The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[Naimfan]

Oh.. the non-retina . Got you Thumbs up!

Was the 2012 any different to the late 2011...?

EDIT: Ah yes - I see that the 2012 MBPro and Mac mini pretty much matched each other for processor specs with a slight bump from 2011 quads that were available:

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-2.6-late-2012-server-specs.html

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...re-i7-2.7-15-mid-2012-unibody-usb3-specs.html

Yep! The 2012 also added USB-3, HD4000 integrated graphics, and the nVidia 650m discrete graphics card. Significant improvement over the 2011 models.

 

[opeter]

Oh.. the non-retina . Got you Thumbs up!

Was the 2012 any different to the late 2011...?

The biggest difference was the USB 3.0 port!
EDIT: ah, Naimfan was faster.

 

[PickUrPoison]

This thread is almost certainly eternal, as new Mac Minis will almost certainly keep coming, occasionally, for the time being.

I think it’s much more likely this will be the last update, unless the (rumored) move to higher end machines results in sufficiently higher unit volume. The 2014 pivot from pro/business to home/consumer certainly wasn’t a success.

If the higher spec’ed mini that most in this thread want sells as poorly as the lower end 2014 models did, it will be apparent the same way as this time: year after year will go by with no updates. But no shift in target market will be able to save it next time.

If the lower end doesn’t sell, and the higher end doesn’t sell, Apple will rightly conclude there’s no future for the mini. It will go the way of the Xserve, 17” MacBook Pro and other hardware that either couldn’t find or lost its market.

 

[The_Interloper]

Top end off the shelf and and custom builds will include specs and options to suit the needs of professionals and the desires of geeks after bragging rights

Why do you keep spitting out these insults? I assure you, no "geeks after bragging rights" are using or wanting a Mac Mini. They're rocking tricked-out PCs with, you know, current technology, tons of RAM and GPUs that can actually do something useful (like drive a 4k monitor at 60Hz in 2018; even a $99 mini PC off Amazon can do this!) - all for the same or less money than a Mini, by the way.

No-one in their right mind is "bragging" about processors five generations old and soldered-in, non-upgradeable components. The "geeks" you speak of are simply long-suffering Mac users not wanting the world but at least expecting something better than ancient architecture and 5400rpm spinning hard drives, especially at premium prices.

 

[bumfluff]

This thread is almost certainly eternal, as new Mac Minis will almost certainly keep coming, occasionally, for the time being.

almost certainly

 

[EightyTwenty]

I think it’s much more likely this will be the last update, unless the (rumored) move to higher end machines results in sufficiently higher unit volume. The 2014 pivot from pro/business to home/consumer certainly wasn’t a success.

The Mini was always targeted to the home/consumer market - the low end of that market, in fact.

The 2014 version was a gimped mess.

 

[PickUrPoison]

The Mini was always targeted to the home/consumer market - the low end of that market, in fact.

The 2014 version was a gimped mess.

Prior to 2014, a major target market of the mini was business/pro use. That target market was 100% dropped with the 2014 refresh.

The 2012 had one single dual-core model and mostly quad core—including quad-core OS X Server SKUs which were most definitely not targeted at the home/consumer market. Home users bought minis, sure; it was a cheap, $499 entry to the Mac OS. The cheaper dual-core model was adequate for home users.

The mess you refer to—the loss of the quad core, dual drive bays, socketed memory and the Server SKUs—in addition to and going from 35W and mostly quad-core models 45W to exclusively dual-core 15W/28W CPUs—was obviously a pivot away from business/pro use. Apple completely focused on the home/consumer market and in particular, the “switcher” market, where they attempted to attract former Windows users who already had a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Apple determined that the low end home users you mention that were targeted by the mini didn’t require quad-core CPUs or socketed memory any more than the MacBook Air or the 13” MacBook Pro users did. They were right. That it resulted in lower capabilities/specs than the 2012 is due to the pivot away from business users, and not the contempt for home users some choose to see as Apple’s motivation. The specs/configuration of the 2014 mini were perfectly appropriate for the target audience you mention—low end home/consumer.

I’m glad Apple decided not to cancel the mini altogether, and instead return to targeting the business/pro market, as rumored for this refresh.

 

[L-Viz]

iOS Mac Mini is coming. Tim will put MacOS in a Coffin as Steve did with OS 9.

HE will go like: "We will cater all Your needs with iOS. You don't need real computers anymore. Not so many things You have to take care of, decisions that are already made by us. For You. For Your benefit"...

 

[GizmoDVD]

My 2012 lives as a Plex server. I might upgrade but not sure if I’d see any difference. I maxed out the RAM and tossed in a SSD and it’s oretty good IMP

 

[Count Blah]

The Mini was always targeted to the home/consumer market - the low end of that market, in fact.

