DesertSurfer
macrumors 6502a
Good, because it was starting to sound like April Fool’s Day.
The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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Zdigital2015
macrumors 601
Not if Apple truly has something like this in the works, because this would technically be a fork in iOS I believe, it would be merged back in to the main branch at some later date after the device was introduced to the public. These are the projects that Apple has in a secured building that only 20 or so engineers are allowed to even work on so as to maintain secrecy. That being said, the “iPad may have a USB-C port” and “ virtualized desktops show up in Xcode Simulator” seem to bolster the credibility of this rumor. We have Marzipan, it is in Mojave in the guise of Home, News, Stocks and Voice Memos. We have references to USB-C from Kuo, we have virtualized desktop resolutions in the simulator that point to higher resolutions (desktop monitor resolutions, FWIW).
As for Tim Cook’s statements, perhaps saying it isn’t going to be so mini anymore, is doublespeak that doesn’t mean bigger, but is speaking more to taking the position of the mini.
What would it look like? Well, an A10X Fusion-based CPU, geared towards a slightly higher TDP might be wholly sufficient to run iOS apps, especially if the GPU is scaled up accordingly. A T2 inside to manange the rest of the computer. LPDDR4 would be standard, flash storage standard. USB-C and/or Thunderbolt 3 standard, 802.12ac and Bluetooth 5.0 standard. The possibility of a dedicated Bluetooth keyboard with or without a Touch Bar and Touch ID that can securely interface with the mini(nano). I hesitate to speculate about the A11 Fusion as there is no indication that FaceID is coming to the MacBook Pro, iMac, external monitors, et al.
Would it truly be a Mac or a considered an iOS device? Would it run macOS or iOS? I will stop there since this has been written in other threads. The arguments on both sides are numerous and vociferous, some are reasoned and some are not as reasoned. It really comes down to waiting to see what Apple introduces.
Martyimac
macrumors 68020
My gut says this isn't true. Aside from that, IF this is what the mac mini will be, I won't be buying one. Period.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...
Naimfan
Suspended
While I'm sure you're correct re what Apple would prefer, I, for one, will not go that route. Given that Apple is all but certain to totally miss with the Mac Pro, has demonstrated time and again that it lost its laptop mojo with the release of the 2016 and later models, and that iMacs are needlessly crippled in the name of thin, the Mini is the last chance Apple has to demonstrate it can design and build a computer people want that is objectively price and specification/feature competitive.
jasnw
macrumors 65816
Who the hell would buy this thing? The folks who have been literally screaming for a decent Mini replacement/upgrade for the past five years? Maybe the business model for this POS would be that everyone on this list would buy one just to smash it into little pieces using a 15lb sledge hammer and mail the pieces to Timmy in a doggy-poop-pickup bag. Other than that, this FrankenPuter would just waste away on the shelves of some large storage facility in Outer Mongolia.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...
David58117
macrumors 65816
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...
I too talked with a "prominent figure," and they said the new minis are going to run Windows 10, and be the same box as the 2014 minis, but in different colors.
Tim Cook didn't say that, it was this guy: https://pikeralpha.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/imac181-with-xeon-e3-1280-v6-processor/
He followed up later: "No word about the Mac Pro and Mac mini. This may be bad news, or they may be released later. Or perhaps next year."
This is all that Tim Cook said (October 2017): "While it is not time to share any details, we do plan for Mac mini to be an important part of our product line going forward."
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Apple fanboy
macrumors Ivy Bridge
Important = most profitable per unit!
EightyTwenty
macrumors 6502a
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...
This is clearly fake, but I would switch to an iPad Pro in an instant if you could hook it up to a monitor and use Apple keyboard and mouse.
Which is why I'm looking for an updated Mini. I used a Hackintosh for 2 years in addition to my MBP. I think a 16GB model with 1TB of internal storage would suffice, but I don't want obsolete innards.
It's worth pointing out that macOS Mojave makes it almost certain(tm) that the base 21.5" iMac will be going Retina 4k in the next refresh if you judge that 1080p (non retina) screens look poor on the new OS.
Perhaps that's a factor in whatever the Mini becomes specified as - if any iMac is obviously better value for money than a Mac Mini come the 2018 refresh.
Consider if Apple offer a 4k iMac, with keyboard and mouse, and potentially a 6 core desktop Intel CPU with a discrete GPU for $1099 later this year?
Even if Apple were still going cheap for the base model while retaining the 4k panel they'd be forced to use something like the i5-8259U at the very least to drive the display and that might not even meet their own minimum performance requirement.
Or they'd use an i5-8250U/i5-8265U and add a discrete GPU.
Either way, a $1099 machine with Thunderbolt 3, keyboard and mouse will be make the 2014 Mini look incredibly poor value.
When the middle SKU 2014 Mini sells for $699 but no keyboard, mouse, or 4k screen, and only 2 very old cores, even without looking at PC/Hackintosh options the iMac option begins to look incredibly attractive due to the 4k screen and CPU/GPU. And that's really going to get the goat of the folks would really need to use the Mini because they want to put something in a data centre with no screen.
