition.

Ten years ago, the mini was a no-brainer choice; top-class hardware in a compact case running a powerful and easy-to-use OS, while Microsoft's offerings were starting to implode. Today, the mini is both out of date and crippled, and Microsoft has completely gotten its act back together. Not to mention that Linux is maturing into a desktop-friendly OS as well.

When you come right down to it, the whole point of a "general purpose" computer is just that -- it can be used for a wide variety of purposes. Apple is trying hard to specialize its products into niche products, and as such, is severely constraining the possible uses of their products.

As you say, the mini is "more than adequate" for some needs. The problem is, a prospective mini buyer must have a clear understanding ahead of time whether their current and future needs will be met by a mini, because they sure as heck can't change the machine if their needs evolve.
 
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jpietrzak8 said:
more importantly, OS X is no longer all that far ahead of the competition.
Click to expand...
Generally agree. Apple's next mini is going to have to win me back from my Lenovo, and my Raspberry Pi's (windows/Debian Linux).
The BIG advantage Apple's OS had as far as I was concerned was AppleScript. I've got hundreds of the things, controlling Apps, running routine maintenance etc. The language even feeds neatly into Obj C. Neither Linux, nor Microsoft seem to offer a decent, flexible replacement. Linux sort of does, but I really don't feel like writing in the moral equivalent of assembly language any more.

Yet rumors from Apple, suggest they're stepping away from the tech: Here and Here.
If I'm going to have to start writing Apps instead of stringing together the capabilities of high level Apps I already have, why go back to the Apple? Without convenience, the argument for Apple's higher price point falls apart. My rationale for getting a mini disappears. I hope Apple thinks carefully. Sadly, the events of the past few years suggest that they will not.
 
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MacOS is stagnate except for desktop wallpaper and APFS that is built for IOS and flash drives.

APfS should have remained in Beta until the figured out how to adapt it to antiquated spinners. It is a half ass attempt at trying to marry IOS an macOS in preparation for Arm Macs.

Apple is not the perfection and it just works company it use to be.

They have become sloppy do to their greed.
 
jpietrzak8 said:
Sigh. The problem with this argument is, ultimately, you can get similarly underpowered hardware from other manufacturers for far, far less cost (and greater upgradeability); and, more importantly, OS X is no longer all that far ahead of the competition.

Ten years ago, the mini was a no-brainer choice; top-class hardware in a compact case running a powerful and easy-to-use OS, while Microsoft's offerings were starting to implode. Today, the mini is both out of date and crippled, and Microsoft has completely gotten its act back together. Not to mention that Linux is maturing into a desktop-friendly OS as well.

When you come right down to it, the whole point of a "general purpose" computer is just that -- it can be used for a wide variety of purposes. Apple is trying hard to specialize its products into niche products, and as such, is severely constraining the possible uses of their products.

As you say, the mini is "more than adequate" for some needs. The problem is, a prospective mini buyer must have a clear understanding ahead of time whether their current and future needs will be met by a mini, because they sure as heck can't change the machine if their needs evolve.
Click to expand...
Sigh.... MacOS is what makes a Mac. With that and associated apps folks who are not very tech savvy can still quickly be doing stuff on a Mac with minimal hassle, without having to know much about computers.

Yes, Macs do cost a bit more than other makes offering similar hardware, but I for one can do without the hassle and expense of installing and maintaining an OS and apps to to do things. A geek with an inclination to tinker and will have a different point of view.

Windows may be a great improvement on what it was, but my experience of it on the computers at work is that it is still a hassle. They seem to require relatively frequent attention from an IT department tech.

As for Linux; yes, it may be great for someone who cares to learn about it. I have yet to encounter a computer with it installed.

A general purpose computer, to me, is one that can run the required apps, without having to mess around upgrading hardware when needs change. For a radical change it would probably be more cost effective to get a new computer than upgrade an old one. But do folks needs often change much anyway.....? For a few, yes, but in general your argument is somewhat hypothetical and not vey applicable to the experience of most folks I know.
 
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Apple is not the perfection and it just works company it use to be.
They have become sloppy do to their greed.
Click to expand...

I believe Apple's greed here is secondary (effect), and monopolist and lack of competition is primary (the actual root cause of many negative things we have the misfortune to observe and deal with).

Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.

The Zuckerbergs and Bezoses and Googles (and Apples) of the world may propose to use their power benevolently, but they plan to use it and grow it without limit. They claim they'll be good masters, but they mean to be masters.
 
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Micky Do said:
Sigh.... MacOS is what makes a Mac. With that and associated apps folks who are not very tech savvy can still quickly be doing stuff on a Mac with minimal hassle, without having to know much about computers.
Click to expand...

Exactly. This is why I advocated to my friends in the past to choose the Mac over alternatives. And, it is also why I now feel safe to instead tell them to choose a Windows machine. Microsoft has gotten its act together, and you can purchase an easy-to-use Windows machine at a lower cost and with the assurance that as your needs change over time, the machine can change with those needs.

Micky Do said:
Yes, Macs do cost a bit more than other makes offering similar hardware, but I for one can do without the hassle and expense of installing and maintaining an OS and apps to to do things. A geek with an inclination to tinker and will have a different point of view.
Click to expand...

Funny thing, that. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm now running some Ubuntu boxes. To install the OS, I inserted a disk and hit "OK" a couple of times. To maintain the OS, I hit "OK" and enter my password when it reports that updates are available.

The world is changing. Apple no longer has a monopoly on ease of use.

Micky Do said:
But do folks needs often change much anyway.....? For a few, yes, but in general your argument is somewhat hypothetical and not vey applicable to the experience of most folks I know.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there are some folks who do the same work, day in and day out, for years at a time with no changes. But there are others, who change jobs, or have growing families who make different demands on a computer at different times of their lives, or just want access to the latest applications. Apple's niche-product philosophy makes it more and more likely that if your situation ever changes, your computer will not be able to adapt to that change.
 
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Well my pet theory for the long delay in updates is because Apple is doing a massively radical redesign.

upload_2017-10-23_10-24-7.png


Inside this miniature version of the Mac Pro will be a triangular mounting system with one major component on each of the three sides:
  1. CPU
  2. 4GB soldered RAM
  3. 5400rpm hard drive
:p
 
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MarkJames68 said:
Only makes sense if they solder the HDD too...
Click to expand...

It's rather horrifying, but such things do exist. I had a friend who had bought a 2.5" external drive because they were cheaper than internal drives and he assumed that he could just toss the external case. Then upon opening it he discovered that the drive didn't have a SATA interface at all, it was soldered directly to the USB 3.0 port assembly.
 
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