The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[Zdigital2015]

Thanks for clearing up why Apple did it.

I have two big non-Retina displays on my 2014 Mini desktop. The system works great for me. But if I upgrade to Mojave and can’t get a workaround going for blurred fonts, then I will be really stuck. Can’t afford and prefer not an all in one iMac, and don’t want to spend more money on new monitors. Whether or not there is an affordable new Mini (and that is looking less likely), I am looking at a very expensive replacement desktop when this Mini dies. If I elect to stay in Macs.

Yeah, I get it...if you have a couple of 2560x1600 displays or something similar that work great, why update to 4K/5K. I have an ACD 30” at work and while old, it still looks and works fine.

This was referenced by another poster in the Mojave release thread off the front page a few days ago - https://www.howtogeek.com/358596/how-to-fix-blurry-fonts-on-macos-mojave-with-subpixel-antialiasing/ - hopefully that will help.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Wait? The fonts are blurry on the new MacOS for the 21.5 1080p iMac?

I was planning on buying that model in the near future and they effectively killed it with a software update?

I have mentioned this earlier, but get the base model 4K iMac instead. For $200 more you get a 4K display, faster DRAM, a discrete GPU and a quad-core CPU. Oh, and a measure of piece of mind knowing that you have some upgrade options in the future. Can't afford the $200 more, buy it from Apple's Certified Refurbished store for $1099.00. If you can afford the $1299, get it with a 256GB SSD for $1269.00. You will be happier in the long run. Buy AppleCare as well...if you can.

 

[Oculus Mentis]

We've been waiting for a new mini but we may get TWO instead!!

a) A normal mini to still fly the flag of an entry level cheap machine. Expect it to be all soldered, glued and inaccessible. it will be in the same form factor and colour. Minor upgrades to keep it around $500.
b) A mac mini 'Pro' as a hacker and semi-pro user dream: upgradeable Ram and SSD, discrete graphic card, up to 6 cores cpu, space grey. Apple being Apple will offer ugradeability as a costly option: expect a fully specced configuration to be north of $2000.

I do not think there would be any cannibalization on other product lines. A headless semi-pro (Mini Pro) desktop is a completely different product than an all-in-one, no fuss, all style option...
Its market reception will define the roadmap of the new mac pro.

 

[sublunar]

I will believe Apple when I am on the order page, sorting out BTO options and delivery times. Until that happens, anything and everything is possible, including nothing.

From a certain point of view the Mac mini is important to Apple. However, it is a sliding scale and relative to the iPhone, the iPad and now the Watch, it is definitely at or near the bottom of the list. Many posters on this forum would rate the Mac mini a #1 or a #2 and do not give one whit about iPhone, iPad, Watches, et al. Unfortunately, the reality is that the Mac mini simply is not where Apple makes its money and where the opportunities lie, Apple has to capitalize on it.

That being said...why they could not have spared a small team to update the Mini in late 2016 once Skylake supplies stabilized does frustrate me just a bit. I am sure dual-core i5 and i7 CPUs and maybe a BTO option to the 6770HQ along with TB3 would have been appreciated. But I do not run Apple, nor do I have any special insight into their day to day, so I must reluctantly defer to the executive suite. It is what it is.

I don't think they could spare the people. I get the feeling that the 2016 MacBook Pros needed the full engineering resources to launch and they still had to make compromises - the battery failing the key test being one. The contentious keyboard another and the touch bar was self inflicted damage which raised the price greatly but also served to allow the addition of the T1/T2 CPU into the Pro lineup.

You can argue the toss over whether Apple shouldn't have a bigger engineering department but I think part of the issue is down to maintaining secrecy too and a huge engineering team might be leaky too.

New minis will support 4K displays just fine and they are relatively cheap at this point. If you want to hang on to your investment in your existing monitors, you can, but the flip side is that the fonts may not look as sharp. There are some workarounds for this right now. I do not think it was an easy decision for Apple, but I am pretty sure it was a necessary one.

Apple has wanted to get rid of non-Retina displays for years, which is one reason why I think they have let the Mac mini and the Mac Pro languish, hoping they could quietly discontinue them. The non-Retina 21.5" iMac was a bone thrown to those looking at a price tag and to school districts want to cut costs as much as possible. I suspect it will disappear in any 2018 iMac update.

Apple could have alleviated all of this had it kept the products updated and made sure it released its own monitors, which would be fine for Pro users, but not for value conscious mini buyers.

Apple will have to move the Mini upmarket if they want to add the price of the T2 CPU into the mix. Higher average selling price also means more profits but they also bring expectations. The semi-pro buyers at the higher price ranges may want more horsepower as well as the famed silence and small form factor that the mini has brought to the table.

