The new Mac mini...ISN'T HERE

[MysticCow]

No it isn't. Not at all. We've been at this for a long time and it just seems like Apple has given up on the mini.

Or...they're waiting for 10.13 to drop publicly. This way, they can say, "Crappy mini performance? Well, why don't you get our new Apple External GPU Enclosure."

Or maybe not. Post your own conspiracy theory for why "The new Mac mini certainly has not come."

 

[jackerin]

An updated Mac mini would probably get Thunderbolt 3, which gives it a "one up" on the Mac Pro, something Apple does not want. So my guess is we need to get a new Mac Pro first.

 

[krause734]

The iMac is higher margin and planned obsolescence meaning more upgrades than a standalone desktop. The Mac Pro/Mini would cut into that. Mac Pro is way overpriced and Mini is way underpowered, take your pick. Apple is losing a huge user base however. I think it's a dumb move. Check out Dell Towers or the Intel NUC. They have 7th Intel Processors. The current Mini has a 4th Gen. No price drop/spec bump? MacOS isn't that great.

 

[treekram]

There is no conspiracy. Rather that some malevolent cabal laughing while saying "screw those Mini users", what's happening with regards to the Mini looks more like an inability to make a decision one way or the other. The Mini isn't important enough to force a decision (like the re-emphasis on "Pro" computers) but at the same time there's probably nobody at Apple that is forcefully advocating it's demise either. The current CEO, unlike the previous one, doesn't have a clear grasp of the computer market so that contributes to the wishy-washy decision making as regards to Apple's desktop computers.

 

[Luap]

Yes. We noticed.

 

[MysticCow]

There is no conspiracy. Rather that some malevolent cabal laughing while saying "screw those Mini users", what's happening with regards to the Mini looks more like an inability to make a decision one way or the other. The Mini isn't important enough to force a decision (like the re-emphasis on "Pro" computers) but at the same time there's probably nobody at Apple that is forcefully advocating it's demise either. The current CEO, unlike the previous one, doesn't have a clear grasp of the computer market so that contributes to the wishy-washy decision making as regards to Apple's desktop computers.

In professional wrestling, this is akin to hiring a booker (the guy that says, "You get to win and you get to lose") that has ZERO experience in generating "heat," or the flow of a match.

 

[EightyTwenty]

There is no conspiracy. Rather that some malevolent cabal laughing while saying "screw those Mini users", what's happening with regards to the Mini looks more like an inability to make a decision one way or the other. The Mini isn't important enough to force a decision (like the re-emphasis on "Pro" computers) but at the same time there's probably nobody at Apple that is forcefully advocating it's demise either. The current CEO, unlike the previous one, doesn't have a clear grasp of the computer market so that contributes to the wishy-washy decision making as regards to Apple's desktop computers.

The concept of market cannibalization isn't a "conspiracy theory". It should be covered in any decent Intro To Business 101 course. And it would most certainly be taken into consideration prior to any Apple product launch.

My opinion is that they are holding back a new Mac Mini because of 4K. The last thing they want is a Mac Mini + 4K monitor being half the price of the 4K iMac.

 

[opeter]

So, if Apple doesn't update the Mac mini this year (october, november) ... what do you think, will happen?

 

[throAU]

until thunderbolt 3 dropped the only real improvement available in CPUs was battery life. which is irrelevant for the mini.

so maybe this year.

 

[saulinpa]

My opinion is that they are holding back a new Mac Mini because of 4K. The last thing they want is a Mac Mini + 4K monitor being half the price of the 4K iMac.

Don't you mean 5K? The 2014 mini supposedly already supports 4K but at 30Hz.
The worse part is there is no Apple monitor to sell it with. They have LG monitors to sell in their stores instead. Sort of like Toyota selling a Ford truck.

 

[BeefCake 15]

There was no need for a separate thread on this, could have used the on-going "new mac mini is almost certainly coming"....

 

[EightyTwenty]

Don't you mean 5K? The 2014 mini supposedly already supports 4K but at 30Hz.

4K at 30Hz is like trying to drive a car without an engine... or tires. Useless for anything besides still images.

 

[saulinpa]

4K at 30Hz is like trying to drive a car without an engine... or tires. Useless for anything besides still images.

Countless billions have been made producing movies at 24 fps so 30hz is not useless. Just like no quad core, the 2014 mini has some limits.

 

[twalk]

4K at 30Hz is like trying to drive a car without an engine... or tires. Useless for anything besides still images.

