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What's wrong with the Air's display? It has a higher resolution than my Dell work laptop.

It’s very low res for a higher end mid price point, and so is your dell. Even the pro screens might be seeing a resolution bump in the not too far future.
 
anyone wanting a spinner is simply wrong.

Here is a 1tb ssd an m2 version cost is 185

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156178

here is a 500gb ssd a m2 version cost is 93

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156177


It should be only those two choices for internal
with 8gb ram as smallest choice
and 16 or 32gb as upgrade

They can sell 599 with the 500gb ssd and 8gb ram turning a profit.

They can sell 799 with the 1tb ssd and 8gb ram turning a profit.

Solder
the ram and the ssd



Upcharge for an i7


They move the base price to 599 but you actually get an I5 with 8gb ram and the good M2
A freakin bargain. That will attract windows people to the mac world.
 
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It’s very low res for a higher end mid price point, and so is your dell. Even the pro screens might be seeing a resolution bump in the not too far future.


Resolution is just one of the problems, although 1920x1200 ought to be considered table stakes at this point. It is also a TN display, which is the worst quality LCD in computer use today. Everything else in the Apple line up is IPS. So an upgrade to IPS (or I would argue VA would be appropriate too) is badly in order.
 
I have a 2013 i7/8gb/512gb 11" MacBook Air and it's still primary computer for general use. The trackpad is not working well anymore, but I prefer a mouse anyway. Still very respectable performance and I can't see much reason to upgrade. I also have a 2018 iPad and the screen is similar in size but I see little advantage to its "retina" screen. I use the MBA at home mostly with a big external screen anyway. The 2013 MacBook Air was a big upgrade over the 2012. Battery life is almost twice as long due to the more efficient processor, the SSD is almost twice as fast and the 802.11ac wifi is 4 or 5 times faster than the 2012 model.
 

Upcharge for an i7


They move the base price to 599 but you actually get an I5 with 8gb ram and the good M2
A freakin bargain. That will attract windows people to the mac world.

Yes.. they should have done that 3 years ago. Although Apple does not sell i5's with 8gb of ram for $599. More like $999 and it's too late for that spec unless by some miracle they do it offer it for that very low price.
 
It's TN (vs. IPS).
Those are really cheap screens, used only on the lowest-end of displays. Apple must get them for next-to-nothing.
Their worst problem is that the range and angle at which the picture looks "OK" is very, very narrow. Move your head a few centimeters to the left or the right and you get discoloration, distortion etc.pp.
 
It's TN (vs. IPS).
Those are really cheap screens, used only on the lowest-end of displays. Apple must get them for next-to-nothing.
Their worst problem is that the range and angle at which the picture looks "OK" is very, very narrow. Move your head a few centimeters to the left or the right and you get discoloration, distortion etc.pp.
You speak the truth. Why Apple has not gone all SSD and all Retina is just freaky.
 
Quoting Luke Skywalker, "it's time for the spinning disk to end." At the very least, I don't think hard disk, Fusion or not, belongs in a modern Mac line up.

Those with larger storage needs can always add external disks. The only complication is that certain files cannot be easily stored on external disks, such as applications. But 128 GB should sufficient for most users, provided that they store iTunes, Photos, etc. on external or cloud.
I just don’t get this hate for fusion disk.
I’d guess that in over 95% of mac usage, fusion is as fast as pure ssd. And in 99% of use case, almost as fast.
For 1TB of storage, Apple charges 720€ more for pure ssd, compared to fusion drive. Fusion drive is clearly most cost effective choise. Why would I choose small internal ssd and slow always-on external hdd, over a fusion drive?
 
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I just don’t get this hate for fusion disk.
I’d guess that in over 95% of mac usage, fusion is as fast as pure ssd. And in 99% of use case, almost as fast.
For 1TB of storage, Apple charges 720€ more for pure ssd, compared to fusion drive. Fusion drive is clearly most cost effective choise. Why would I choose small internal ssd and slow always-on external hdd, over a fusion drive?


Why? Because you care about your data...

If either drive making up the fusion drive dies, you lose everything. That greatly increases the risk of data loss
 
That's a hilarious argumentation. If I'd be bored, I'd go back and see which older top-of-the-line Mac mini was comparable to today's entry mini and ask you why they "lowered" the price for that configuration ...

