The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[PickUrPoison]

I know Macs are dear, but Apple really are taking the p_ss if that's what they charge for a 1990's size HDD

Ha! Yes it should be 8TB.

Not an Apple product though, it’s a Seagate:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HAPGEIE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_wjBZAb6X43QHH

 

[Cape Dave]

I agree with most of what you said, until that last sentence. Apple has always (or at least since Steve Jobs returned) placed a heavy emphasis on aesthetics. Some people don’t want to admit it, but how Apple tech *looks* is extremely important - on the software and hardware side.
[doublepost=1523428356][/doublepost]

Why do you keep repeating such nonsense?

I bought a PC with 256 mb of RAM for around $800 in college. By your logic, the average PC today would be selling for tens of thousands of dollars. Yet, they are actually hundreds of times more powerful at 1/4 the price. You can buy a $200 PC that would absolutely blow the doors off my Pentium III Windows XP machine I paid 4 times the price for.

Modest spec bumps don’t cause massive price explosions. It’s been SIX YEARS since the base mini went to 4 GB of RAM. Stop acting like it’s some outlandish expectation for a desktop to ship with 8 GB Of RAM at a minimum in 2018.

Apple can do whatever they want. But they are risking becoming known as a company that sells total crap. Anyone who buys the 2014 base mini is going to feel ripped off. Hell, anyone who owns a calendar should have enough sense to stay far away from that outdated junk.

Thank you. My thoughts precisely.

 

[EightyTwenty]

The MacBook Air is $999, some want it for $599. Sorry, the price is $999.

It was $999 with 4gb of RAM and it is still $999 with 8gb of RAM, obliterating whatever point you are trying to make.

Then again, it’s pretty clear you are just trolling at this point.

 

[PickUrPoison]

It was $999 with 4gb of RAM and it is still $999 with 8gb of RAM, obliterating whatever point you are trying to make.

Then again, it’s pretty clear you are just trolling at this point.

That a product that sells for $999 has sufficient margin to absorb a spec bump from 4GB to 8GB was never at issue.

The 4GB mini is $499. If you want 8GB, that’s available for $599. Sounds like you want the 8GB for $499.

That may or may not happen with the refresh. The new Mac mini could very well start at $599 if it has 8GB minimum. Assuming the RAM is socketed DDR4, I could see some rationale for Apple retaining a 4GB mini at $499. We won’t know until the release.

One thing we can be sure of with the refresh is that the 8GB/256 SSD model won’t be cut from $899 to $499. I could see an 8GB/128 SSD at $799, I think that’s probably as low as we can expect for an SSD mini.

 

[navaira]

I think that’s probably as low as we can expect for an SSD mini.

At some point Apple are either going to have to start producing those 5400rpm spinners themselves, or repurpose them from old computers...

 

[Cape Dave]

At some point Apple are either going to have to start producing those 5400rpm spinners themselves, or repurpose them from old computers...

Agree 100%. Let me go look thru my box of old computer junk, maybe I can help them out Found a nice "IDE" drive for cheap. What do you think, Apple?

 

[Miat]

I don't think anyone can "force" Apple to do anything. They have all the time and money in the world and will just do whatever they want...

Not even Apple can completely ignore the market.

 

[Boyd01]

They've been doing a damn good job of it since 2014 with the mini. Meanwhile, Apple's market cap just hit an all-time high. But don't worry, Siri will tell you a new joke to cheer you up. https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/11/apples-siri-learns-new-jokes/

 

[ActionableMango]

At some point Apple are either going to have to start producing those 5400rpm spinners themselves, or repurpose them from old computers...

Or they could buy 7200rpm spinners and then "underclock" them in firmware, a strategy they have been quite comfortable with.

 

[redheeler]

Sounds like you want the 8GB for $499.

Makes perfect sense to expect 8 GB at the $500 price point, it's 2018 after all. But if Apple does finally refresh the Mac mini, I would expect a $100-200 price increase, and the 1 TB Fusion drive as standard (though I've been expecting that every year since 2014, and Apple refuses to give up on those slow 5400 RPM drives).

At some point Apple are either going to have to start producing those 5400rpm spinners themselves, or repurpose them from old computers...

Apple can have the 5400 RPM drive that came out of my SSD-upgraded 2010 MacBook when needed. Will just need to find it first.