Bear in mind that the 15" MacBook Pro never bothered with Iris Graphics after Haswell and went direct to discrete GPU and that Retina panel is has fewer pixels than 4k. I would say it only makes logical sense for the base iMac to go with discrete GPU and potentially equalise the range with the same desktop class CPU such as the i5-8400 at 2.8GHz.
The original 4k iMac had Broadwell Iris Pro graphics, and despite the fact that the following year Apple could have gone with the Iris Pro 580 from the Skylake CPU in 2017 they instead used the Radeon Pro 555 GPU - ostensibly the same GPU as in the 2016 MacBook Pro.
And if the iMac does go to 6 cores across the range then the Mini really has to go quad core thanks to available Intel options, potentially with discrete GPU as an option or on higher SKU because of users potentially using 4k screens now and in the future.
I notice Intel have launched a variant of the i5-8305G with Vega WX M GL graphics (potentially a workstation part) which looks identical to the previously launched RX version from much earlier this year. I can't see why Apple would use it as they have other options though and reviews from earlier in the year on the RX version of the CPU highlight increased heat, fan speed, and noise.
Precisely. I would love this!
gigatoaster
macrumors 68000
So if it is Fake, why would he tell us that info?
dogslobber
macrumors 601
My 2012 Mini is indestructible. Will it ever die?
I just realized I got my 2012 Mini dual core for about 80 bucks. What I did was also buy a quad core 2012 Mini at the same time from the refurb store and sold it on ebay for crazy money. This was 4 years ago now when quads were prized possessions. The dual core is still running like a champ.
I just realized I got my 2012 Mini dual core for about 80 bucks. What I did was also buy a quad core 2012 Mini at the same time from the refurb store and sold it on ebay for crazy money. This was 4 years ago now when quads were prized possessions. The dual core is still running like a champ.
triptolemus
macrumors 6502a
It's almost certainly October
and I'm almost certainly being bent over
a great big barrel full of rotten Mini Apples.
Come November it's almost certain
it will not be the final curtain
on this almost certain disappointment from our Tim.
On Xmas Day it's almost certain
that most here will still be hurting
yet remaining almost certain for next year.
And all a'flirting with this hurting
will be that Tim, for almost certain
he has no plans at all for our almost certain Mini Blues.
EightyTwenty
macrumors 6502a
You are asking why someone would lie on the Internet?
McGiord
macrumors 601
In Apple’s current subscription model unless the Mac provides an extra revenue stream they will never create a Mac like we want it. They will mess up the name and everything else we used to love in our Macs, just to push a crippled hardware device that they can shoehorn into a pay them everymonth and for everything else you don’t have with the original purchase but were in the previous generations of products but now removed by a design trade off decision, because they know best it can be a new revenue generating scheme.
I hope I’m prove wrong.
L-Viz
macrumors 6502
Sorry that I couldn't reply all your questions sooner.
This is something, that absolutely outraged me. Of course, I was not speaking to somebody who would know, but as the talk went on, I found it "credible".
This is not an Apple TV, it will be full iOS with all the Apps, that you already have purchased. Biggest difference is the usage of a mouse in the home screen and in all the apps, specifically Safari, Mail, Pages etc.
Storage on the device will be minimal though iCloud storage will receive a bump up.
Apple will sell this like: You can do anything on the new mac mini what You did with Your iMac. We have a billion apps, blah blah..." and they will say, this is the new desktop machine for the masses, for the home users and especially for schools.
Most important of it all, they hope to sell these "cheap desktops" to billions of android users, hoping that they would buy iPhones afterwards.
It is just a logical step. Think about it. They make so few money with computers compared to iPhones and "services" and still they have low market share in the phone sector. People spend 1600$ for phones!!! In earlier times, you got a decent Powerbook (not iBook!) for that kind of money. Tim Cook thinks computers are dead (in an economic sense)
They want to penetrate the market with those "entry drugs" and boost iPhone sales a year or two later.
This is something, that absolutely outraged me. Of course, I was not speaking to somebody who would know, but as the talk went on, I found it "credible".
This is not an Apple TV, it will be full iOS with all the Apps, that you already have purchased. Biggest difference is the usage of a mouse in the home screen and in all the apps, specifically Safari, Mail, Pages etc.
Storage on the device will be minimal though iCloud storage will receive a bump up.
Apple will sell this like: You can do anything on the new mac mini what You did with Your iMac. We have a billion apps, blah blah..." and they will say, this is the new desktop machine for the masses, for the home users and especially for schools.
Most important of it all, they hope to sell these "cheap desktops" to billions of android users, hoping that they would buy iPhones afterwards.
It is just a logical step. Think about it. They make so few money with computers compared to iPhones and "services" and still they have low market share in the phone sector. People spend 1600$ for phones!!! In earlier times, you got a decent Powerbook (not iBook!) for that kind of money. Tim Cook thinks computers are dead (in an economic sense)
They want to penetrate the market with those "entry drugs" and boost iPhone sales a year or two later.
