The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[krause734]

If Apple doesn't fill this niche soon, they're going to see more and more people going to Windows. If they're going to switch to Windows, they might as well get an Android phone as well. Not a ton of people, but it's a bad move not to update the Mac Mini/Pro. I know they are like any company that is motivated solely by profit, but this will cost them more customers than they realize.

 

[EightyTwenty]

Honestly, what is Apple's damn problem? Just put an updated CPU, 8GB of RAM and a fusion drive into the current mini and call it a day. Most people would be happy with that machine for at least the next 3 years.

The is past the point of being bloody absurd. At the very least, upgrade the RAM to 8GB like they did with the MacBook Air. That they are selling a machine with 4GB in 2018 is unreal. If they won't update it, take it off the market. It is not a usable product.

 

[Micky Do]

Honestly, what is Apple's damn problem? Just put an updated CPU, 8GB of RAM and a fusion drive into the current mini and call it a day. Most people would be happy with that machine for at least the next 3 years.

The is past the point of being bloody absurd. At the very least, upgrade the RAM to 8GB like they did with the MacBook Air. That they are selling a machine with 4GB in 2018 is unreal. If they won't update it, take it off the market. It is not a usable product.

Only the base model comes with 4 GB RAM, but it can be custom ordered with 8 or 16 GB RAM, and Fusion Drive.

Other models all come with 8 GB RAM as standard, and 16 GB as an option. Fusion Drive is standard on the top model, and optional on the mid range model. SSD is an option on both.

While Fusion Drive and SSD's bring snappy performance to those for whom that is important, the humble HDD remains a viable choice for those who are after cost effective storage.

The current CPUs work with currently available MacOS and apps, and will no doubt continue to do so for some years to come. Updated CPU's that bring power consumption advantages to laptops, will provide only small advantages in other respects to a desktop.

When the new Mac Mini does come its connectivity will certainly be modernised to match the iMacs, and recent technologies, as was the 2014 Mac Mini when it arrived on the scene.....

 

[The_Interloper]

If Apple doesn't fill this niche soon, they're going to see more and more people going to Windows. If they're going to switch to Windows, they might as well get an Android phone as well.

Agreed. Here's a tale of four lost Mini sales due to Apple's indifference.

I have to use Mac as part of my business; however, it's no longer my main platform. Decided enough was enough three months ago and built a Ryzen 7 Windows PC. Switched out the iPhone for a Samsung and ditched my Apple Watch for a Huawei Watch while I was at it. No regrets. I still have a Macbook Air and iPad Pro but will likely never fully switch back. For the most part, I've left the ecosystem (no iCloud/iMessage/iWork/FCP etc usage) and switched to alternatives (OneDrive/Pushbullet/Office 365/Hitfilm Express).

A friend of mine is an illustrator and Macs are all she's ever known. For the last 18 years (since leaving college) she's only used and owned Macs. That changed this year - she needs decent performance, not super high-end, so she's a perfect candidate for a Mac Mini. After seeing what was on offer, she refused to buy such old hardware and felt the Macbooks were simply too expensive. So she did the unthinkable and bought two PCs - an HP B&O Wave i5 (with 128gb SSD and 1Tb HDD, half price on clearout for £399) for home and I built her a sub-£500 i5 desktop for her studio (plugged into her old 23" Apple Cinema Display!). She loves both. The transition was worryingly simple. Again, no reason to go back to Apple.

Finally, my son wanted a new computer for his birthday this past September as his 2014 Mac Mini was starting to sound like a jet engine during rendering and even Minecraft use. Three years after we bought it, there is no new model to upgrade to - Apple is literally STILL selling the same Mini he already has. The answer? A custom-built Ryzen 5 PC. Again, another one lost from the Apple ecosystem.

Apple's short-sightedness is unbelievable.

Honestly, what is Apple's damn problem?

Well said.

Only the base model comes with 4 GB RAM, but it can be custom ordered with 8 or 16 GB RAM, and Fusion Drive.

Stop justifying these appalling specs. The processors are 4 generations old and there's no logic in 4Gb RAM and a 5400rpm HDD in even the base model. A hybrid Fusion drive/SSHD costs pennies more wholesale than a straight spinner and should be standard, as should 8Gb RAM. These are not 'upgrades'. They should not be 'options'. Apple supposedly sells premium products at a price to match, not this outdated, poverty-spec garbage.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

Agreed. Here's a tale of four lost Mini sales due to Apple's indifference.



