Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What I think Apple will do to the Mac Mini in 2016
- Thread starter Zackmd1
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Tosh….. it is giving the consumer a choice. Don't want a computer with a HDD? Don't buy one…… Be pleased that there are other options available. But be aware that others have a lower budget and needs. Thankfully they have an option available to suit.
I'm always on the side of customer choice. However, the fact that getting an SSD is a CAD$240 option on and requires the mid-tier model is pretty silly. You could spend $300 on the base model for the Fusion drive but I've found having an SSD is far superior.
It'd be nice if there were a $100 option to upgrade from the 500 GB HDD to a 128 GB SSD on the base and mid models.
Consumer choice shouldn't mean ripping people off with their prices.
I'm beginning to think they may do just this. They could keep an integrated power supply and have essentially the same internals as the new MacBook and have a tiny Mac mini. If they would give me the internals of a MacBook (second generation core M, iris graphics, 256GBssd, and 8GB ram) for $499 I'd be pretty satisfied.
That would certainly be quite interesting.
I wonder how many people would be hung up on the fact that the CPU would be a pretty poor performer for a desktop computer, though. Much of the Mini's core user group has been pretty bummed about the lack of a quad core -- I'm not sure how many would welcome the ultra-low-power CPUs. I'm not sure any power savings from it would be worth not using the Core i U-series chips that perform much better.
It certainly wouldn't feel like an upgrade in many respects over a model from the last 4+ years. I have a 9 year old PC with Core 2 Quad Q6600 that's more powerful, although it consumes a ton of power and is hardly refined.
I would fear you wouldn't get many years from a Core M computer, and with all the soldered components, it'd be a shame to have it need replacing before you know it.
I'd love to buy a Mini (I've been saying that for like 2.5 years now) but I would only buy one that I know I'll get a decent life span out of it.
Pick the right parts, which is easy if you follow a guide, and you can build yourself a Hackintosh. It's the best of both worlds if you still want to run OSX.
Some would regard replacing 500 GB of storage with 128 GB as a downgrade….. it depends on needs and point of view.
No one is forcing anyone to pay more money to improve one performance parameter or another. The options and prices are there for folks to choose, based on their needs or desires…… more the latter for the average whinging geek.
If you feel some feature is cost effective, cough up. If you think it is silly to pay more for something, don't. It's not about getting ripped off, it's about making a choice.
I've been happy with the two base model Minis I have owned over the past 11 years. I reckoned replacing my 2005 original was more cost effective than repairing the HDD and power supply in 2009. Both base models, I remain satisfied with the 2009 Mini (still with the original HDD), and guess it should be good for another couple or three years.
What is this so called "core user group"? The few here who continue to bemoan the lack of a 4 core Mini in the line-up?
Hardly. The typical user has no need of 4 cores, and doesn't give a hoot. Check out Amazon and you will see that Mac Minis continue to sell quite well.
If you'd love to buy a Mac Mini, do it…… then you could comment here based on experience, rather than from some hypothetical point of view.
Whatever else folks complain about, the Mac Mini lifespan does not seem to be an issue.
Last edited:
True. But I believe there are stability issues with a hackintosh.
In addition it's potentially illegal as it breaches Apple's EULA.
Those with a stable hackintosh are super rare to non existent, at least on this board.
It will use a Core M like the Macbook and see massively reduced size and power consumption.
It may even end up as a PC on a stick form factor.
It may even end up as a PC on a stick form factor.
Unless there's an actual law against it, I'm pretty sure all Apple can really do is feel very disappointed in us for a minute before focusing on their Mac sales again.
Do you understand the concept of Fusion..? Nobody's talking about one or the other for the base, but rather BOTH!
Every Mac should ship with SOME flash component. Naked 5400rpm drives is just pathetic.
Performance users can then opt to pay for EXCLUSIVE ssd.
Have to agree with that. External spinner for storage is the perfect solution to data files and cheap. the best option would be for the Mini would be stock SSD with the option to add internal spinner storage for those that want an AOI storage system.
You may say , well the Mini already has this in fusion, but fusion will fail when the spinner fails and then all is lost. I compare spinners to the old tube system as opposed to solid state. Tubes are going to fail where solid state will last may fold over.
Also with the advent of USB type c/TB3 computers are going to enter a time where they are going to last a very long time with no ned to replace for newer technology. Moores's Law is Dead.
