The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[Zxxv]

Not my best work but hey ho something new for the Mac mini thread.

A Mac mini In Old Cupertino

A mini lived in a lab in old Cupertino
A lab with a mini in and he wasn't grousin'
He sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus:
I saw a mini!
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
A little mini with dongles on
Well I declare!
Going clip-clippety-clop on the stair
Oh yeah

This mini he got lonesome, he took him a wife
A lab with mini's in, it's hardly surprisin'
She sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus

First they had triplets and then they had quins
A lab with quins in, and triplets and twins in
They sang every morning, "How lucky we are
Living in a lab in Cupertino, ya!"

Chorus

The daughters got married and so did the sons
The lab had christ'nin's when no one was list'nin'
They all sang in chorus, "How lucky we am
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus

A mini lived in a building, so snug and so nice
There's nobody there now but a whole lot of iPads.

 

[Miat]

So pleasing to see this concession to the plebs of this world; might even include a HDD model in the lineup... However, those with somewhat patrician pretensions might find such an idea somewhat objectionable.

I have never objected to an entry level base model mini. Just the 5400rpm drives they stick in them.

 

[Donfor39]

Not my best work but hey ho something new for the Mac mini thread.

A Mac mini In Old Cupertino

A mini lived in a lab in old Cupertino
A lab with a mini in and he wasn't grousin'
He sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus:
I saw a mini!
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
A little mini with dongles on
Well I declare!
Going clip-clippety-clop on the stair
Oh yeah

This mini he got lonesome, he took him a wife
A lab with mini's in, it's hardly surprisin'
She sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus

First they had triplets and then they had quins
A lab with quins in, and triplets and twins in
They sang every morning, "How lucky we are
Living in a lab in Cupertino, ya!"

Chorus

The daughters got married and so did the sons
The lab had christ'nin's when no one was list'nin'
They all sang in chorus, "How lucky we am
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus

A mini lived in a building, so snug and so nice
There's nobody there now but a whole lot of iPads.

Fantastic

 

[Lammers]

The Apple aesthetic can bee seen almost everywhere and we are the "better" for it - just today the New York Times is previewing their new "Home" page which has that "Apple" look and tag-line to it - why is that? Most movies that prominently display laptops use Apple laptops - again, why is that?

It would be foolish for Apple "ever" to abandon - instead they must always lead this is what they have always done - we may not like the direction but at all cost it must appear that Apple is taking us somewhere ... the lack of mention, updates, the stall of the MacPro and their acknowledgement and the obvious inferences and tilt in their advertising is what's troubling - they need to deliver that direction at some point in the believable manner that they have always done in the past.

Not through absence - instead through confirmation.

Instead of inferring the PC is dead - prove it and show me why I don't need a headless anymore - make me cringe in my out-dated ways. The Mini has been the longest and best computer investment in my Apple experience.

Yes, Apple clearly has a credibility problem when it comes to the Mac now. And it’s not even clear if they realise that or if they think everything is okay. The disclosures around the Mac Pro and “pro workflow” indicate that they see that, but the proof will be in the pudding, as it were.
[doublepost=1534855434][/doublepost]

SSD prices are due for a drop this year; overproduction.

Presumably the "pro" designation means I'll be able to get down to the metal as with the 6502 and 68K?
Maybe even toggle i/o bits manually? They've built up so much fancy garbage around their boards and ports that it is a major PITA to hook up custom hardware anymore.
Do they intend to open up a few more of their "private" API's? Writing workarounds for those is often enough to cripple interesting new projects. "You can use it at home, but don't you dare try to sell" can be quite irritating.

Of course the phone market is maturing, so maybe they have to put out something exciting on another front.
I'm skeptical until I see it. This new iOS emulation in MacOS stuff worries me. We could be in for a further round of dumbing down, where a "pro" is someone who occasionally slips into "Terminal". Apple has never retreated on its pledge to try to eliminate user facing file systems. Maybe they've finally figured that out for everyone.

I don’t think it means any of those things you’ve mentioned. I think it just means a Mini with a higher spec, nothing more.
[doublepost=1534855761][/doublepost]

New form factor
4/8 Coffee lake
Up to 32GB Ram
Up to 1TB SSD
Upgradeable to dGPU

More confident this is where it is going. But the price tag will be $1k+ for a decent spec.

Where did you get the “New form factor” from? There is no mention of that in the article.

 

[Yvan256]

I have never objected to an entry level base model mini. Just the 5400rpm drives they stick in them.

Some people still believe that putting an SSD in a computer would increase its price. But it's false.