If Apple have decided that achieving decent graphics performance with 4k can't be achieved with a $499 computer and that the iPad is now mature enough to take up the slack from enough users at those kinds of price points they can design for a higher price point and be able to make a profit from a headless Mac aimed at a higher market segment - mining those professional users who aren't interested in a 2013 Mac Pro and who may probably not be served by a 2019 Mac Pro in terms of price.

The issue could therefore be thus:

1. What CPU is going to be considered to be decent enough to fulfil expectations without overlapping with the iMac? A 15w CPU in a $999 Mini is going to be seen as paltry without a discrete GPU. Going up the power scale could see it

2. Is Iris Graphics acceptable in a computer which could get connected to a 4k display (given that Mojave prefers those kinds of resolutions now) and even into a 5k display? If not then would a discrete GPU be a good spec choice or would Apple expect Mini buyers to buy expensive eGPU solutions or actively not want dGPU if they are using it for a server? It seems certain that the 21.5" non retina iMac will be discontinued after watching the non retina iMacs disappear generation by generation so Apple can declare that the entire range has gone retina (or capable of driving 4k retina displays with acceptable performance where headless) when they replace the MacBook Air too.

3. Going upmarket may bring the question of removable storage and RAM back onto the table. For a change of design direction do Apple therefore adopt a more 'Pro' approach and simply be more generous with their SKUs to start with? Get the user to buy the 'overpriced' RAM and storage from the start if they want to engineer their own way up to 64Gb?

4. Apple should have had enough time (including with the iMac) to determine that extra cores means more heat - over and above the nominal TDP figures quoted for the CPUs - when they are being caned. Professional users will be looking to export music and video for example. This could mean using the iMac Pro cooling system in the 2018 27" iMac or reducing the power output from the 21.5" iMac. It could also mean a new form factor for the Mini especially if more powerful CPUs are on the cards.

5. If the Mini has to go upmarket but with a higher basic spec across the SKUs could we see generous specs overhauling the 2013 Mac Pro on benchmarks? I think we'll see at least one SKU with a dGPU, while server buyers would be happy with a configuration with a strong CPU.

 

[Cape Dave]

When Buick, Chevy and Oldsmobile all sold THE EXACT SAME CAR with a different badge and color, THAT was overlap. I am so sick of hearing that Apple may be a little bit hurt by a slight overlap of decent CPU's I go insane. Because those are two different markets. And any "overlap" is imaginary.

That said, I do think Apple has something fast and fun up their proverbial sleeve. And I am excited to find out. Too bad I built the world's awesomest computer in the meantime But if they do it right, and I mean REALLY right, they could maybe possibly almost certainly woo me back

 

[gigatoaster]

Still no Mac mini. I hope we'll get it in October.

 

[EightyTwenty]

Still no Mac mini. I hope we'll get it in October.

We are a few days away from October 2018 and not even a hint of a rumor of a new Mac Mini. Nothing. Nada. Zero.

I honestly think it’s dead... again. Maybe Apple toyed with the idea of a new Mini, but they probably shelved it.

If there was anything in the pipeline for 2018 we would have concrete info leaking out by now.

I just hope Apple stops selling the 2014 Mini next month. Selling a model that is over 4 years old is an embarrassment. Even the legendary 2012 MacBook Pro was sent to the morgue after 4 years.

 

[opeter]

Yeah, I have the same feeling. I think, the Mac mini in actual form is EOL.

Maybe next year, there will be a headless "Mac", starting at about 999 $ (+/- 100) and a "Mac Pro", that will be much, much more expensive with different options.

All these rumors about a new Mac mini are just that: rumors and nothing more.
If Apple did want it, it could already update the Mac mini (every year), parallel with Macbooks. But they didn't.

 

[alien3dx]

Yeah, I have the same feeling. I think, the Mac mini in actual form is EOL.

Maybe next year, there will be a headless "Mac", starting at about 999 $ (+/- 100) and a "Mac Pro", that will be much, much more expensive with different options.

All these rumors about a new Mac mini are just that: rumors and nothing more.
If Apple did want it, it could already update the Mac mini (every year), parallel with Macbooks. But they didn't.

no stock in my country. apple should separate hardware ,software and phone company.

Mojave update is a mess
Macbook keyboard fiasco.
Ios 11 a mess update.
Ram solder reason to cut cost automation.WTF.

 

[fastlanephil]

We are a few days away from October 2018 and not even a hint of a rumor of a new Mac Mini. Nothing. Nada. Zero.