Yvan256
macrumors 603
Maybe the same will happen to the "new MacBook Air". If it lowers the price by a lot and increases battery time at the same time, I won't mind. Add Rosetta 2.0 to run x86 apps, I will welcome it.
However, I don't think it will be iOS but the ARM version of macOS. Just because they use their own ARM CPUs does not automatically means it will be running iOS, any more than using an Intel processor limits your computer to only running Windows.
However, I don't think it will be iOS but the ARM version of macOS. Just because they use their own ARM CPUs does not automatically means it will be running iOS, any more than using an Intel processor limits your computer to only running Windows.
Ursadorable
macrumors 6502a
The big friggin news is, that it will run iOS.
Hahaha.. oh gawd, my sides.
Nice troll attempt.
Zdigital2015
macrumors 601
I expect the non-Retina 21.5" to be discontinued or to simply continue being sold as-is, without any sort of updates (like the 13" MacBook Air and nTB MBP are now). Apple is not going to care about Mojave's text rendering on this display and if they do they will simply put it out of its misery.
Apple is not going to reduce the cost of any model of the 4K 21.5" iMac, nor do I think they will offer anything different in the way of that base configuration. What I mean is that I believe is that the 2018 update will have the following at the $1299 price tag it currently sports:
* Core i5-8400 (replaces the Core i5-7400)
* 8GB DDR4-2666 (replaces DDR4-2400) configurable to 16GB
* 1TB 5400 RPM HDD (no change) configurable to 1TB Fusion, 256GB or 512GB SSD
* Radeon Pro 555x or radeon Pro 655 with 4GB of VRAM (replaces Radeon Pro 555 GPU and increases VRAM for Metal and Mojave)
* FaceTime HD camera (no change)
* 21.5" display, 4096x2304, 500 nits, Wide Color (P3)
* Stereo Speakers
* Microphone
* 3.5mm headphone jack
* SDXC card slot
* Four USB 3 ports
* Two Thunderbolt 3 ports
* 10/100/1000Base-T
* Wi-fi 802.11ac
* Bluetooth 5.0 (replaces Bluetooth 4.2)
Apple has been pushing prices higher as a matter of course and maintaining the base price for the 4K iMac at $1299 leaves some breathing room for them to increase the price of the Mac mini while offering a decent configuration at that $1099 price point.
Apple has an established precedent of using Intel's desktop CPUs in the iMac 4K and iMac 5K and I see no reason why they would want or need to use any of Intel's U-Series mobile CPUs (15w or 28w) beyond the base model 2017 21.5" iMac.
Whether by accident or design, the 21.5" 4K iMac is designed to look pretty attractive at $1299. Apples reckons the end-user will decide what they can live with in terms of DRAM and storage.
The 2014 Mac mini has been an incredibly poor value since, well, 2014, just ask anyone who has owned a Late 2012 Mac mini whether they would like to trade up, and chances are you will get a resounding NO from 99 out of 100 owners. The only thing the 2014 model has that the Late 2012 does not is a Thunderbolt 2 port. Everything else is just not all that compelling.
Apple went with discrete GPUs in the 2016" MacBook Pro because Intel really has no other customers for the Iris iGPU other than Apple and someone at Apple did the math. Price will ALWAYS win out over better technology with PC OEMs. Intel believes that its GT2 graphics are good enough for the vast majority of PC buyers today and began de-emphasizing work on GT3 and GT3e GPUs a while ago in favor of trying to compete with AMD and NVIDIA in the discrete GPU market (Arctic Sound).
Apple saw the writing on the wall and probably negotiated a price with AMD for the Radeon Pro GPUs at close to the same cost as the price differece between the Core i7-6700HQ (HD 530) and the Core i7-6770HQ (Iris Pro 580), which is $55 USD. I strongly suspect that AMD was willing to sell them the GPU for close to that price as the technology really is not that cutting edge, but it suited Apple's needs and gave both price tiers of the MacBook Pro a discrete GPU, which becomes a USP in their world. It also handed AMD another customer win for their portfolio.
Yes, the original 4K iMac had Iris Pro 6200 graphics, which did not go over very well when it was introduced. It was also a very inadequate solution for driving that particular 4K panel. Believe it or not, I do not think Apple will make that mistake again. Many would argue that the Radeon 555 is not all that much better than the Iris Pro 6200, but it is quite a bit more capable than the Iris Pro 6200 and the Iris Pro 580 (by a smaller margin) and way more capable than any Intel GT2 or GT3 part.
I do not think anyone is doubting that the Mac mini must go quad-core at this point. Intel has raised the core count (finally) and Apple either needs to kill the mini or update it to something that can actually compete.
Others on this forum has theorized that Apple may opt to use the Core i5-8305G and the Core i7-8706G with Radeon Pro WX Vega M GL graphics, but it will require a rethink on the chassis or an entirely new chassis to deal with the 65w TDP of those CPUs. It is possible, but it is a long shot for the current chassis.
Whatever happens, it should not be long now before we hear something.
Count Blah
macrumors 68040
I'd say - Chop off that unnecessary 4k monitor that will be taking up space in a landfill at some point, drop the price accordingly, and we have a great starting point.