I am the opposite and love my 12.9 iPad Pro Celluar. I use it for most everything anymore and barely use my iMac, MacBook Pro or work Windows computer. Just all around outstanding and keeps getting better.
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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I am the opposite and love my 12.9 iPad Pro Celluar. I use it for most everything anymore and barely use my iMac, MacBook Pro or work Windows computer. Just all around outstanding and keeps getting better.
Not for me. Touchscreen for editing photos? No thanks. I’d rather use my pair of 27” colour accurate screens without my hand in the way!
The mini is not a fashion statement like the iMac or the MBA. They are small, with the goal of being hidden away or rack mounted. Adding additional colours would not be of any real use here.
I left Macs behind years ago when Apple was playing games with the Mini's and would not upgrade cores above 2 cores. I built my own Hackintosh and used it with Windows dual boot for a few years and got tiered of maintaining the hack and just used Windows. I was not doing creative work that required a Mac and was just doing Cad and Day trading equities.
I did stay with Apple on my 12.9 iPad Pro and iPhone and will not give them up.
This year I will be upgrading my second generation iPad Pro to the new 12.9 iPad Pro because of the M1. I'm still a Mac Mini lover though.
I did stay with Apple on my 12.9 iPad Pro and iPhone and will not give them up.
This year I will be upgrading my second generation iPad Pro to the new 12.9 iPad Pro because of the M1. I'm still a Mac Mini lover though.
In a way; that was my point: the iMac colour range seems to have (mostly negatively here) polarised people.
Besides the amount of colour; another point would be that they’re arguably less suitable for a more formal/professional office setting, and will probably have a resurgence in stereotypical pink/blue to ‘match my bedroom’...
The Mini on the other hand; not only did seem to have some interest due to the space grey colour, but the size and price would mean it’s a lower risk and less garish.
I don’t know if you would cluster M1s, but rainbow stacks would also be aesthetically pleasing and differentiate servers...
Given how there were no M2 or M1X processors unveiled with the iMac last week, would it be fair to say the next Mac mini is a long ways off?
I can’t see Apple releasing a more powerful Mac mini than an iMac. With the larger iMac coming in summer or fall, it means we should expect a new Mac mini anytime soon.
I can’t see Apple releasing a more powerful Mac mini than an iMac. With the larger iMac coming in summer or fall, it means we should expect a new Mac mini anytime soon.
I wouldn't expect new models any more frequently than a year. Apple hasn't done that in more than a decade, there are chip shortages that are going to last all year, possibly well into 2022, and with Apple's machines on Apple Silicon you can't directly compare Macs the same way as you used to.
The small iMac was always more powerful than the MacBook Air, but now they have the same processor. That probably means Apple are going to have fewer performance levels. And because of that, I hope the replacement for the top-end Mac Mini (that is still currently Intel) will have the same performance as the top end iMac when it arrives (and with that logic, the same performance in the 16" MBP, maybe top-end 14" MBP).
Hard to call the Intel model the "top-end Mac Mini" when it is out performed by the new M1 Mac Mini that has more recently come, with pricing and features that put the Mac Mini back into the consumer territory.
I used the term top-end because it is the top-end Intel spec that survived, and it is the highest priced Mini, plus it can be upgraded far more in terms of RAM. I expect some kind of replacement that is either a higher spec Apple Silicon, or the rumoured Mac Pro Mini. If Apple were just having consumer territory Mac Minis in the future, they wouldn’t have kept the Intel model.
I doubt unsold inventory is much of a thing in the lean Apple systems. It certainly wasn't a thing a few years ago when unsold inventory was recalled from store and put on the refurb store (certain things made it clear what was recalled items when browsing the refurb store, as discussed on Mac Rumors at the time, although I cannot remember the details, but I did buy a couple of Macs that way). Things may have changed, but I don't think that is the reason the Intel model is still there, particularly as the other Intel models would still be available if that was the reason.
Tim Cook has always been known for keeping inventory as low as possible. It's dead capital. So I don't think there are tons of unsold Intel Macs of any kind in some warehouse.
Just as a funny counterpoint, I remember hearing that apparently the original expensive HomePod was such a dud in the market that people routinely received brand new units with a manufacture date 2 years old.
Well, of course there's always the possibility you don't get your estimates quite right. The original HomePod was obviously too expensive for most people interested (certainly for me), but it also was a completely new product. No experience regarding demand whatsoever.
I don't think the same could be said for a Mac (mini).
Well, no new Mac Mini this time, but almost certainly still coming. Didn't expect it really, but had to put the possibility out there a couple of weeks back.
