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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

Boyd01 said:
Ars Technica review says the Mini is a poor choice for just about everyone... but the T2 chip is cool. :rolleyes: Author has a pretty obvious bias...

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/11/mac-mini-review-a-testament-to-apples-stubbornness/

"Overall, the mac Mini gives me the feeling that it has been designed not for any particular use-case or kind of user. It has been designed for its size. It's small not because that makes it do its job any better—quite the reverse, in fact. It's designed as such simply for the sake of being small. Why Apple's engineers should optimize for size as opposed to any other design parameter, I don't know."
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The article makes some good points but I'm still a mini fan. The mini works for me.
 
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The article makes some good points but I'm still a mini fan. The mini works for me.
Click to expand...
Same here, but also I can't help but notice that the monopolist Apple tends to limit the natural users freedoms and at the same time squeeze their wallets a bit too much for my liking.
 
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Boyd01 said:
Ars Technica review says the Mini is a poor choice for just about everyone... but the T2 chip is cool. :rolleyes: Author has a pretty obvious bias...

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/11/mac-mini-review-a-testament-to-apples-stubbornness/

"Overall, the mac Mini gives me the feeling that it has been designed not for any particular use-case or kind of user. It has been designed for its size. It's small not because that makes it do its job any better—quite the reverse, in fact. It's designed as such simply for the sake of being small. Why Apple's engineers should optimize for size as opposed to any other design parameter, I don't know."
Click to expand...
He did mention reviewing the Core i3 + 128 GB model. I am confused as to what purpose that model serves aside from advertising a lower starting price of $799.

Even at $799 it's priced too high to count as a value option for low-power servers, HTPCs, digital signage, computer labs, etc., and at the same time offers a mere Core i3 + 128 GB storage to power users who need MacOS, forcing them to opt for the $1,099 model instead.

I suppose it makes sense in computer labs, but only if MacOS is a strict requirement. And usually you see iMacs instead of Mac minis anyway, the $1,099 21.5" iMac is especially popular in education.
 
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redheeler said:
I am confused as to what purpose that model serves aside from advertising a lower starting price of $799.
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Geekbench rating is about the same as my 2012 2.6ghz quad i7 mini server, but with better graphics, better connectivity and faster ssd. It's also about 50% faster than the top of the line 2014 i7 Mini and the RAM is upgradeable. Seems like a good fit for anyone with basic needs who is upgrading from an old mini, although of course you might argue it's expensive considering what you get. But that's always been the case with Apple. If you want a bargain, get a PC. ;)

I was ready to pull the trigger on one as a Christmas present for my daughter's family to replace their dead 2012 base mini. Would have been a very nice upgrade for them. They use the cloud for everythig so the 128gb ssd would have been fine.

But over Thanksgiving I learned they got rid of their computer desk to make room in their little apartment, so they want a laptop instead. Grabbed them a 2018 MacBook Air on sale at B&H Black Friday. The Mini would have saved Santa Claus almost $300, but it just wasn't what they wanted.
 
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redheeler said:
He did mention reviewing the Core i3 + 128 GB model. I am confused as to what purpose that model serves aside from advertising a lower starting price of $799.

Even at $799 it's priced too high to count as a value option for low-power servers, HTPCs, digital signage, computer labs, etc., and at the same time offers a mere Core i3 + 128 GB storage to power users who need MacOS, forcing them to opt for the $1,099 model instead.

I suppose it makes sense in computer labs, but only if MacOS is a strict requirement. And usually you see iMacs instead of Mac minis anyway, the $1,099 21.5" iMac is especially popular in education.
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You should probably stop thinking of the new Mini as a consumer or educational computer. Apple will sell it to anyone, but it's pretty obvious that Apple is now targeting the entire Mac line to enterprise / corporate sales. With the T2 security chip (a requirement for many enterprise sales), 10G Enet + small/super fast SSDs (which work well on a corporate network), base 8G memory (typical min corp standard), the higher business machine cost, and even Apple saying it would have a more 'pro' direction... Macs are now business targeted machines. iOS devices are now Apple's consumer / educational line
 
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masterbaron said:
Absolutely nothing until I can afford the i7 - I'm going to go all in as you never know when Apple will pull the plug. Also, I don't necessarily want the first iteration - but, if the cash is right I'll purchase in Spring by then the reviews and performance feedback should be stabilized.
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Well as a quick review I can tell you I’ve had no issues with my i7 thus far.
 
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scottsjack said:
The article makes some good points but I'm still a mini fan. The mini works for me.
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Yeah...I don't get it either. The mini fills the same niche it always used to...but, arguably, with much better performance available (relative to other current macs).

I cold take the opposite view to the reviewer: Why build a more expensive, larger case with extra RAM slots, PCI-e slots etc that many users will never use? There are two sides to every argument.

Moreover...if the mac mini was in a larger case...wouldn't that essentially be a replacement for the chessegrater Mac Pro? ...starting at $3000 no doubt...
 
twalk said:
Macs are now business targeted machines.
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I'd argue for that to be entirely true the SSD would need to be replaceable.
[doublepost=1543586180][/doublepost]
Spectrum said:
if the mac mini was in a larger case...wouldn't that essentially be a replacement for the chessegrater Mac Pro?
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Let's put it this way - I have a G5 downstairs - I'll take 2 drives out of it and place my Mini in there - that's essentially what you'd be getting - NOT!
 