There has been a 2018 Mac Mini rumor in the Mac Rumors Upcoming section for some time now although not a recent one.

 

[EightyTwenty]

There has been a 2018 Mac Mini rumor in the Mac Rumors Upcoming section for some time now although not a recent one.

I don’t really consider that a compelling rumor. It’s just someone saying Apple is making a “Mini” that is focused for Pro consumers. This source is probably just confusing the upcoming Mac Pro (a real product) with a new Mac Mini (not a real product).

Any computer Apple makes that is geared towards pro consumers is going to come with a $1000+ price tag, at minimum. That ain’t a Mac Mini. The main point of the Mini line was that it was affordable, starting between $499 and $599.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I don’t really consider that a compelling rumor. It’s just someone saying Apple is making a “Mini” that is focused for Pro consumers. This source is probably just confusing the upcoming Mac Pro (a real product) with a new Mac Mini (not a real product).

Any computer Apple makes that is geared towards pro consumers is going to come with a $1000+ price tag, at minimum. That ain’t a Mac Mini. The main point of the Mini line was that it was affordable, starting between $499 and $599.

People have been bitching about underspecced Mac minis for years when the entire time there was a perfectly capable 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB machine at $899. But for some reason a few think they deserve it for $499 or $599, with Apple making sub-par profits since that mini can’t be made for a sub-$200 BOM cost. (And no, there was no quad-core model; Intel didn’t make a quad 28W Iris chip until April.)

The rumors—which you can believe or not, it doesn’t matter—are that Apple will be dropping the lower-priced configs (which are low margin) and will only offer the higher end storage/CPU options. The minimum config will probably be similar to the model I mentioned above, but quad core, priced maybe at $999, could be higher.

It’ll be the mini everyone’s been asking for, at a price perfectly consistent with its $1,799 entry level 13” MBP cousin. Socketed DDR4 memory, all the ports of the $1,099 entry level iMac.

Wanting it for $499 or $599 is like wanting the MBA or the entry level iMac or the iPhone X for $499 or $599. You’re not going to get it, and you can whine and moan as much as will please you, and it won’t change a thing.

 

[Boyd01]

Any computer Apple makes that is geared towards pro consumers is going to come with a $1000+ price tag

Any "Mini" that I would want to replace my 2012 quad is going to cost over $1000, so I'm fine with that.

 

[mroy16]

The rumors—which you can believe or not, it doesn’t matter—are that Apple will be dropping the lower-priced configs (which are low margin) and will only offer the higher end storage/CPU options. The minimum config will probably be similar to the model I mentioned above, but quad core, priced maybe at $999, could be higher.

Where on Earth have you found such specific rumors? The only actual leaks/rumors are the Apple interview where they state that the Mini is an "important" part of their lineup, and the Bloomberg rumor that there will be at least a processor refresh.

 

[Naimfan]

People have been bitching about underspecced Mac minis for years when the entire time there was a perfectly capable 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB machine at $899.

The problem, of course, is that model of the Mini is not price-competitive with other $899 desktops, which rather undercuts your attempted argument.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Where on Earth have you found such specific rumors? The only actual leaks/rumors are the Apple interview where they state that the Mini is an "important" part of their lineup, and the Bloomberg rumor that there will be at least a processor refresh.

The Bloomberg rumor was a little more than a processor refresh; that really wouldn’t be much of a rumor since a mini update would obviously have a new CPU.

The rumor was that Apple is focusing primarily on pro users, the article calls out “app developers, those running home media centers, and server farm managers”. Gurman said “new storage and processor options are likely to make it more expensive than previous versions”.

Many on this thread took the ball and ran with it, calling it the “Mac mini Pro”, with some saying it would somehow be a modular component of the new Mac Pro. (Yeah, no.)

I took it to mean they were dropping CPU options like the dual-core 1.4GHz processor, and HDDs.

You’ll get all sorts of opinions on a rumor site in a thread about a computer that hasn’t been updated in 4 years. Last year the rumor was of a Mac mini that wouldn’t “be so mini anymore.” Some took that to mean spec upgrades, some thought it referred to a physically larger Mac mini.

Last October when Cook was asked about the mini, he said it wasn’t yet time to share any details. But that time could very well be now. Between the Gurman rumor and the Ming Chi Kuo rumor, one might expect an update to be released in the next few weeks, if your glass is half full. Or next year if your glass is half empty. Or never, if your glass happens to be completely empty.