Stop justifying these appalling specs. The processors are 4 generations old and there's no logic in 4Gb RAM and a 5400rpm HDD in even the base model. A hybrid Fusion drive/SSHD costs pennies more wholesale than a straight spinner and should be standard, as should 8Gb RAM. These are not 'upgrades'. They should not be 'options'. Apple supposedly sells premium products at a price to match, not this outdated, poverty-spec garbage.

But it is cheaper to unload old stock then to put in an better HDD and bigger ram. At least do a price cut apple!!!!

 

[sublunar]

But it is cheaper to unload old stock then to put in an better HDD and bigger ram. At least do a price cut apple!!!!

We'd all love a price cut but that will affect the residual values of existing Macs. It's better if they just stopped selling the Mini altogether. At least on iOS models when the CPU isn't updated they double/upgrade the storage.

A spec bump at any time in the last 3 years, while retaining the same prices, would have been some sort of reason to keep buying the Mini.

 

[Boyd01]

At least on iOS models when the CPU isn't updated they double/upgrade the storage.

But they sell tens of millions of those devices. If we had to meet that standard for a Mini update, it would never happen at all. I mean, isn't the basic problem that the Mini isn't a big seller (probably never was) so Apple doesn't have a lot of incentive to update it?

 

[Micky Do]

Stop justifying these appalling specs. The processors are 4 generations old and there's no logic in 4Gb RAM and a 5400rpm HDD in even the base model. A hybrid Fusion drive/SSHD costs pennies more wholesale than a straight spinner and should be standard, as should 8Gb RAM. These are not 'upgrades'. They should not be 'options'. Apple supposedly sells premium products at a price to match, not this outdated, poverty-spec garbage.

I'm not justifying the base model specs; simply responding that there is a range of off the shelf Mac Minis and options available to fill a range of needs or desires. That the base model is still available suggests that it does meet the needs of some. If that spoils the premium pretentions that some others think they are buying into with Apple products, tough.

 

[jasnw]

Ever get the feeling that this has become more of an on-line community than a thread?

 

[navaira]

Ever get the feeling that this has become more of an on-line community than a thread?

For the last two years or so.

 

[The_Interloper]

Apple Is Ready to Ditch the Mac by John C. Dvorak: http://uk.pcmag.com/opinion/92350/apple-is-ready-to-ditch-the-mac

They forgot to add 'mini' to the end of the title.

 

[Altis]

I'm not justifying the base model specs; simply responding that there is a range of off the shelf Mac Minis and options available to fill a range of needs or desires. That the base model is still available suggests that it does meet the needs of some. If that spoils the premium pretentious that some others think they are buying into with apple products, tough.

The "range" is entirely dual-core U-series chips that are 4 generations old, have no dedicated graphics option, and have the same dated ports.

The "range" goes from old and dismal performance to old and overpriced with marginally better but still dismal performance.

 

[Trusteft]

Apple Is Ready to Ditch the Mac by John C. Dvorak: http://uk.pcmag.com/opinion/92350/apple-is-ready-to-ditch-the-mac

They forgot to add 'mini' to the end of the title.

What pile of garbage of an "article".

 

[archer75]

What pile of garbage of an "article".

Parts of it for sure. But I agree with him in that apple is looking to ditch the mac. Not today, but soon. They certainly haven't been upgrading them as often. Their resources have shifted to ios. I can see them soon releasing some sort of a dock for your ios device that when plugged in gives you a keyboard, mouse and desktop monitor and the OS adapting to the interface. I would go so far as to say you'll see that within 2 years. And then you'll know the mac is dead.

 

[Trusteft]

Parts of it for sure. But I agree with him in that apple is looking to ditch the mac. Not today, but soon. They certainly haven't been upgrading them as often. Their resources have shifted to ios. I can see them soon releasing some sort of a dock for your ios device that when plugged in gives you a keyboard, mouse and desktop monitor and the OS adapting to the interface. I would go so far as to say you'll see that within 2 years. And then you'll know the mac is dead.

Want to make it interesting?

 

[masterbaron]

I for one have a dependency on form-factor - I also want to know that my infrastructure will be supported and compatible in whatever direction I go - which simply means stepping over to Windows while watching my Mac footprint fade away. I'll let the iPhone handle my mobility and cloud services to store my low-level docs and some media files.

The Mac framework will remain while I navigate some sort of hybrid solution until the obvious becomes history.