However, with the new consumer level iMac must be some indicators of the future of the Mac Mini..... return to a separate power supply, thus likely smaller size, for instance. Pretty much a Mini with a monitor, it seems...... priced at about the cost of an M1 Mac Mini plus a decent 4K monitor.
Versatility was why I bought the Mac Mini original in 2005. I didn't want a portable to tote day to day, but (as an ex-pat university teacher) I wanted something easily occasionally transportable in a backpack from time to time. I got my second Mac Mini in 2009, and am using it right now. It fitted my needs until 2017, when I did start to need a computer to take to work most days, so I got a MacBook Air to supplement the Mini.
Recently returned to live home country, my situation has changed. With the Air to use when I am out and about, occasional transportability is no longer a requirement for a desktop. However, handy it may be, a laptop does not cut it as my main machine, and the Air gets little use at present (though that situation is likely to change next year, when I return to study). Having a decent sized, good quality monitor for photography and general use does it for me. So too do good sounding speakers.
While I was looking at almost certainly getting a new M1 Mac Mini to replace my 2009 model sooner or later, scarce supply of 4K monitors where I am at (an island in the South Pacific) has been one reason I have held back. So too does the fact that the 2009 continues to run just fine, and remains adequate (if a little slow by today's standards) for most of my daily needs, still with the original HDD!
Now I am less than certain. The arrival of the new iMac has given me further cause to hesitate..... One way and another, it looks an elegant, hassle free solution to my desktop desires going ahead. I'll certainly be taking a closer look when it does arrive in the stores in due course.
However, with the new consumer level iMac must be some indicators of the future of the Mac Mini..... return to a separate power supply, thus likely smaller size, for instance. Pretty much a Mini with a monitor, it seems...... priced at about the cost of an M1 Mac Mini plus a decent 4K monitor.
Versatility was why I bought the Mac Mini original in 2005. I didn't want a portable to tote day to day, but (as an ex-pat university teacher) I wanted something easily occasionally transportable in a backpack from time to time. I got my second Mac Mini in 2009, and am using it right now. It fitted my needs until 2017, when I did start to need a computer to take to work most days, so I got a MacBook Air to supplement the Mini.
Recently returned to live home country, my situation has changed. With the Air to use when I am out and about, occasional transportability is no longer a requirement for a desktop. However, handy it may be, a laptop does not cut it as my main machine, and the Air gets little use at present (though that situation is likely to change next year, when I return to study). Having a decent sized, good quality monitor for photography and general use does it for me. So too do good sounding speakers.
While I was looking at almost certainly getting a new M1 Mac Mini to replace my 2009 model sooner or later, scarce supply of 4K monitors where I am at (an island in the South Pacific) has been one reason I have held back. So too does the fact that the 2009 continues to run just fine, and remains adequate (if a little slow by today's standards) for most of my daily needs, still with the original HDD!
Now I am less than certain. The arrival of the new iMac has given me further cause to hesitate..... One way and another, it looks an elegant, hassle free solution to my desktop desires going ahead. I'll certainly be taking a closer look when it does arrive in the stores in due course.
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And the 16” MacBook Pro also gets beaten out by the cheaper 13” MacBook Air (in some tasks). The point is that the 4-port space grey Mac mini is supposed to be a higher-end mini (as it has more IO, and higher ram capacity). But right now M1 is so good that of course it outperforms it. That’s just because Apple doesn’t have a chip (yet) to replace the higher-end model.
It’s a byproduct of the transitonal period. There’s going to be some awkward overlap where lower-end M1 machines outperform higher-end Intel machines.
Likely because Apple doesn’t have chips for it yet. My theory is that the higher-end Mac mini models are going to get a higher-end chip (otherwise why even have a higher-end model?). So Apple won’t release the higher-end space grey mini until the M1X (or whatever it’s called) is ready. WWDC is always a great time to announce “pro” level macs. My guess is we could see 14” and 16” MBP along with a high-end Mac mini. All marketed towards the pro’s with a new “pro” level chip.
After 12 years, time is almost certainly coming that the HDD will fail. Replacing the 2009 Mini will almost certainly be more cost effective than repair.
In addition more up to date MacOS, apps, and tech would integrate better with the Air.
Pixels / resolution, especially for editing photos, which I do quite a bit of. Having used higher res displays, there is a significant difference.
The 2009 Mac Mini will not drive a 4K display, so no benefit in getting one. When I do upgrade the computer I almost certainly want to reap the benefit of a higher res display......and nowadays the display on iMacs is way better than all but the most expensive, specialised monitors.