 

[EightyTwenty]

People have been bitching about underspecced Mac minis for years when the entire time there was a perfectly capable 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB machine at $899. But for some reason a few think they deserve it for $499 or $599, with Apple making sub-par profits since that mini can’t be made for a sub-$200 BOM cost. (And no, there was no quad-core model; Intel didn’t make a quad 28W Iris chip until April.)

The rumors—which you can believe or not, it doesn’t matter—are that Apple will be dropping the lower-priced configs (which are low margin) and will only offer the higher end storage/CPU options. The minimum config will probably be similar to the model I mentioned above, but quad core, priced maybe at $999, could be higher.

It’ll be the mini everyone’s been asking for, at a price perfectly consistent with its $1,799 entry level 13” MBP cousin. Socketed DDR4 memory, all the ports of the $1,099 entry level iMac.

Wanting it for $499 or $599 is like wanting the MBA or the entry level iMac or the iPhone X for $499 or $599. You’re not going to get it, and you can whine and moan as much as will please you, and it won’t change a thing.

Are you having a bad day?

Relax, fella.

 

[Spectrum]

I don’t really consider that a compelling rumor. It’s just someone saying Apple is making a “Mini” that is focused for Pro consumers. This source is probably just confusing the upcoming Mac Pro (a real product) with a new Mac Mini (not a real product).

Any computer Apple makes that is geared towards pro consumers is going to come with a $1000+ price tag, at minimum. That ain’t a Mac Mini. The main point of the Mini line was that it was affordable, starting between $499 and $599.

In 2011 and 2012, Apple offered quad core (up to 45W chips), dual drive offerings at a higher price point ($1000+) in addition to cheapest entry. It is not clear to me why that stopped in 2014. [To up sell those customers to an iMac?]

I have 2 x 2011 quad models. Now specced with 16 GB RAM (originally came with 4GB), and now include a pair of SSDs (256 stock + 512 secondary). Total cost over their life has been approx £1000 purchase price plus £100 for RAM upgrade and £300 for the SSD (a few years ago). Total around £1400.

Note that both the 2011 and 2012 quads essentially provided the internals of the 15 inch MBPro (without graphics card), and with more storage flexibility.

The 2011 15 inch MBPro with identical processor was $1800. 1.8x price of mini.

The current 6 core low-end (2.2Ghz) 15 inch MBPro is $2400 with 16GB RAM and 256 SSD.
High end 2.6Ghz, 6 core 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD is $2800
Extrapolating would place a low end 6 core 2018 mini at ~$1350.
And a higher-end 6 core at ~$1550

But I doubt that will happen...

 

[L-Viz]

Folks, I don't know how to say this, but I think this is the best place where it should be said.

I have had a talk with a "prominent figure" from silicon valley, somebody who knows, how the next mac mini will look like.

The big friggin news is, that it will run iOS.

Equipped with an Apple A processor, it will be basically an iPad without a display but a port, that will hook up to a monitor. Only Apples BT Keyboards and Mouses will work with it. Of course it will be an ultra compact form factor and several iOS Apps including Pages, Keynote etc will be "desktop enhanced", whatever that means.

I guess this is the reason why it took them so long...

 

[gigatoaster]

Oh really? That would sucks because I want to use it as a media center to play on Roon for the music and why not 4K videos on Torrents.

 

[Not Young]

Folks, I don't know how to say this, but I think this is the best place where it should be said.

I have had a talk with a "prominent figure" from silicon valley, somebody who knows, how the next mac mini will look like.

The big friggin news is, that it will run iOS.

Equipped with an Apple A processor, it will be basically an iPad without a display but a port, that will hook up to a monitor. Only Apples BT Keyboards and Mouses will work with it. Of course it will be an ultra compact form factor and several iOS Apps including Pages, Keynote etc will be "desktop enhanced", whatever that means.

I guess this is the reason why it took them so long...

If you're so sure about this you should have started a new thread, instead of reviving an old one. Or are you just scaremongering?

 

[masterbaron]

The big friggin news is, that it will run iOS.

Wouldn't we see some hooks in the latest iOS build if that was eminent?

 

[Boyd01]

you should have started a new thread, instead of reviving an old one.

This thread doesn't need reviving, it will never die.

But I say BS. If there was an ARM based Mini coming in October, there surely would have been some rumors.

 

[Spectrum]

This is basically describing an Apple TV. Which already exists. Why would that take 4 years to develop? Not disputing that this might not happen of course...Apple cares little about the mini and I am sure would much rather that those users that want an Intel mini, would instead buy an iMac, tethered MBPro, or future Mac Pro.

 

[Cape Dave]

In a few hours it will almost certainly be October.