We can blame Apple for many things, but I don't believe exchange rates moving and Brexit is one of them!
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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I quoted the meaning to which "I" was posting, that was the point...! "no one knows, so it's speculation" as to what it will or wont be.
If you don't like something don't buy it, but it's down to others to judge that a product is moot to them.. "pointless" or not as per the second definition regardless of the point you are attempting to make... Both my devices run NVMe storage, better than SATA SSD and thats transformational. The weakest link is the std 5400 drive.
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Maybe Apple has ordered a batch of microdrives from IBM. It just takes some time to wipe out thr dust from assembly line...
Will Jony now let Apple to update Mini, now that he's a head of "design" again...?
I'd like to see them just keep up with roughly the MBP 13" in terms of CPU generation, GPU, etc., doesn't even need to have as many variants - looking at the current MBP options, how about an "entry level" Mini with a i5 2.3GHz (KL), 8GB, 128GB storage and Iris Plus 640, then a model, with either an i5 3.1Ghz or i7 3.5, 8GB (maybe 16GB standard with the higher end CPU), Iris Plus 650 GPU, options for 512GB / 1 TB SSD / +8GB RAM - 2X TB3 ports on these.
Again, just mirror the 13", no need for a dGPU, but with TB3, get serious about eGPU options (especially if things like 3D/AR/VR are really part of the direction for Apple).
The standards for the US are roughly, "Can you show up for work ... ?"
Again, just mirror the 13", no need for a dGPU, but with TB3, get serious about eGPU options (especially if things like 3D/AR/VR are really part of the direction for Apple).
The standards for the US are roughly, "Can you show up for work ... ?"
Apple is REALLY in a tough spot now that intel has upped their game, thanks to pressure from AMD. Low power 4core/8thread chips exist now. Apple would have been wise to update with the 7th gen CPUs, and ignore the Mini again for another 3-4 years.
Now Apple would have to go with an actual 4 core i3 chip. That might eat into a couple dozen iMac sales, which Apple is loath to do
Now Apple would have to go with an actual 4 core i3 chip. That might eat into a couple dozen iMac sales, which Apple is loath to do
It would be a 6 core i5 because Apple marketing hasn’t allowed an i3 since original iMac days
They have to be concerned for potential cannibalisation by people who will buy an eGPU the minute thunderbolt 3 comes in on the mini.
This is why I’m thinking the line gets 15w cpu at best and the pro users on a budget get directed towards a modular Mac Pro when the next Mac mini arrives
They have to be concerned for potential cannibalisation by people who will buy an eGPU the minute thunderbolt 3 comes in on the mini.
This is why I’m thinking the line gets 15w cpu at best and the pro users on a budget get directed towards a modular Mac Pro when the next Mac mini arrives
You think Apple cares about putting an i3 in a Mini at this point? Bare minimum is the mantra, I wouldn’t be shocked if the put an m3 or m5(MacBook cpus) in there to prevent the loss of one iMac sale.It would be a 6 core i5 because Apple marketing hasn’t allowed an i3 since original iMac days
They have to be concerned for potential cannibalisation by people who will buy an eGPU the minute thunderbolt 3 comes in on the mini.
This is why I’m thinking the line gets 15w cpu at best and the pro users on a budget get directed towards a modular Mac Pro when the next Mac mini arrives
I'd be thrilled with a Mac Mini that had the innards of the 2017 MacBook. M3 is fine with me.
The glaring weaknesses of the current mini are RAM, the 5400 spinner, and woeful graphics that can't even do 4K properly.
The problem with M core is the lesser amount of Pci-e lanes available. Definitely cuts in to port usage.
Hopefully they have an option like this to satisfy you, and some meatier options for others.
Customer Choice - a novel concept for Apple, sadly.
I just had a thought...
Assuming Apple updates the Mac Mini... do we think Apple will keep the $499 starting price for a new Mac Mini?
Remember... the Mac Mini was positioned as an inexpensive way to get someone into the Mac ecosystem by letting them re-use their existing monitor, keyboard and mouse.