 

[Boyd01]

I would expect a $100-200 price increase, and the 1 TB Fusion drive as standard

I think Apple would get a lot of criticism for raising the entry price above $500 - it would play into the stereotype of them not caring about people on a tight budget. It would look bad if the entry point into the Macintosh system went up by 20% to 40% overnight.

It's been suggested that this is why they keep the MacBook Air around, to have an entry level laptop at the $1000 mark.

 

[ActionableMango]

I think Apple would get a lot of criticism for raising the entry price above $500

I'm sure people would complain. Nevertheless, the Mac Mini has typically been $600 or $700. IIRC, the only times it has been $500 were the original G4 and the current 2014.

 

[jasnw]

You know, if Apple wants to keep around a Mac Mini that uses a taut string to connect to the Intertubes and stores data on punched paper tape (yes, I'm that old) as a "see we can produce low-cost products" entry level device, I don't really care. Just put out a reasonable range of headless desktop systems, or a limited range that is DIY expandable, and most of us will be happy. If Apple insists on a one-size-fits-all approach to the headless desktop market, limits the options available, and makes them completely non-DIY upgradable, they might as well just drop this market completely. Oh yeah, and LET THE REST OF US KNOW YOU'RE DOING IT!!!!!

 

[Boyd01]

The base 2012 model was $600 although street price at places like B&H was $550 - I remember because I bought one in 2013. Then when they introduced the 2014 Mini, they made a big deal about how they were dropping the entry price to $500. Would be pretty embarassing to walk that back now IMO.

 

[sublunar]

I think Apple would get a lot of criticism for raising the entry price above $500 - it would play into the stereotype of them not caring about people on a tight budget. It would look bad if the entry point into the Macintosh system went up by 20% to 40% overnight.

It's been suggested that this is why they keep the MacBook Air around, to have an entry level laptop at the $1000 mark.

The shareholders would certainly complain - Apple don't cater for the $499 desktop market etc. Similarly with the $1k laptop. If shareholders demand a product to meet a price point, then Apple meet that price point and then must reveal the profits.

 

[dogslobber]

As I’ve said before, a $499 Mac mini is a perfectly valid config for Apple to sell. It’s a headless system, which are favored by a small group of (quite knowledgeable) techies. They know what a $499 Mac is good for.
?

The know it’s good for nothing.

The base config for every other Mac is at least 8GB of memory. There’s a reason you can’t try the base model Mini in an Apple store. There’s a reason that model is also popular as a refurb.

 

[jasnw]

I'm curious about this statement. Just exactly who are these shareholders who want to reach this far into Apple's workings? Shareholders by and large want a good ROI, and they don't really care how a company gets it. I can see consumers "demanding" a particular product line structure (we certainly do it here all the time!), but not necessarily shareholders.

 

[Boyd01]

I don't think the shareholders would care. But I remember when Apple discontinued the 11" MacBook Air, which was the cheapest laptop in the lineup at $900. A number of sources (I remember reading an article in the Wall Street Journal) were critical of this because it raised entry point and the median cost of an Apple laptop. They said it reinforced the image of Apple as a "boutique" computer company.

 

[redheeler]

Then when they introduced the 2014 Mini, they made a big deal about how they were dropping the entry price to $500. Would be pretty embarassing to walk that back now IMO.

Apple isn't shy about raising prices when there is some kind of justification for doing so. Such was the case with the 2010 Mac mini (first-gen unibody) which saw a price increase of $100 over the Late 2009 model, and more recently with the 2016 MacBook Pro though in my opinion not enough was done to justify a $200-300 increase. There are numerous other examples to the point where you can definitely expect Apple to raise prices with the major release of a product or a product redesign, and any refresh of the mini at this point would be major...

Also keep in mind that the compromises accompanying the $100 price drop in 2014 were equally as embarrassing, particularly the move to soldered RAM and dropping of the quad-core processors from the more expensive models. Undoing those two things would definitely help counter the negative press generated by a $100-200 increase in price.

 

[Miat]

They've been doing a damn good job of it since 2014 with the mini. Meanwhile, Apple's market cap just hit an all-time high.

Which is often the most dangerous time for a corporation, when they are the dominant market player, and it is tempting for them to believe that they have it all figured out and can rest on their laurels. That is when they have to be most careful about where they are going, because their dominance can cover up fundamental mistakes for quite a while, until it is too late.

Exhibit A: Apple are only now reaching out to the Pro users to find out what those users want from a pro level machine.

Talk about cutting it fine. The optimal time for that was several years ago.