The 2014 version was a gimped mess.

With quad cores, it was targeted at more than that.

MAYBE , Apple realized they were losing the sales of a couple iMacs and MBPs with the quad core option. So they decided to not lose a SINGLE sale of an iMac/MBP, by gimping/soldering the 2014 mini.

OOPS - saw your response, bending over backwards to excuse Apple, too late.

 

[Micky Do]

Why do you keep spitting out these insults? I assure you, no "geeks after bragging rights" are using or wanting a Mac Mini. They're rocking tricked-out PCs with, you know, current technology, tons of RAM and GPUs that can actually do something useful (like drive a 4k monitor at 60Hz in 2018; even a $99 mini PC off Amazon can do this!) - all for the same or less money than a Mini, by the way.

No-one in their right mind is "bragging" about processors five generations old and soldered-in, non-upgradeable components. The "geeks" you speak of are simply long-suffering Mac users not wanting the world but at least expecting something better than ancient architecture and 5400rpm spinning hard drives, especially at premium prices.

Interesting that you quote Phil Schiller!

In the early days of this thread there were several geeks bragging about the performance of their Mac Minis, and looking forward to even more fantastic things to come. Of course none have claimed bragging rights for their 2014 Mac Mini, but there are those who have found a model adequate for their needs, including the base model that has been much derided in this thread.
[doublepost=1540768485][/doublepost]

I think it’s much more likely this will be the last update, unless the (rumored) move to higher end machines results in sufficiently higher unit volume. The 2014 pivot from pro/business to home/consumer certainly wasn’t a success.

If the higher spec’ed mini that most in this thread want sells as poorly as the lower end 2014 models did, it will be apparent the same way as this time: year after year will go by with no updates. But no shift in target market will be able to save it next time.

If the lower end doesn’t sell, and the higher end doesn’t sell, Apple will rightly conclude there’s no future for the mini. It will go the way of the Xserve, 17” MacBook Pro and other hardware that either couldn’t find or lost its market.

More than ten years ago self styled X-spurts started predicting the imminent demise of the Mac Mini.
Quotes from July 2007:

In October the Mini will dissappear from the lineup and in November TV 2.0 will magically appear.

Mac Mini will be updated when...

..hell freezes over.

The Mac Mini is (secretly) dead, and will be dropped from the current line-up.

However, new Mac Minis have kept coming from time to time, and will almost certainly continue to do so.

 

[PickUrPoison]

With quad cores, it was targeted at more than that.

MAYBE , Apple realized they were losing the sales of a couple iMacs and MBPs with the quad core option. So they decided to not lose a SINGLE sale of an iMac/MBP, by gimping/soldering the 2014 mini.

OOPS - saw your response, bending over backwards to excuse Apple, too late.

Apple doesn’t care if one of their models cannibalizes another. They’ll simply price in such that they’ll still make their margin either way.

Your conspiracy theory fails another test, in that if Apple found they were selling too many quad-core minis at the expense of iMac or the quad option on the 15”, they could simply have raised the price of the mini overall or just the quad option, even if they were already making a killing on it, and/or keep selling the 2012 mini. They needn’t have gone to all the trouble of re-designing the 2014 mini around the 13” MBP—a dual-core only platform. (The memory was soldered just like the 13” MBP because LPDDR3 memory MUST be soldered—there is no socketed LPDDR3. The 2014 mini is a re-packaged 13” MBP FYI.)

What you call “bending over backwards to excuse Apple” is simply pointing out what should be obvious. Apple intentionally abandoned the business/pro segment with the 2014 mini. Dropping the quad, the dual drive bays, and 35/45W CPUs—along with dropping the Server SKUs—makes that quite apparent. I don’t know how else it could be characterized. I never excused Apple for anything, never said I agreed or thought it was a wise decision. It’s just the fact of the matter—whether you like it or not isn’t relevant.

If the mini had gone from the 2014 configurations to the 2012 configs, I think even you would have to admit they were moving from a home/consumer only target market to an attempt to attract a higher-end business/pro market. btw, this is exactly the course of action Apple is rumored to be taking with the 2018 refresh.

I know some like to feel personally slighted by Apple’s business decisions, but there’s no need to take it personally. Apple tried a strategic shift away from business/pro, it didn’t work, and now they’re going back to targeting business/pro. If that doesn’t result in a decent quantity of units sold, we’ll probably never see another refresh. And that outcome is more likely than is the title of this thread, here in 2018.

 

[chooyoshi]

I think it’s much more likely this will be the last update, unless the (rumored) move to higher end machines results in sufficiently higher unit volume. The 2014 pivot from pro/business to home/consumer certainly wasn’t a success.