Spectrum said:
The mini fills the same niche it always used to...but, arguably, with much better performance available (relative to other current macs).
Click to expand...

I don't quite agree with that. IMO, the old $500 base Mini was targeted at people who wanted a cheap computer, and people who wanted to switch from Windows. I don't follow Windows machines anymore, but aren't the entry level small Windows desktops cheaper than $800 today? There have certainly been a fair amount of complaints around here about the $800 base price of the new Mini.

Also, the 2012 quad mini compared favorably to current Macs of its day. The 2014 mini was a mess though. ;)
 
masterbaron said:
I'd argue for that to be entirely true the SSD would need to be replaceable.
[doublepost=1543586180][/doublepost]
Click to expand...

Why would the SSD need to be replaceable for a business targeted machine? These places are already buying MacBook Pros (which can't update the SSD) and iMacs (which are difficult / dangerous), so I doubt the lack of SSD upgradeability will bother them.

However, if they lacked memory upgradability, then I think it would have been a serious issue for a lot of business sales. Storage you can work around with networked storage and external drives. You can't work around non-upgradeable memory if you want to repurpose the Minis
 
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Remember that small businesses are different from large corporate. Small businesses view this as a long term investment and might want the flexibility of upgrades without replacing the machine. Corporate usually don't want to deal with upgrades - you get what you get - and if you want an upgrade you get a new machine - old machine gets passed to someone else until the three year lease expires.
 
saulinpa said:
Remember that small businesses are different from large corporate. Small businesses view this as a long term investment and might want the flexibility of upgrades without replacing the machine. Corporate usually don't want to deal with upgrades - you get what you get - and if you want an upgrade you get a new machine - old machine gets passed to someone else until the three year lease expires.
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This is true. However small businesses normally buy small business / home office level equipment. If not that, then consumer level stuff. They very rarely buy enterprise corporate level stuff unless they don't have any other choice. They need to watch their money / they buy what's cheap and effective

Apple doesn't target them anymore with the Mac line, just like they don't target consumers anymore. With things like the T2 chip, Apple is "all in" on the Macs being for large corporations. Again, Apple will still sell Macs to anyone who is willing to pay, but they are not going to design and build an optimal Mac for small business / home office / consumers anymore. As far as Apple is concerned, they're just not worth the time anymore

If you want some company to cater to your needs, you'll need to go to the Windows world
 
toke lahti said:
I think the big difference is, that you can’t have a mini with Fusion anymore. And this is well calculated decision from Apple. So then there’s no 2nd internal storage in mini. I wouldn’t be surprised, if there wouldn’t be an option to Fusion in next imacs either. And Fusion might never be available in APFS...
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Frankly, fusion drives are blargh.
Crippling factor for new machines.

Better make 256gb as standard and use cheap HDDs for storage.
 
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Boyd01 said:
I don't quite agree with that. IMO, the old $500 base Mini was targeted at people who wanted a cheap computer, and people who wanted to switch from Windows. I don't follow Windows machines anymore, but aren't the entry level small Windows desktops cheaper than $800 today? There have certainly been a fair amount of complaints around here about the $800 base price of the new Mini.

Also, the 2012 quad mini compared favorably to current Macs of its day. The 2014 mini was a mess though. ;)
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Yeah, that's true. The base 2014 model was a lower tier. They could have kept a lower grade cpu option, but I think the savings wouldn't have been much considering the ne design is all SSD. Keeping the 2014 in production may have been an option I suppose...

And yes it is true that the 2011 and 2012 models used to more or less match the specs of the 15inch MacBook Pro (minus GPU). So at least at this point, the mini tops out at a slightly higher CPU spec (much much lower GPU spec as has always been the case).

Even so...to me, the 2018 mini is still more or less the same beast it always has been and continues to make as much sense. I've enjoyed my 2011 mini as an office/science computer, and I don't see any reason why I won't feel the same about the 2018.
 
twalk said:
You should probably stop thinking of the new Mini as a consumer or educational computer. Apple will sell it to anyone, but it's pretty obvious that Apple is now targeting the entire Mac line to enterprise / corporate sales. With the T2 security chip (a requirement for many enterprise sales), 10G Enet + small/super fast SSDs (which work well on a corporate network), base 8G memory (typical min corp standard), the higher business machine cost, and even Apple saying it would have a more 'pro' direction... Macs are now business targeted machines. iOS devices are now Apple's consumer / educational line
Click to expand...
yeah they pushed the mini in the wrong direction for my needs.

16gb ram
the six core i5
and a 2tb sata ssd would have worked for me
 
DesertSurfer said:
My new mac mini arrived early. I have not yet set it up, and probably won't until Friday, but I went to the setup link in the included materials, and unfortunately what I found was a tour of the 2014 mini, with its great Thunderbolt 2 ports, etc. That was disappointing. don't know if it is common for Apple to take its time getting around to updating product sites, but it a downer for someone who has just bought one of their new products.
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https://help.apple.com/macmini/late-2018/
 
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