Jumping ship??

[allisonv7]

I've been patiently waiting for Apple to update the Mini for about a year, I'm sure there are some others that are in the same boat.

Do you plan to continue waiting or are you starting to look at alternatives? What alternatives are you considering?

Trying to figure out what to do here!

 

[jpietrzak8]

Do you plan to continue waiting or are you starting to look at alternatives? What alternatives are you considering?

Myself, I entered the Mac world back when they switched to OS X; I love Unix, and I loved the design of the Mini. A tiny, powerful desktop computer running the world's best UI on top of the world's most powerful kernel! What's not to like?

But yeah, the Mini has not kept up with the times, and I have no interest in disposable computer hardware (iMac). I've already switched back to Linux; I have to give up the wonderful UI, but I get to keep the powerful kernel, and can select from a wide range of low-cost and high-power hardware to run it. Right now, I'm just running Ubuntu on some older desktop tower PCs that I resurrected and upgraded; cheap as heck, and yet more powerful than any of my Minis. If only Apple would allow folks to use OS X on respectable hardware again...

 

[Richard8655]

I think it's worth the wait. I would never consider going to the Windows/PC world, as it made me sick all the years when working in that environment during my IT career. The OSX interface and architecture is so much more smooth and appealing to me, it would be hard to abandon.

I'm running with a 2012 I7 Mini, and it still feels every bit as fresh and responsive. I'm sure new Mini models will be forthcoming within a year based on hints from Apple management. I just hope they stop soldering-in everything and return to user upgradable components (well, at least memory).

 

[Boyd01]

I'm sure new Mini models will be forthcoming within a year based on hints from Apple management.

Curious about what hints you have in mind? Schiller recently said Apple had a "2-prong desktop strategy" that included the iMac and Mac Pro, no mention of the Mini. A day or two earlier he was asked about the Mini and he said it was "important" but refused to discuss it.

But I'm like you, very happy with my 2012 quad mini. It should meet my needs for another year or two, and at that point I'll see what makes the most sense. All my monitors are getting old, so maybe an iMac would make sense then?

 

[Richard8655]

Curious about what hints you have in mind? Schiller recently said Apple had a "2-prong desktop strategy" that included the iMac and Mac Pro, no mention of the Mini. A day or two earlier he was asked about the Mini and he said it was "important" but refused to discuss it.

But I'm like you, very happy with my 2012 quad mini. It should meet my needs for another year or two, and at that point I'll see what makes the most sense. All my monitors are getting old, so maybe an iMac would make sense then?

Yes, it was recent public comments that the Mini is still important in Apple's line-up and for the future. I forget who at management said that. I also agree with you on how good the 2012 quad I7 continues to be even 5 years on.

I wouldn't consider an iMac, however, as it arrests you to the display. With the Mini, that freedom of monitor choice and change can become very valuable. But I can see how the iMac is appealing as it's been kept much more currrent.

 

[now i see it]

My old Mac Mini recently kicked the bucket. I just bought a more recent model on eBay for $225. No way I was going to get the 2014 model. I'll wait & see what happens if a new one comes out. If I like it , then I'll get it & keep this one as a spare. It's good to have a couple computers (especially Mac Mini). You can use one to churn through stuff while you use the other one as your main computer.

 

[CaseyGV]

Yes, it was recent public comments that the Mini is still important in Apple's line-up and for the future. I forget who at management said that.

But ask yourself, what is he (or anyone at Apple) going to say publicly about the Mac mini? "Well, we're going to keep selling the 4 year old model until people just stop buying it and then let it go away." They'll always say the product is important in their line up until right when the decide it isn't.

Apple lost me as a customer when they stopped updating the Mac mini (I was holding onto a Mid-2010 Mini but it just wasn't enough anymore) and when they broke the keyboards in the Macbooks and made them mushy. And I'd had Macs since having a G4 eMac and a G4 iBook.

Is it possible Apple will update the Mac mini once or twice in the future? Absolutely. But I was no longer willing to wait. And in the end, I don't think those updates will be much in terms of major advances.

 

[49JC]

Really there's no reason that Apple cant keep updating these Mini's year after year the way they do with the MBA and MBP. Ive been on this Mac train since 2011. And for the most part ive enjoyed it and still continue to. But having to wait out years for the next upgrade is ridiculous.

Ive decided to not wait it out this time around and went back to PC. I got stuck in between this upgrade gap that Apple loves to do and chose the other way. I had all the intention of replacing my dead iMac with a mac mini but I cant wait for something I have no idea if Apple still cares about making. They dont even tell you if an upgrade is on the way. It took them 4 years to finally talk about the MP, only to say its going to be available NEXT YEAR! WTF! I guess thats better than nothing. But I refuse to pay for a 2014 mini at the same retail prices as back then for performance thats similar to what you can get with the 2012 mini.

If the new 20xx minis come back with quad core i7s, I'll probably pick one of those up if Apple decides to "listen" to their customer base as they say they do.

 

[now i see it]

It's hard being a computer enthusiast nowadays when the manufacturer is Apple.

 

[tibas92013]

. It's good to have a couple computers (especially Mac Mini). You can use one to churn through stuff while you use the other one as your main computer.

Good point as I use my Refurbished MM(Late 2014), 2.8GHz,8GB Ram, 256SSD as my main computer and switch now-and-then to my backup Refurbished MM(Late 2012),2.5GHz 16GB Ram, 500GB HD. I store most of my movies on the MM(Late 2012).

I have both connected via a "IBIS HDMI Switch" to an old BenQ 24"Monitor and all I have to do is press/depress-a-button on this switch to access either MM.