But is that even a goal for Apple anymore? Switchers? And desktop switchers at that?
I understand that there are people who want a Mac Mini (as evidenced by this 11,000 comment thread)... but are "cheap" desktops really what Apple is going for these days?
Here's where I'm going with this...
What if Apple ditched the $499 model... and made the Mac Mini start at $799 or $899 with decent parts? A good quad-core CPU, SSD, etc. No more neutered CPUs and 5400RPM hard drives. Basically the guts of their modern laptops but without the screen.
Apple could keep their profit margins and you'd get some great performance. Yeah it would cost more... but it'd be better than no Mac Mini ever again, right?
I don't think Apple is against the idea of a Mac Mini... but I do think they are against the idea of a $500 Mac Mini...
Assuming Apple updates the Mac Mini... do we think Apple will keep the $499 starting price for a new Mac Mini?
Remember... the Mac Mini was positioned as an inexpensive way to get someone into the Mac ecosystem by letting them re-use their existing monitor, keyboard and mouse.
But is that even a goal for Apple anymore? Switchers? And desktop switchers at that?
I understand that there are people who want a Mac Mini (as evidenced by this 11,000 comment thread)... but are "cheap" desktops really what Apple is going for these days?
Here's where I'm going with this...
What if Apple ditched the $499 model... and made the Mac Mini start at $799 or $899 with decent parts? A good quad-core CPU, SSD, etc. No more neutered CPUs and 5400RPM hard drives. Basically the guts of their modern laptops but without the screen.
Apple could keep their profit margins and you'd get some great performance. Yeah it would cost more... but it'd be better than no Mac Mini ever again, right?
I don't think Apple is against the idea of a Mac Mini... but I do think they are against the idea of a $500 Mac Mini...
IMO, they have to keep the entry level model at the same price - or lower. Remember 2014? They made a big deal at the announcement about dropping the price of the entry level model from $550 to $500. Of course they accomplished this by crippling the base model. So they could continue the tradition by dropping the base model price to $479 and making it even slower than the 2014 base Mini.
The i3-7100U has a 15w TDP and is dual core. Fits Apple’s ‘substandard so as not to lose the sale of a single imac’ theme Going. And if they do update in the spring, the cpu will be a year. And that reaches Apple’s distain for the Mini threshold as well.IMO, they have to keep the entry level model at the same price - or lower. Remember 2014? They made a big deal at the announcement about dropping the price of the entry level model from $550 to $500. Of course they accomplished this by crippling the base model. So they could continue the tradition by dropping the base model price to $479 and making it even slower than the 2014 base Mini.
Seems like a done deal to me.
I just listed my quad core Mini on ebay. I predict this year Apple will release some kind of Mac Mini product that kills the market for 2012s, so I'm getting what I can out of it now. Going to upgrade to a Synology since all i use it for is a file server anyway.
If Apple are targeting switchers they would keep the USB ports and at least the HDMI port. After all, PC users bringing their own kit don't want to be met with dongle hurdles to jump which will artificially inflate the price of switching (and the convenience factor).
The 15w range Intel CPUs have 12 PCIe lanes available, and that's enough for 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports but also leaves 4 lanes which could easily be used for a HDMI, Ethernet, and some standard USB3 ports. This assumes 8 lanes on the motherboard which would deal with internal disks, wifi, etc.
You suspect that Apple will use a part that comes with Iris Graphics for best integrated performance. And on a longer shot if it comes with a case capable of dissipating heat reasonably well then any 15w CPU should be able to turbo for quite a while and still remain quiet by Apple standards. The $499 models will inevitably be stuck with spinners which could dictate the physical size of the next Mac Mini. If Apple instead decide that a PCIe based storage solution allows the Mini to become even smaller then prices will inevitably rise because of the use of SSD. Imagine a $799 starting price to include 128Gb of PCIe SSD, 8Gb RAM, and nothing spectacular with prices rising from that point.