Yes, Apple tends to rather not adjust prices for older technology, for whatever reason (if there's any positive for people wanting to sell: it keeps 2nd hand prices up). That wasn't much of a problem back in the days when Apple still did a yearly or at least bi-annual refresh. With them dragging their feet now, it just became "visible" to many more people.

But they have a looong track record to improve technology with model refreshes, while trying to stick to a price point (if they found it to work well).

So it's very possible that a refreshed mini could offer 8GB Ram/256GB SSD in the entry model of a potential 2018 mini, at the price point of the current entry model. Just because prices have come down massively since technology and price point of the 2014 model have been set.

You are arguing, just because the _current_ 8GB/256GB mini costs $899, the refreshed model would need to cost the same. As I tried to explain before, that is plain wrong. Not sure if you're really unable to understand that or if you're just tr***ing, to be honest.
Your explanation is not convincing, that’s what you don’t understand.

You say:

But they have a looong track record to improve technology with model refreshes, while trying to stick to a price point (if they found it to work well).

but then proceed to tell me you see a large price cut coming to the mini. Since when has Apple been a purveyor of low-priced Macs?

The iMac 1080p in the 8GB/256GB SSD config is $1,299. Now take away the extra aluminum for the larger enclosure, and the monitor/mouse/keyboard. On the high end, that’s maybe $150 in parts. With Apple’s gross margin, knock off $400 from the selling price and there’s your $899 mini.

Reality: just because you want a cheap mini doesn’t mean you’ll get it. I’m sure some want an $899 iMac 1080p but that’s not happening either.

Maybe think about it this way. If Apple had updated the mini with current CPUs in 2015, 2016 and 2017, do you think the 8GB/256GB config would have dropped to $799, then $699, then $599 in those years? And then $499 this year?

No, of course not. No other platform had 10-15% year-over-year price cuts for the last 4 years. Certainly not iMac or MBP, and they use the same components the mini uses. So on what basis could those kinds of price cuts be expected in the Mac mini?

I get that you don’t want to hear it, but there’s no logical basis for expecting the kind of price cuts you want. As I said earlier, I could see maybe $799 for that config, but I think that’s about the best we can expect.
 
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It's TN (vs. IPS).
Those are really cheap screens, used only on the lowest-end of displays. Apple must get them for next-to-nothing.
Their worst problem is that the range and angle at which the picture looks "OK" is very, very narrow. Move your head a few centimeters to the left or the right and you get discoloration, distortion etc.pp.
I don't mind the resolution of the 13" Air screen, any smaller and I will have trouble reading it.

My problem is that I can't find a viewing angle with it that gives me equal image quality across the whole screen. All I can do is adjust to get best picture in the middle of the screen, and live with that.

Don't get me wrong, it does the job well enough to use the whole screen space, watch movies, etc. But it is there. It is noticeable. It is distinctly sub-par.

It was a barely acceptable screen in 2012, and long ago fell off the bottom of the acceptable range.
 
You say:



but then proceed to tell me you see a large price cut coming to the mini.
Umm, no! Not sure when and how you read that statement into my posting. But I’m tired of wasting my time with trying to explain to you the errors in your argumentation.

If you want to discuss, re-read the answers you’ve gotten from several posters to your ... theories and try harder to understand. Otherwise just take the blue pill and continue to believe whatever you want to believe.
 
I don't mind the resolution of the 13" Air screen, any smaller and I will have trouble reading it.

My problem is that I can't find a viewing angle with it that gives me equal image quality across the whole screen. All I can do is adjust to get best picture in the middle of the screen, and live with that.

Don't get me wrong, it does the job well enough to use the whole screen space, watch movies, etc. But it is there. It is noticeable. It is distinctly sub-par.

It was a barely acceptable screen in 2012, and long ago fell off the bottom of the acceptable range.
It is an embarrassingly crappy screen no matter what angle one looks at it from. Thanks Apple!
 
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Umm, no! Not sure when and how you read that statement into my posting. But I’m tired of wasting my time with trying to explain to you the errors in your argumentation.