 

[ziggy29]

Some people still believe that putting an SSD in a computer would increase its price. But it's false.

These days, it seems like a 250 GB SSD is about the same price as a 1 TB spinner.

 

[Yvan256]

These days, it seems like a 250 GB SSD is about the same price as a 1 TB spinner.

Why start at 256GB though? An entry-level Mac doesn't need more than 128GB. You can store a lot on 128GB. Even after installing the OS and dozens of programs you'll still have lots of space left. If you need more, you can order one with more storage via the BTO options as usual, you can use an external drive, you can pay for more iCloud storage, or a mix of all of these.

After all, giving different storage capacities has always been used by Apple as a way to differenciate between models and I think 128GB/256GB/512GB SSDs makes sense if they want to keep the entry model as low-cost as possible.

Given the latest rumours, however, it's possible they'll be doing 256GB/512GB/1TB SSDs instead. Or maybe even 128GB/512GB/1TB SSDs to cover the range as much as possible. With BTO options it offers even more options for buyers.

 

[ziggy29]

Why start at 256GB though? An entry-level Mac doesn't need more than 128GB. You can store a lot on 128GB. Even after installing the OS and dozens of programs you'll still have lots of space left. If you need more, you can order one with more storage via the BTO options as usual, you can use an external drive, you can pay for more iCloud storage, or a mix of all of these.

For me, it's because these components can not be upgraded. If the amount of storage in the machine is fixed, I think you want to *start* with more than you seem to need today. You could do 120 GB now, but there's a good chance that in a couple years, you didn't. And in reality, the price difference between 120 and 250 is pretty small, maybe US$25-50. Given that, unless there would be a massive "Apple tax" on the storage options, choosing 120 GB in this day and age would likely be a false economy. That said, using an external device like a Samsung T5 would likely work fine, too, with the OS on the internal drive.

If they want to market the Mini for some "pro" users, I think you'd need BTO options for a quad core i7, at least a 1 TB SSD and 32 GB of RAM, though that spec would likely start pushing north of US$2,000 with everything else on board. In a pinch to reduce cost, you could probably "make do" with 16 GB of RAM.

 

[masterbaron]

I'm afraid it's going to be "The new Mac Mini is almost certainly expensive".

Not to be pretentious but that's OK - much time has passed and everything has depreciated - the investment has to make sense going forward in whatever rationalization you use that's appropriate for your situation - duh maybe, until you consider this thread and what it might mean to each and every one of us that finds ourselves now busy doing things instead of being evangelists in this forum.

 

[Martyimac]

With the Bloomberg article just coming out, I think it highly plausible that this new mini will be the ONLY desktop computer that  will bring out. The headline hints at that saying it's aimed at the pro user and will be more expensive. Would not surprise me if the base model comes out at $1000 and will go up from there.
They may even call it the mini pro and the "MacPro" will cease to exist.

 

[bopajuice]

Not my best work but hey ho something new for the Mac mini thread.

A Mac mini In Old Cupertino

A mini lived in a lab in old Cupertino
A lab with a mini in and he wasn't grousin'
He sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus:
I saw a mini!
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
A little mini with dongles on
Well I declare!
Going clip-clippety-clop on the stair
Oh yeah

This mini he got lonesome, he took him a wife
A lab with mini's in, it's hardly surprisin'
She sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus

First they had triplets and then they had quins
A lab with quins in, and triplets and twins in
They sang every morning, "How lucky we are
Living in a lab in Cupertino, ya!"

Chorus

The daughters got married and so did the sons
The lab had christ'nin's when no one was list'nin'
They all sang in chorus, "How lucky we am
Living in a lab in old Cupertino!"

Chorus

A mini lived in a building, so snug and so nice
There's nobody there now but a whole lot of iPads.

Only here could you find a song about a piece of computer equipment. Well done.

 

[masterbaron]

With the Bloomberg article just coming out, I think it highly plausible that this new mini will be the ONLY desktop computer that  will bring out. The headline hints at that saying it's aimed at the pro user and will be more expensive. Would not surprise me if the base model comes out at $1000 and will go up from there.
They may even call it the mini pro and the "MacPro" will cease to exist.

That would absolutely rock! - as long as those "Pro" features are attained through common-sense modularity (non-proprietary connectivity) that provides real options and opens the door for gamers, developers and power-users with an attending cost-increment that allows the base configuration to be competitive in the industry.

A single headless emphasis would at least be representative of Apple's best (hopefully) instead of the forgotten stepchild.

