Beyond vague statements about the mimi being an important product in the lineup, Apple has revealed nothing.
I'm surprised they continue to showcase it at the Apple Store
Beyond vague statements about the mimi being an important product in the lineup, Apple has revealed nothing.
Beyond vague statements about the mimi being an important product in the lineup, Apple has revealed nothing.
I'm surprised they continue to showcase it at the Apple Store
I'm surprised they continue to showcase it at the Apple Store
The last two stores i've been into which were 2.0 stores - they didn't have any minis on display at all.
I am sorry but that cannot be. Tim Cook said it is a very important computer in the future of the company. SO, you probably could not see it through all the iPhones and iPads!The last two stores i've been into which were 2.0 stores - they didn't have any minis on display at all.
Last weekend I was at the Apple Store in MA and they had it on display.
And you have exposed Tim's plan all along.If anything, their lying and refusal to discuss the Mac Mini is hurting them, as current Mini owners might move on to a Macbook Air or iMac instead of waiting around for a new Mac Mini that will never arrive. Sure, these customers could move to PC once the Mini is officially put out of it's misery, but it's not like being kept in the dark is pushing them to upgrade to different Apple products now.
Sadly, the Mac Mini is a dead product line. It's over. 2014 was a long time ago, especially in tech years.
Apple is under no obligation to make a product just because we want them to, but what I resent is how they blatantly lie to their own customers about the fate of the product for no reason. Especially considering they probably decided to EOL the Mini line prior to the release of the 2014 model.
If anything, their lying and refusal to discuss the Mac Mini is hurting them, as current Mini owners might move on to a Macbook Air or iMac instead of waiting around for a new Mac Mini that will never arrive. Sure, these customers could move to PC once the Mini is officially put out of it's misery, but it's not like being kept in the dark is pushing them to upgrade to different Apple products now.
At best, their lying is having a neutral affect and at worst it is hurting Mac sales. It makes no sense at all. They are hurting themselves just for the satisfaction of screwing with their own customers. Cook must take some sick pleasure in it.
Just tell us the damn thing is finished and let's get on with our lives. What the hell kind of company is Apple? It's turning into a farce.
Yup..... The new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming.In October Cook was asked about the mini. He could have ignored the question and left us in limbo. He could have said (as you did above) that the Mac mini is dead.
He did neither.
Instead, he said 1) Apple loves the mini; and 2) it’s not time to share any details; but 3) Apple does plan for the Mac mini to be an important part of their product line going forward.
To me, that means Apple has plans for a Mac mini refresh. You've taken a completely different meaning, that’s fine.
Hopefully a fair number have moved onto other manufacturers who have addressed their needs. As this is the ONLY hope we have for Apple to take the mini line seriously again.
Although some would say that the currently available Mac Mini is already obsolete.......The 2011 mini was just declared obsolete. At this rate, the 2014 Mini will be declared obsolete before they even get around to updating it or replacing it.
I'm still minded to believe that the next Mac Mini will not use the 28w CPUs and instead will go all out for 15w U-class CPU with Iris Graphics across the board. In other words, the CPUs that would have been deemed "MacBook Air" class and are in the non touch bar MacBook Pro.
The 28w CPUs are in pricey touch bar MacBook Pros and Apple don't need to draw attention to this fact.
Having a smaller, taller (for wi-fi) case containing just a PCIe SSD for storage, coupled to a 15w CPU with a decent cooling solution and anyone needing GPU could add an external one using Thunderbolt 3. The relevant CPU isn't announced yet though. The kicker being that the miniaturised Mac Mini unit can be powered directly off a USB-C connection from a monitor or an eGPU case.
I should mention this would be done to push power users towards a cheaper base modular Mac Pro.
Although some would say that the currently available Mac Mini is already obsolete.......
If manufacture of the 2014 Mac Mini ceased today, it would not officially become obsolete until January 2025.
As things stand it will not become obsolete until seven years after the new Mac Mini (which is almost certainly coming) arrives..... sooner or later.
Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than 5 and less than 7 years ago.
Obsolete products are those that were discontinued more than 7 years ago.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624
Mini owners might move on to a Macbook Air or iMac instead of waiting around for a new Mac Mini that will never arrive.
I don’t see the point in dropping all the 28W processors, and I don’t think you’re going to get Iris graphics in a 15W TDP. We need processors that are more powerful, not less powerful. Fortunately, 28W quad cores will finally become available this year.
To my mind, the most legitimate complaints about the Mac mini are that it hasn’t been updated in way too long, and there’s no quad core option. There’s also a good argument to be made that a desktop PC should have upgradable RAM, and of course 4K@60Hz video would be most welcome.
Blanket complaints about spinning hard drives or even Fusion drives aren’t particularly well founded; my grandma doesn’t need a PCIe SSD drive no matter how loudly some might protest otherwise. The alternative is a $699-799 base model instead of $499-599.
In summary, although I’m sure some will disagree, I think a new Mac mini that has the following features—at a minimum—could be considered to be a successful refresh:
Nice to haves:
- Current Kaby Lake dual-core processors
- Quad core options (not yet released by Intel)
- User upgradable RAM
- Same form factor
- 4K@60Hz HDMI video
- two USB-C 3.1 Gen 2/Thunderbolt 3 ports
- four USB 3 ports
- Gb Ethernet
- 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.2
- SDXC slot, headphone jack
Hopefully arriving by mid-2018. Your comments and thoughts welcome.
- 45W CPU options, with upgraded cooling
- Significant bonus points for 32GB max RAM
- ???
I think a new Mac mini that has the following features—at a minimum—could be considered to be a successful refresh:
Your comments and thoughts welcome.
- Current Kaby Lake dual-core processors
- Quad core options (not yet released by Intel)
- User upgradable RAM
- Same form factor
- 4K@60Hz HDMI video
- two USB-C 3.1 Gen 2/Thunderbolt 3 ports
- four USB 3 ports
- Gb Ethernet
- 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.2
- SDXC slot, headphone jack
Is it a store based around the new store design?
All the stores based on the new design I've been to do not have minis in them anymore - they did before referb.
I have an Intel NUC running Linux as Plex server + Chromecast + a phone app. Super handy to use. The NUC is on the network so adding files to it is very easy too. I think the whole setup cost me half of Mac Mini's (which is almost certainly very important to Apple) base model's price. About the only content I can't play are my DVD rips – Plex doesn't serve as DVD player (no menu support), so I have to convert them to MKV files.I am beginning to consider retiring the mac mini and replacing it with nothing- and use my smart phone to control my tv now!