 

[Micky Do]

The "range" is entirely dual-core U-series chips that are 4 generations old, have no dedicated graphics option, and have the same dated ports.

The "range" goes from old and dismal performance to old and overpriced with marginally better but still dismal performance.

Thus, the new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.....sooner or later.

 

[masterbaron]

There are those companies that do what they do ... and do it so well their names become a defacto standard. Then there are those companies that have a rainbow of ideas that break off into individual hues until the basic message is lost or changed to the point one can't be sure what comes next - this is what Apple has become simply by not making the f-cking statement - "We're an appliance company now" - "We're a phone company now" - "We've abandoned it just works for it just dongles" - "We've got so much money we'll just keep making the same product" - "We forgot our pockets when we developed the Mini - got cargo pants now!"

How we hate the mixed signals ... you know they can but they won't - they venture into IoT but don't crush it with the inherent seamlessness of the platform - they no longer extend the concept and burnish it with hardware ... they are streamlining while touting innovation and abandoning support (ports too) and backwards compatibility (costly attributes).

So let's re-focus our dollars likewise and you know what that means!

The Spaceship is so green because the product is so dirty ... every 2.5 years you're supposed to contribute to the landfill a perfectly fine device that has been crippled and devalued by it's almost identical replacement ... uhg ... let me just stop...

 

[Crosscreek]

There are those companies that do what they do ... and do it so well their names become a standard. Then there are those companies that have a rainbow of ideas that break off into individual hues until the basic message is lost or changed to the point one can't be sure what comes next - this is what Apple has become simply by not making the f-cking statement - "We're an appliance company now" - "We're a phone company now" - "We've abandoned it just works for it just dongles" - "We've got so much money we'll just keep making the same product" - "We forgot our pockets when we developed the Mini - got cargo pants now!"

I did that same thing your doing and a lot of others are upset about for 3 years.
My advise to you and others is if you just move on things get better.
Apple may someday offer what you all want but don't count on them ever caring about Macs over IOS devices that make them the huge fortune.

 

[dogslobber]

Thus, the new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.....sooner or later.

Not long now. Just around the corner. Maybe MacWorld in January. But we’re one day closer than yesterday, so hang in there.

 

[Santabean2000]

I'm not justifying the base model specs; simply responding that there is a range of off the shelf Mac Minis and options available to fill a range of needs or desires. That the base model is still available suggests that it does meet the needs of some. If that spoils the premium pretentions that some others think they are buying into with apple products, tough.

This is just the worst argument.

Keep the design the same if you can't be bothered updating it, but there is ZERO excuse for not spec bumping it and/or lowering the price.

Apple should be absolutely ashamed for the current mini situation. Period.

Tim might not care, but there must be others inside Apple crazy frustrated and angry at watching the mini being left to rot on the vine.

MB ok for the Starbucks crowd, but not much else.
MacBook Pros awful to type and TB is a joke.
MBA almost as old as the mini.
MP DOA and promised new one MIA
iMac same same design for an aeon.
No Apple displays.

But we did get new watch band colours recently...

It is a disgraceful situation. Utterly, utterly disgraceful.

 

[Trusteft]

(bad joke incoming)
Well there is one definite upside to the delay of a newer/updated model of mini. The owners of the mac mini 2014 will end up with support from Apple till 2035 or something.

 

[dogslobber]

This is just the worst argument.

Keep the design the same if you can't be bothered updating it, but there is ZERO excuse for not spec bumping it and/or lowering the price.

Apple should be absolutely ashamed for the current mini situation. Period.

The question is whether they can update the Mini without updating the Mac Pro. That would lead to social unrest in Cupertino, I fear.
[doublepost=1512739733][/doublepost]

(bad joke incoming)
Well there is one definite upside to the delay of a newer/updated model of mini. The owners of the mac mini 2014 will end up with support from Apple till 2035 or something.

It's likely each day they sell it plus 5 years, so until 2023 minimally.

 

[masterbaron]

If GM stopped making 8-cylinder engines and your requirements dictated that's what you need you more than likely would change car manufacturers in this case there are 2 maybe 3 choices.

 

[fischersd]

With the 2011 Mini being deemed obsolete this week, the writing's on the wall that our 2012's will be next year.

Apple's painting themselves into a corner with the 2014. How many years of use and OS upgrades should people expect?

It's always been one of the selling points....you can easily get 5 years of productivity out of a Mac - that argument's moot for the current Mini being sold.