 

[bopajuice]

Why start at 256GB though? An entry-level Mac doesn't need more than 128GB. You can store a lot on 128GB. Even after installing the OS and dozens of programs you'll still have lots of space left. If you need more, you can order one with more storage via the BTO options as usual, you can use an external drive, you can pay for more iCloud storage, or a mix of all of these.

After all, giving different storage capacities has always been used by Apple as a way to differenciate between models and I think 128GB/256GB/512GB SSDs makes sense if they want to keep the entry model as low-cost as possible.

Given the latest rumours, however, it's possible they'll be doing 256GB/512GB/1TB SSDs instead. Or maybe even 128GB/512GB/1TB SSDs to cover the range as much as possible. With BTO options it offers even more options for buyers.

I've had to upgrade almost every 128gb machine I have had due to lack of storage. I have a MacBook Air that I take on the road. It has a 128gb hard drive. I was running out of space so I had to move some things around, do a clean install with only select programs that I use. According to system info I have used up 80.84 gb of 121.12 gb available. That is after I moved my photo library and music library off the Air onto an external. So with minimal programs like FCP, Microsoft Office, Wondershare, OneDrive, and several smaller programs I am at 70%? I have about only 4gb of work stuff on there. I continue to offload those files as needed to keep from filling up the drive.

If I used my MacBook Air like an everyday computer with music, movies, and games, etc., I would fill this thing in a heartbeat. Sure if I streamed everything and used cloud storage I would not need a laptop to begin with. I could access all those services with an iPad. Many of us still do work on our computers or use it for personal projects like GarageBand, etc. Heck If I put GarageBand on my machine and installed the software instruments, that would pretty much leave little to no room to store anything I create.

I say 256gb should be minimum. Besides how much of a price difference is there to the manufacturer to use 256 vs 128?. I understand the part where they can charge $200 plus for the upgrade, but real world usability, 128 is not enough.

With everything moving forward and 4K becoming the norm, put a couple of 4K movies on your 128gb machine to take with you on the road, and the hard drive would be filled. Funny too because I read iTunes won't let you download 4k content from their store. Gee, with 128gb being Apple's base standard, I wonder why?

Since the Mini is a desktop that does not get moved around, using the computer to store music, photos, and movies is a given. 128gb is nowhere near enough storage for a desktop, even an entry level desktop.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Lord have mercy on the hardware and design executive's soul if ever in the "(curse)" world ships this as the new Mac Mini ... I'm going to SHOVE this "pill" right up the hardware teams spot where the sun don't shine.

Nowhere for ANY possible hardware upgrades. I actually fear this is what Apple will do! Considering talk of how 2018 Mac mini will appeal to Pro's ... and what the iMac Pro really is ... NO!

 

[masterbaron]

Lord have mercy on the hardware and design executive's soul if ever in the "(curse)" world ships this as the new Mac Mini ... I'm going to SHOVE this "pill" right up the hardware teams spot where the sun don't shine.

Nowhere for ANY possible hardware upgrades. I actually fear this is what Apple will do! Considering talk of how 2018 Mac mini will appeal to Pro's ... and what the iMac Pro really is ... NO!

That would be Apple becoming the "Logitech" of the computer manufacturers - which I think NOT after this "2017 rumors suggested Apple was working on a Mac mini that "won't be so mini anymore," which would be in line with a machine that has more powerful, less compact components" which is found here: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/08/20/low-cost-macbook-air-pro-mac-mini/

 

[LeeW]

Where did you get the “New form factor” from? There is no mention of that in the article.

I never said it did mention it. But then it mentioned nothing of any other item I suggested.

That said you could interpret this "2017 rumors suggested Apple was working on a Mac mini that 'won't be so mini anymore,'" as new form factor or overall increase in performance.

If you read the notes on the link it does say "suggesting the most expensive configuration might have a larger or taller design to accommodate for upgraded tech specs."

 

[09872738]

Lord have mercy on the hardware and design executive's soul if ever in the "(curse)" world ships this as the new Mac Mini ... I'm going to SHOVE this "pill" right up the hardware teams spot where the sun don't shine.

I second that. If THAT monstrosity is the future of Macs (btw: where's that from?) ... *shudder*

I'd be in the market if they come to their senses. The iMac Pro isn't exactly promising in that regard.
That said, if they - again - present closed down hardware (RAM, SSDs) I'm done with Apple. In the foreseeable future, my Hackintoshes will suffice; at least for some time to come.
Question is what happens in a couple of years. Microsoft certainly isn't he way to go. Linux/KDE Plasma may come to the rescue, but I'd rather stick with Macs...