But don't worry, Siri will tell you a new joke to cheer you up. https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/11/apples-siri-learns-new-jokes/

I like my humour raw, confrontational, and risky. Somehow I don't think bland Siri-for-everybody will deliver on that.

 

[Cape Dave]

Which is often the most dangerous time for a corporation, when they are the dominant market player, and it is tempting for them to believe that they have it all figured out and can rest on their laurels. That is when they have to be most careful about where they are going, because their dominance can cover up fundamental mistakes for quite a while, until it is too late.

Exhibit A: Apple are only now reaching out to the Pro users to find out what those users want from a pro level machine.

Talk about cutting it fine. The optimal time for that was several years ago.


I like my humour raw, confrontational, and risky. Somehow I don't think bland Siri-for-everybody will deliver on that.

So true. They are at the place where no one sees any reason to tell the Emperor that he has no clothes. And is fat.

 

[shaunp]

You know, if Apple wants to keep around a Mac Mini that uses a taut string to connect to the Intertubes and stores data on punched paper tape (yes, I'm that old) as a "see we can produce low-cost products" entry level device, I don't really care. Just put out a reasonable range of headless desktop systems, or a limited range that is DIY expandable, and most of us will be happy. If Apple insists on a one-size-fits-all approach to the headless desktop market, limits the options available, and makes them completely non-DIY upgradable, they might as well just drop this market completely. Oh yeah, and LET THE REST OF US KNOW YOU'RE DOING IT!!!!!

The last point is the biggest problem I have with Apple. They never let anyone know what they are doing. This is fine for consumer stuff, but for business products it would be beneficial to know that there is a future in the hardware platform. MPB is still stuck at 16GB RAM and the MP is simply not worth the money. Why would I buy any of these, especially when I don't know where the platforms are heading.

 

[Partron22]

especially when I don't know where the platforms are heading.

You're going to be able to play iOS games on your desktop soon.
What other knowledge could anyone want?

 

[Count Blah]

As I’ve said before, a $499 Mac mini is a perfectly valid config for Apple to sell. It’s a headless system, which are favored by a small group of (quite knowledgeable) techies. They know what a $499 Mac is good for.

A $499 mini can easily run Linux. It also works great for a thin client setup, like Citrix or Remote Desktop. Have you ever used Amazon WorkSpaces? Can you really not think of uses for a $499 mini? Think outside your box.

Start with a $499 mini. For $150 you can add an 8TB HDD. That can be an ITunes server, file storage, time machine, etc. None of those uses require an SSD boot drive, or 8GB RAM.

Or for that same $150, you can add an SSD drive like a Samsung 250GB. That $650 mini might be all someone needs. Why make everyone spend $900 for a base mini instead of $500?

Why some want Apple to set the minimum at $899—for the 8GB/SSD config they’ve decided should be everyone’s minimum buy-in—is really strange to me. Usually people complain that Macs are too expensive, not that they’re too cheap.

It seems to be a nanny mentality more than anything else, where some are trying to “save people from themselves”. They seem to be afraid that users aren’t smart enough to know that a $499 mini wouldn’t be suitable for their needs. (If you really want to save people from themselves, better to hang out at Best Buy, warning people away from $399 Windows laptops.)

If you’re the average home user, but don’t want to drop $1299 on an iMac, by all means the 8GB/256GB SSD for $899 would be an excellent starting point. Keep configuring to your heart’s content... spend $2,000 if you choose. When the quad core becomes available again, sure—spend $1,199 on the minimum config, blow it up to $2,399 or whatever with 32GB of RAM!! Woo hoo!

Sure, a $499 is not appropriate for that many—just like the $1,099 iMac (which also serves its purpose but that’s another thread). But not everyone wants—or needs—an $899 mini. Do they?

So basically you changed your story from your mother using the base model, to pros using the base model for it's only possible purpose - NON constant user facing applications.

The link I provided was with someone using a upgraded Mac Mimi - 8 Gigs of RAM.

Hopefully you can get your "Apple is never wrong and never does slimy things" story straight, at some point.

 

[EightyTwenty]

So basically you changed your story from your mother using the base model, to pros using the base model for it's only possible purpose - NON constant user facing applications.

The link I provided was with someone using a upgraded Mac Mimi - 8 Gigs of RAM.

Hopefully you can get your "Apple is never wrong and never does slimy things" story straight, at some point.

I’m pretty sure he’s just trolling. Nobody can actually believe a machine running the current version of macOS off 4 gb of RAM and a 5400 spinner is acceptable... for anything.