If the higher spec’ed mini that most in this thread want sells as poorly as the lower end 2014 models did, it will be apparent the same way as this time: year after year will go by with no updates. But no shift in target market will be able to save it next time.

If the lower end doesn’t sell, and the higher end doesn’t sell, Apple will rightly conclude there’s no future for the mini. It will go the way of the Xserve, 17” MacBook Pro and other hardware that either couldn’t find or lost its market.

Then they should at least liscence Mac OS like how windows 10 is liscenced, or outsource the development of Macs to other companies. I bet there will be a lot of pc manufacturers who would love to make Mac OS pcs... I remembered Michael Dell saying that he would love to make Mac OS computers once

 

[PickUrPoison]

More than ten years ago self styled X-spurts started predicting the imminent demise of the Mac Mini.
Quotes from July 2007:

However, new Mac Minis have kept coming from time to time, and will almost certainly continue to do so.

If you check my posting history, you will see that since I joined I’ve been predicting a mini refresh many times. When self-styled experts said it was dead, and called Cook a liar for saying they had plans for a new model, I had no doubt we’d see another mini and said so.

I’ve never claimed to be any type of expert, but I do employ logic. As sure as I was that we would see a 2018 refresh, I’m equally convinced that Apple won’t refresh the mini again if they can’t find a market for it. Without sufficient unit sales, there’s little reason to think it won’t go the way of Xserve or the 17” MBP, is there? Expecting Apple to continue a model no matter how poor sales might be doesn’t particularly make sense (to me).

 

[Boil]

Then they should at least liscence Mac OS like how windows 10 is liscenced, or outsource the development of Macs to other companies. I bet there will be a lot of pc manufacturers who would love to make Mac OS pcs... I remembered Michael Dell saying that he would love to make Mac OS computers once

Yeah, they tried that in the 1990's, didn't work out...

Also, how can one misspell license (not once, but twice) in this day & age of auto spellcheck...?!?

I also remember Dell making that statement in 1995, and in 1997 he stated he would "shut (Apple) down and give the money back to the shareholders."

 

[EightyTwenty]

The specs/configuration of the 2014 mini were perfectly appropriate for the target audience you mention—low end home/consumer.

The machine was gimped from day 1 and had become a complete laughing stock by 2016. Soldered 4GB of RAM and a locked-in 5400 spinner... LOL. I would never recommend that garbage machine to even the most basic novice computer user. I am a very basic user myself, and using that thing was like walking through quicksand. Just unbearably slow and frustrating. When I returned it, an Apple Store employee told me “everyone returns these”. And I believe her. The reaction to the machine has been overwhelmingly negative, right from the beginning.

And you are simply incorrect about who the Mini was created for. But don’t take my word for it; go watch the 2005 introduction by Steve Jobs himself (it’s on YouTube). Jobs says very plainly that the Mini is for people considering switching to Mac and was aimed at the lower end of the consumer market, with only 2 models available - one for $499 and one for $599.

Did they sell server models later? Yes. But business and “pro” users were never the target market. The Mini was always, from day 1 onwards, a low-to-medium end of the market consumer product.

 

[Cape Dave]

Yeah, they tried that in the 1990's, didn't work out...

Also, how can one misspell license (not once, but twice) in this day & age of auto spellcheck...?!?

I also remember Dell making that statement in 1995, and in 1997 he stated he would "shut (Apple) down and give the money back to the shareholders."

Becasue auto spellcheck, like everything else, is not perfect. For 6 months my computer was not flagging the spelling error that you see in the previous sentence. I had to do something to get it back on track. It now works, I leave the "mistake" for purposes of making my point

 

[Boil]

Becasue auto spellcheck, like everything else, is not perfect. For 6 months my computer was not flagging the spelling error that you see in the previous sentence. I had to do something to get it back on track. It now works, I leave the "mistake" for purposes of making my point

Do you not proofread your post before, well, posting it...?

 

[absynth]

Hi,

i work in an Apple Reseller and like many of you i'm waiting for the mini 2013 refresh.

From monday the two major Apple suppliers in Italy are suddenly and completely out of stock of minis. I know that this happen from time to time, but the timing is no coincidence.

Trust me, a new mini is coming next week, or at least we have solid evidence to believe it.

A legend was born that day. Next week turned into '5 years'. (not counting the 2014 downgrade)

I'm hoping to see a double height Mac Mini with the following SKU's:

Core i3-8300T 4C/4T 8GB 35W 'passive cooled' $599
Core i3-8300 4C/4T 8GB 65W $649
Core i5-8500 6C/6T 16GB 65W $899
Core i7-8700 6C/12T 16GB 65W $999

 

[PickUrPoison]

The machine was gimped from day 1 and had become a complete laughing stock by 2016. Soldered 4GB of RAM and a locked-in 5400 spinner... LOL. I would never recommend that garbage machine to even the most basic novice computer user. I am a very basic user myself, and using that thing was like walking through quicksand. Just unbearably slow and frustrating. When I returned it, an Apple Store employee told me “everyone returns these”. And I believe her. The reaction to the machine has been overwhelmingly negative, right from the beginning.