 

[LeeW]

If THAT monstrosity is the future of Macs (btw: where's that from?)

It's concept, nothing to do with Apple.

 

[09872738]

Ok. Thanks. So there's still hope

 

[Count Blah]

...So, in essence, you have no meaningful evidence for that statement and it’s really just another assumption presented as fact.

So the only thing you will accept, is insider information, despite prior historical evidence? Then I will obviously never sway your opinion.

...

I’m not missing that point at all - I just don’t understand how it helps Apple to port Xcode to Linux. Again, it feels to me like a weird suggestion for Apple to decide that the answer to the problem of developers not buying Macs is to offer Xcode for Linux. It just doesn’t make any sense as a solution to that problem. The more likely solution is to work to improve the Mac range for pros - which, funnily enough, is exactly what Apple have said they are going to do.

It helps Apple, because it would keep developers in the MacOS/iOS fold. Offering ancient Macs, as the only "inexpensive" way to maintain the developer pipeline, is insulting and turning one's back on the lifeline of the ecosystem. But it seems that the rumors today, point to Apple finally giving a damn about those who literally give iOS it's lifeblood. Hopefully for Apple, those who have already jumped ship, thing about returning.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I second that. If THAT monstrosity is the future of Macs (btw: where's that from?) ... *shudder*

I'd be in the market if they come to their senses. The iMac Pro isn't exactly promising in that regard.
That said, if they - again - present closed down hardware (RAM, SSDs) I'm done with Apple. In the foreseeable future, my Hackintoshes will suffice; at least for some time to come.
Question is what happens in a couple of years. Microsoft certainly isn't he way to go. Linux/KDE Plasma may come to the rescue, but I'd rather stick with Macs...

That was just some render I found searching for “2018 Apple Mac Mini leak”. I figured I’d come across some interesting designs and honestly this one was the weirdest and most in-depth I’ve seen since the ATV metal body clone from 2yrs or so back. This one I posted today also makes me shudder.

Locking down Macs - and soon we’ll see the same from Lenovo, HP, and Dell is a way for Apple to:
Gaurantee future cyclacable 3-4yr sales of Macs. (PCs will follow),
Increase service revenues - repairs/swaps with minimal fee (as Shenzhen suppliers can rip apart piece by piece transistor by transistor off motherboards and reuse).
Further they can increase out of warranty repairs.
PC competitors as I’ve mentioned will follow suit (Lenovo has a HUGE corporate business with onsite warranty with reps coming to the corporate site to repair or replace components of laptops: SSD, top/bottom cases, keyboards/trackpads, inverters for backlight on LCDs, etc. They also pre-image (custom corporate images submitted to them) as another service).

Apple’s next service to consumers, if not done already, is backup your Mac to iCloud Drive. Tag it and Apple can reimagined a replacement Mac for you if you’ve been waiting for a repai more than 3/5/10/14 days (whatever policy they set), and or for upgrades. This way it’s on them and their Geniuses to have a perfect no permission based issue and guaranteed data being private and personal. You keep the password they’d never know.

 

[LeeW]

Having given it some thought and listened to others this is what I predict we will see.

Two devices:

The existing Mac Mini, same form factor, minor spec update, around $500 price tag. Targetting those that need very little or just want to dip their toe in the macOS arena.

A new Mac Mini Pro, new form factor, significant spec update starting around $800 and progressing up to $1,500 for a 'good spec' towards the $2k fully loaded.

I will leave all my predicting at that until something is announced

 

[gusping]

Having given it some thought and listened to others this is what I predict we will see.

Two devices:

The existing Mac Mini, same form factor, minor spec update, around $500 price tag. Targetting those that need very little or just want to dip their toe in the macOS arena.

A new Mac Mini Pro, new form factor, significant spec update starting around $800 and progressing up to $1,500.

I will leave all my predicting at that until something is announced

I'll take that second option please. Praying for a six-core option and a dGPU, optimistic I know....

 

[Boyd01]

They may even call it the mini pro and the "MacPro" will cease to exist.

I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. They have hyped the new Mac Pro for over a year, and said it will take until 2019 because it's aimed at "demanding pro customers." Then they introduce a new mini in 2018 and say "mission accomplished"???

 

[Partron22]

Mini Pro or iMini, or even Mini Me might serve.
Name will only matter if they have an acceptable set of specs for at least some portion of the pro community.
I doubt they can make all such groups happy with a single machine, in a single form factor.
I'd happily take a Mac Mini Double McCheese.
-All that luscious new board, memory and drive space, with a Pickle on top.