Apple will probably leave the spinner in because since Tim has taken over it's all about the profit and no longer about the user experience.
Last edited:
Hmm. From my own usage, I would guess switching to SSDs would save me roughly 60 seconds worth of time per day. Mostly, from time saved opening a couple of apps. That's all.
I don't switch my machines off at night. I don't constantly open and close apps. I'm not playing with random-access databases. I do manage large amounts of data from time to time (thus copying / moving megabytes around), but magnetic media is just as good as SSDs for serial data manipulation.
Most of my work is CPU / RAM bound (compiling code). For my needs, bare 5400rpm drives are just fine, and they're cheap, reliable, and can store vast amounts of data. I see no reason not to provide them as an option for customers.
While I would love to see them release it as a true 'starter Mac' in a range of bright colours - at a low price with a minimal spec - so there would be room to slot something between that and the nMP, I don't think this is going to happen. It would probably make people feel like the need a computer again, however I feel in reality Apple will just push the Mini and the nMP further into obscurity as they want us all to own an iMac or a Macbook. There's no room for enthusiasts any more, as we are apparently in the post PC era, and we simply don't need choice - commodity is where it's at and we can all use exactly the same hardware as we won't have different requirements.
Nah, it isn't a scam. It's just selfish but apple isn't deceiving or tricking anyone so it isn't a scam.
[doublepost=1455458194][/doublepost]
I get the feeling you've never used a SSD before. Also, hard drives are pretty much the least reliable part of a computer. But you're right that they are cheap and can hold lots of data.
Don't guess. Try it and you'll see that going back is not something you want to do.
I consider spinners inside of a computer antiquated SLOW technology. That is my opinion. Outside, for large storage needs, fine. SSD's are not that much more $$$ depending on the size/quality/type. Apple could make the switch, not charge any more, and still do just fine
It is a mystery why their laptops are all SSD now but they punish us with spinners in the base model, or insult us with 24gb fusion drives. It's as though they only want us to buy laptops.
[doublepost=1455462428][/doublepost]
But this is the exact problem. To get real SSD is a 400$ premium over the base model. You can easily buy a quality 256gb SSD for much less. This goes to the heart of the Apple Tax. The base model should have the 256gb SSD and not a spinner or a pretend SSD. They are making mugs of the punters who buy.
[doublepost=1455462589][/doublepost]
The choice is no choice as the value premium isn't there. That's why people on here don't buy 2014s as the value for money doesn't exist.
[doublepost=1455462957][/doublepost]
Building code is mostly IO bound as parallel files compilation leads to thrashing. A fast cpu helps too but is secondary.
[doublepost=1455463050][/doublepost]
Yes, in an Apple TV box. It's coming ;-)
Sure have. But I get the feeling most folks here are using their PCs mainly for entertainment, not for business...
[doublepost=1455463674][/doublepost]
Hmm. I get the feeling that you've been compiling on a machine with insufficient RAM (or are you trying to link an extremely large application?). While it is true that a modern app will need to read in a lot of different files to be compiled, most of the compilation process should be able to take place in RAM...
SSD is a game changer, and if you've never run a machine with SSD you have no idea how much less annoying computers can be. Any time your machine starts to get under memory pressure, SSD is much, much faster to swap to.
And the days of magnetic media being as fast as SSD for block data are well and truly over.
The SSD on the modern Apple machines does over a gigabyte per second. About 8-10x faster than any spinning hard drive. Random IO? The difference is much higher than that.
I just compiled htop 2.0 and it flies. Reading header files and such is very slow on a spinner. With 4 cores then you have 4 jobs thrashing. RAM generally isn't an issue nowadays on multi GB systems. Remember, to cache a file requires reading it first.
Cache also doesn't help so much for writes. Sure it can smooth the peaks out a bit, but at the end of the day your data has to hit the backing store.
Yeah, this user of Macs for nearly 30 years is getting tired of the Apple tax. Seems to have got worse under Mr Cook.
I mean, 500 GB, 5400 rpm platter drives, in 2016? Not to mention the RAM & SSD gouging, lack of a quad core i7, etc.
Gonna have to do better than that, Apple.
250GB Crucial BX100 2.5" SATA III Solid State Drive. On Amazon for 65 bucks. This is what is wrong with the Mac Mini 2014 model!