An all-SSD design allows for a smaller mini, especially if one of the USB-C ports allows it to take power from a monitor like the 4K LG and then we're back to an 'optional' power brick. Perhaps less elegant in a way but certainly more modular because surely a power brick from a MacBook Pro could then run the Mini if it's not being powered directly from a monitor. You'll note that various Sonnet eGPU boxes provide power to laptops including 87W for a quad core?
I'd agree with keeping the same price points where possible - after all that's something that Apple have done for years. Keep the price points and offer something to meet them while delivering profitability.
Yet these days iPads become increasingly powerful and could conceivably be ready to take over that mantle of the inexpensive 'computer' as more and more people move towards cloud based storage and move further away from desktop computers.
Apple should therefore surely be looking at workstation users and serious hobbyists rather than casual users who are moving increasingly towards the iOS platform.
I think a lot of us in this thread have a wider view than the Mini, although the Mini does fit in. I don’t really see the need for a Mini that’s designed primarily to attract Windows users in order to draw them into Apple’s mobile culture. That generation of users is passed. What I think a lot of us want to see is a commitment on Apple’s part to a rational line-up of headless desktop Macs, with the lower end being $800-ish Mini-like boxes moving up through a double-height SuperMini and then into some modular architecture that ranges from the top of this Mini unit up into Gamerville. I can’t believe that this is SO DIFFICULT to grasp/accomplish. I’m looking at the System76 offerings (for example), and they seem to get it. A product line like this, with annual, or even bi-annual, spec-and-speed bumps could live on the same basic design architecture for quite a while. Will it make Apple a boatload of money? No. However, it will allow them to avoid the ugly scene in the next couple of years when irritated users from this and a couple of other threads converge on Apple's Magic Frisbee Hq and BURN IT TO THE FREEKIN’ GROUND.
Just sayin’.
Just sayin’.
Unfortunately, that concept only appeals to computer folks, and there are very few of those left at Apple these days. Well few that carry any weight when it comes to decision making, at the very least.
macOS is in maintenance and security update mode. In other words it's getting nothing new added to it unlike it's Linux and Windows counterparts.
IOS will be the future of Apple with macOS withering on the vine.
Apple chips will be taking over and will no longer require X86 chips in the near future.
I think we will see an Arm Mac soon that is capable of emulating X86 instruction such as the new Windows PCs.
IOS will be the future of Apple with macOS withering on the vine.
Apple chips will be taking over and will no longer require X86 chips in the near future.
I think we will see an Arm Mac soon that is capable of emulating X86 instruction such as the new Windows PCs.
I can't wait to have the most limited multitasking abilities since the early 90s on my desktop, again.
Can't even listen to YouTube in the background on iOS. It's so incredibly locked down and limited. Every single task seems to need its own app.
$899? Might as well get a new iMac or a refurbished MacBook Pro at that point.
For the Mac Mini to make any sense at all, it needs to be significantly cheaper than Mac laptops.
But like I said... does it make sense for Apple to keep selling $500 desktop computers? Isn't that market pretty much dried up?
Perhaps that's why they have shown such little interest in the last few years...
But like I said... does it make sense for Apple to keep selling $500 desktop computers? Isn't that market pretty much dried up?
Perhaps that's why they have shown such little interest in the last few years...
Honestly, Apple could ditch everything they sell except phones and be just fine. They are basically a phone company now. Nothing more, nothing less.
Just sucks, because they used to make great computers.
I hate how dominant the iPhone became to their bottom line. Now everything else is on the back burner. Even the new phone isn't all that great, in my opinion. The notch? Over $1000... for a damn phone?
I agree but Apple has really developed a very dynamic Arm chip that goes way beyond the 90s. So has Qualcomm Snapdragon chips that power instant on Windows computers.
These types of computers may prove to do as well as Core M Intel chips.
I sure more will be coming at CES this year.
I not saying all computers are headed this way but they do have the advantage of instant on and all day battery for portables.