If you want to discuss, re-read the answers you’ve gotten from several posters to your ... theories and try harder to understand. Otherwise just take the blue pill and continue to believe whatever you want to believe.
If you want an 8GB/256GB that’s sells for $899 to become the base mini priced at $499 or $599, yes, you’re advocating for a massive price cut.

I notice you don’t reply substantively to my post. All of the logic as to why there won’t be a price cut is there. If you can refute it, please do. I’d like to see your reply to the points I made, if you’re able.

All you say up to this point is, no, you’re wrong, Apple won’t do what they always do, they’ll do what I want them to.

If you can’t reply with a cogent, logical counter argument, why bother replying at all?
 
I’d like to see your reply to the points I made, if you’re able.

All you say up to this point is, no, you’re wrong, Apple won’t do what they always do, they’ll do what I want them to.

If you can’t reply with a cogent, logical counter argument, why bother replying at all?
Your “arguments” have been countered multiple times by others and myself. If you can’t understand written words, you are unable to participate in a serious discussion, I’m sorry. But I do appreciate the effort: D<///*>
 
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Your “arguments” have been countered multiple times by others and myself. If you can’t understand written words, you are unable to participate in a serious discussion, I’m sorry. But I do appreciate the effort: D<///*>
Another non-responsive reply.

No, not you nor anyone else has yet countered my arguments. Specifically, the iMac 1080p comparison and the $100 year-to-year price cuts if Apple had actually upgraded the mini each year since 2014 argument I made are as yet unchallenged.

Feel free to participate in an actual discussion. “You’re wrong, I’m right” isn’t very interesting. Post 13290, six posts above, if you’d like to give it a go.
 
Why? Because you care about your data...

If either drive making up the fusion drive dies, you lose everything. That greatly increases the risk of data loss
That is the most common agument, but if you think about it just one step further, you know it's a moot point.

I used to have raid1 system disk in my MP and then I wasn't using time machine all the time. When I started to use fusion drive, I let the time machine to be on all the time.
Let's say that any given day, you have 0.1% chance that your system disk dies, ssd or hdd.
Would you back up this disk? Of course you would. How does the situation cahnges when you use fusion disk and have 0.2% chance it dies, any given day? No change, you would still back it up.

FYI, I tried to raid1 two fusion drives in my MP. It doesn't work. I guess Apple lost interest to make fusion drives work when raided, when they noticed that they can make whole lot more money by selling pure ssd system drives.

I had my OWC ssd died in my fusion drive in my MP. It was a big hassle compared to if one hdd died in raid1. But I still think that hassle is worth it, given the speed of fusion drive.

I prefer to have cost effective BIG fusion drive than to have small ssd and saving files to hdd and still back up both of them all the time. My home dir is now over one terabyte and I don't get any benefits to have all that is ssd, which cost a lot of money. If money is not an object, you can buy multiple terabyte ssd's and be happy, but since I'm short of money, I don't like to waste it on something that helps nothing.
 
to me I use externals to boot and as a time machine I also do clones since I have some coin wallets and need a back up or two.

I rather use a mac for a btc core or ltc core wallet.

I try to get deals on crucial and micron 2tb ssd's as most of my info is about 800 to 1200gb

the 2 tb ssd's work great for me.

I can get them on eBay new under 275 when there are sales.
I got one as low as 239 which is really good for a 2 tb ssd.
These really make just about any pc pretty quick.
 
Another non-responsive reply.

No, not you nor anyone else has yet countered my arguments. Specifically, the iMac 1080p comparison and the $100 year-to-year price cuts if Apple had actually upgraded the mini each year since 2014 argument I made are as yet unchallenged.

Feel free to participate in an actual discussion. “You’re wrong, I’m right” isn’t very interesting. Post 13290, six posts above, if you’d like to give it a go.

In 2010 a MacBook Air was $1299 w/ 128GB of storage, and 2GB of RAM. By 2013 it had dropped to $1099 for the same amount of storage and twice the RAM. The following year, they dropped the price again to $999 while equipping it with faster storage.

Case in point, Apple has shown in the past an ability to provide more for less, especially when dealing with lower priced products in their lineup. Not holding my breath that they will hit people’s wildest dreams on the spec sheet, but they’re a bit overdue for the type of “wow that is an insane value” upgrade.
 
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