I've heard this kind of thing a lot. I've had some of them come over to my place to see my MBP'15 hooked up to a 4 year old Seiki 39" 4K 30Hz TV. They have a hard time believing how good it works. Business work, web browsing, movies, etc work just fine. Games don't. I have to move the mouse cursor back and forth between the TV and laptop screens before they finally pick up the slight movement issues on the TV side.

Why is this? It's the screen technology

4K TN monitors are like 90% of the 4K monitor market. If you run those at 30Hz, then it's not going to look good, much less usable. IPS and TV techs like PVA can work reasonably well for many things at that frame rate

 

[Fishrrman]

Title:
The new Mac mini...ISN'T HERE

Neither is Godot.
But rest assured -- he is most certainly coming!

 

[Boyd01]

That sounds about right, after 64 years we are still waiting for Godot.

 

[TomOSeven]

Countless billions have been made producing movies at 24 fps so 30hz is not useless. Just like no quad core, the 2014 mini has some limits.

That's such a useless comparison. You don't interact with movies. They don't respond to your input.

 

[Christian Schumacher]

Countless billions have been made producing movies at 24 fps so 30hz is not useless. Just like no quad core, the 2014 mini has some limits.

Film is shot at 24 fps but projected at 48 fps, meaning frames are double printed on projection copies to avoid flickering

 

[EightyTwenty]

Countless billions have been made producing movies at 24 fps so 30hz is not useless. Just like no quad core, the 2014 mini has some limits.

A computer monitor is not usable at 30Hz, in my opinion.

 

[ziggy29]

Countless billions have been made producing movies at 24 fps so 30hz is not useless. Just like no quad core, the 2014 mini has some limits.

The thing is, the "sync" between the film and the projection mechanism are extremely tight. Even if movies are produced at 24 fps, the devices that render them are specifically designed to go at the same rate or an exact integer multiple to avoid the appearance of tearing. It's sort of like holding vertical sync with a game on a 60 Hz monitor to try to hold 60 FPS... but much tighter and more reliable. The net effect is that fewer FPS can still seem more fluid.
[doublepost=1500248441][/doublepost]

Neither is Godot.
But rest assured -- he is most certainly coming!

Seems like if they really *are* working on a new Mini, "Godot" would be a cool code name for the project... except that Godot never came. Guess it would have been a good code name for Copland!

 

[Lankyman]

until thunderbolt 3 dropped the only real improvement available in CPUs was battery life. which is irrelevant for the mini.

so maybe this year.

It's also irrelevant for the iMac and yet that's been updated. Tends to blow that theory out of the water then.

 

[Admiral]

My opinion is that they are holding back a new Mac Mini because of 4K. The last thing they want is a Mac Mini + 4K monitor being half the price of the 4K iMac.

This is it exactly. Yesterday I started and abandoned a post on exactly the same point. A Mac Mini with Thunderbolt 3 would be able to drive MULTIPLE 4K monitors, which are now about US$400 apiece, and that would be deadly to 4K iMac sales.

 

[Wando64]

I don't even care. My late 2012 quad i7 is going as strong as it did on day one.
Hardly breaking a sweat only if I try really hard with 2 VMs running jobs concurrently while I am playing media from the mac-os.
No wonder these guys are selling fewer macs than they used to.
No good for games, but then it never was.

 

[MysticCow]

I don't even care. My late 2012 quad i7 is going as strong as it did on day one.
Hardly breaking a sweat only if I try really hard with 2 VMs running jobs concurrently while I am playing media from the mac-os.
No wonder these guys are selling fewer macs than they used to.
No good for games, but then it never was.

Jobs missed the boat on computer games. He seriously thought they'd never catch on. Now, we're playing catch-up with Metal (which my mini doesn't inherently support) and Metal 2 (which my mini may or may not support, depending on who you ask today).

The sad thing is the gaming boat sailed a long time ago...

 

[dirtylilhobo]

I hate to think of the next Mini being any more user friendly. They took away most of the user upgrade capability with the last "upgrade" and their soldered ram chips. The great thing about owning a PC had been the ability to take the thing apart, add chips, boards, and HDD's. The confining of the Mini and limiting its ability for the user to modify diminishes the appeal. The corporate moguls must have worked overtime to overcome user adaptability and force users to buy their upgrades on initial purchase from Apple. So, we wait to see what the next upgrade will bring. Perhaps a vacuum sealed titanium case thwarting intrusion without the express permission of Apple, for a price...