And you are simply incorrect about who the Mini was created for. But don’t take my word for it; go watch the 2005 introduction by Steve Jobs himself (it’s on YouTube). Jobs says very plainly that the Mini is for people considering switching to Mac and was aimed at the lower end of the consumer market, with only 2 models available - one for $499 and one for $599.

Did they sell server models later? Yes. But business and “pro” users were never the target market. The Mini was always, from day 1 onwards, a low-to-medium end of the market consumer product.

1) You are thoroughly obsessed with the entry level model lol. The 2014 mini always had an 8GB/256GB SSD model. Dual core was just as appropriate for the 2014 mini’s low-end home market target as it was for the MacBook Air, and the pro-targeted 13” MBP and the dual-core models of the 15” MBP. Isn’t that right?

2) I never mentioned who the mini was “created for” in 2005. I spoke about the relevant markets for the 2012 model vs the 2014 model.

3) Apple eliminated quad-core CPUs, dual drive slots, socketed RAM, 35/45W CPUs and the Server SKUs when they stopped targeting business/pro users with the 2014 refresh. But Apple is rumored to be reversing course and abandoning the strategic shift to the home market, and will now go back to pursuing the pro/business segment again (like the 2012 model) with higher end specs. Isn’t that what you want? Maybe your obsession with the 2014 entry level model can finally be laid to rest!

 

[Boil]

A legend was born that day. Next week turned into '5 years'. (not counting the 2014 downgrade)

I'm hoping to see a double height Mac Mini with the following SKU's:

Core i3-8300T 4C/4T 8GB 35W 'passive cooled' $599
Core i3-8300 4C/4T 8GB 65W $649
Core i5-8500 6C/6T 16GB 65W $899
Core i7-8700 6C/12T 16GB 65W $999

I would definitely go for the i7 model; bump the RAM to 32GB, go for a 1TB SSD, & hope for TB3 to run an eGPU...

And pray that I can get it in Space Grey...!

 

[philipma1957]

I would definitely go for the i7 model; bump the RAM to 32GB, go for a 1TB SSD, & hope for TB3 to run an eGPU...

And pray that I can get it in Space Grey...!

A legend was born that day. Next week turned into '5 years'. (not counting the 2014 downgrade)

I'm hoping to see a double height Mac Mini with the following SKU's:

Core i3-8300T 4C/4T 8GB 35W 'passive cooled' $599
Core i3-8300 4C/4T 8GB 65W $649
Core i5-8500 6C/6T 16GB 65W $899
Core i7-8700 6C/12T 16GB 65W $999

if they go the route of i3-8300T

they will use i5-8500T not i5-8500

and i7-8700t not i7-8700
I just got a dell refurb it arrives this tues
it is the optiplex 7060 micro
I got a refurb it has the i7 8700t it has 1 stick of 16gb ram it has a 240 nvme m2 ssd
I got a godlike price for it 653 with all rebates
I am adding a 512 gb ssd from newegg for 70 so my cst out of pocket will be 723 oh I have a spare 16gb stick of ram so I will go to 32gb ram.

If you get an i7 8700t from apple in a taller not so mini (at 999) I will be stunned. I will also be a little annoyed at not waiting and getting the Dell.

 

[absynth]

if they go the route of i3-8300T they will use i5-8500T not i5-8500 and i7-8700t not i7-8700

My reasoning was the low-power silent version would only make sense for people using it as a light media /production computer. For anything more serious you'd want a more beefy 65W TDP processor.

Of course it would be awesome if they offered the whole range in both passive 35W and active 65W processors. The T versions are actually the same price.

so that would be more like this:

Core i3-8300 (active) / 8300T (passive) w/8GB $599
Core i5-8500 (active) / 8500T (passive) w/16GB $799
Core i7-8700 (active) / 8700T (passive) w/16GB $999

FWIW I'm not expecting them to offer passive options, they might have 35W options available in the same form factor as the current mac mini. But I'd definately trade in some height for a completely silent Mac.

 

[iZac]

Apple are welcome to have events in New York from now on, East Coast time is much more accommodating to my sleep schedule.

I'm getting a little bit pumped now.

 

[dogslobber]

A nice illustrated history of the Mini up to (and including) the 2018 Mac Mini.

https://www.macstadium.com/macminihistory