Oh, my MM(Late 2014) is "one-hell-of-a-beast"!

 

[Boyd01]

Really there's no reason that Apple cant keep updating these Mini's year after year the way they do with the MBA and MBP.

Yes, they probably will update it "like the MBA". The 11" MBA was discontinued in 2016. The 13" MBA has not been updated since 2015 and Apple made it pretty clear that it will continue without further updates until they discontinue it completely.

 

[campyguy]

Continuing my wait, and standing pat on the 8 2012 i7 Mini Servers either on my desks or in my offices. The 6 in my offices are embedded in Sonnet xMac mini Server units. All of the Minis are updated with max RAM and Samsung 850 Pro SSDs (the work units have dual 1TB SSDs in RAID 0, and are used mainly as video ingest units). They fly…

If I needed a PC today, I'd get a 2014 Mini with an SSD and stuff a Samsung 850 Pro in its second bay and put it to work that very day. They're workhorses that just fly, when configured properly.

I've written elsewhere in these forums about how Apple's Macs are hampered by Intel's sloth. If I whined about this bit, I wouldn't be making coin hand over fist like I am with my Minis busting hump for me. I'll welcome a new, faster, better Mini but I'm happy with the units currently working for me! Cheers!

 

[now i see it]

 

[theluggage]

I wouldn't consider an iMac, however, as it arrests you to the display

If you desperately want 5k, having the display embedded in an iMac might not be such a great loss: I think your choice of separate 5k displays currently consists of one from HP that needs two DisplayPort cables, or the Apple/LG offering that currently only works with a 2016 Mac Book Pro and also uses two DisplayPort streams (albeit moshed together into a single Thunderbolt cable). Both are likely to be obsolete when DisplayPort 1.4 adoption picks up or when Thunderbolt 3.1 appears.

 

[bt22]

I have a 2012 i7 Mac Mini and I also have an older Windows custom built PC that I just upgraded to Window's 10. I tried converting to Windows and took out all my Apple gear. I ran this about a month and finally realized I couldn't live without OS-X. I couldn't find a good alternative to iMovie. I didn't like not being able to text from my computer. Handbrake for Windows does not work as good as the Mac version. So I am back to my Mac Mini. I hope Apple will make an upgradable tower computer, but I am not holding my breath.

 

[Fishrrman]

Richard wrote:
"I'm running with a 2012 I7 Mini, and it still feels every bit as fresh and responsive."

I have one of those, too -- and was thinking the same as I read down this thread.

I can see getting 3-4 more years from the 2012 i7. Of all the Minis, this one was designed with "longevity in mind".

IF Apple were to do something impressive with the Mini late this year, or next, I -might- be tempted to upgrade...

 

[tibas92013]

If I needed a PC today, I'd get a 2014 Mini with an SSD and stuff a Samsung 850 Pro in its second bay and put it to work that very day. They're workhorses that just fly, when configured properly.

!

I totally agree as I am one satisfied Apple Customer with the purchase of a Refurbished MM(Late 2014), 2.8GHz,8GB Ram, 256SSD from the Apple On-Line Store in June, 2015. This "Beast" boots-up and opens Apps in Seconds!

My first Refurbished MM(Late 2012), 2.5GHz.16GB Ram, 500GB HD is my back-up computer and store a lot of my DVD movies on the HD.

 

[keeper]

I jumped, both Mac mini and Mac book pro sold.
Now use 9.7 iPad Pro as main device and Lenovo M900 tiny as a desktop machine

 

[Kaida]

1 year? Most of us have waited for 5 years...

I'm definitely jumping ship. Seeing how the 13" 2016 MBP does not have a QC option, it is very likely the new mini will not, I resisted Skull Canyon last year cos it was only dual PCIE SSD. Now just waiting for NUC7i7 to be available and its bye bye OSX.

Apple just didn't want my money anymore

 

[Micky Do]

I've been patiently waiting for Apple to update the Mini for about a year, I'm sure there are some others that are in the same boat.

Do you plan to continue waiting or are you starting to look at alternatives? What alternatives are you considering?

Trying to figure out what to do here!

Not waiting.

My early 2009 Mac Mini (base model, with an extra 4 Gb of RAM) continues to soldier on. It remains adequate for my humble personal and professional needs (as a teacher) and I guess will remain so for another year or two. The original 2005 Mac Mini was the first computer I owned, and my next computer will be a Mac, probably a Mini.

I am, however, considering getting a MacBook Air to supplement a desktop as increasingly the textbooks I use are supplemented with material that must now be downloaded (used to be available on CD).

There are several computers now running Windows 10 in our office on campus, which do nothing to inspire a desire to change.

The office geek has created a Hackintosh of one of the HPs, which a not particularly computer literate colleague remarked is now easier to use. He was not aware of the change to OS X. He just liked that he could plug in a flash drive and it appears on the desktop. Easy peasy.

 

[Crosscreek]

The Mac Mini is a great computer and way ahead of it's time. Since Tim has taken over though it has suffered from being developed into the best SFF pc in the market. It always uses older tech when updated and is just stuck as an expensive sub par SFF since 2014. If it gets updated it will use older tech again most likely. It is rock solid within the Apple Eco system.
Windows 10 has turned into an outstanding OS although it still uses those outdated registry systems. It is a very flexible system in both powerful hardware and software.
Linux has matured to a solid OS with flexibility in both hardware and software.
I enjoy all three on my hack and say that as a tinkerer and casual gamer I like Windows and Linux for the flexibility. I enjoy mac OS for continuity and messaging.
I waited 3 years before jumping ship and I don't regret it one bit.