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Mac mini 2013/2014 refresh.

grandM said:
I'm seriously considering to buy. I can buy a new mac mini i7 2.3 for 750 euro (apple store: 850). 256 gb samsung ssd 156 euro (pro: 202 euro). We really don't know if apple will do a refresh. And what if the refresh isn't upgradable? And how much faster would the new be? Would it cost more?

Btw can a mini bought in France be installed as a dutch one?
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Why couldn't be installed with another language? I don't think it would be a problem, you will need to choose the language settings when configuring it during the first boot, or then change the settings in OS X later:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2490
 
Kurotenshi said:
From what I've read, the Haswell and Iris hardware bring major power savings when underclocked and high performance gain when used at normal specs. The power savings are of minor importance in the Mini but the hardware cannot be ran at the same temperatures as the iMac so this means a Haswell Iris Mini will not be significantly better right?

I'm thinking on buying one for Xmas and I want to be sure I'll not regret the Ivy Mini over the Haswell iMac
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The Haswell iMac uses 65W processors, the MacBook Pro Retina uses 47W and the (current) mini uses 45W processors. Expect similar performance to the base 15" retina MBP for the i7 quad or the base 13" retina MBP for the i5 duel refresh.
 
I didn't read the whole thread. But let's be clear on the first page info I did see.

They're not dropping Ethernet in favor of an additional thunderbolt port. Thunderbolt hasn't caught on yet and is far too expensive for mainstream use. It's a whole other conversation, but seriously. It's a desktop, they're not dropping it. Lots of people don't have AC wireless which is also way too expensive to be mainstream. And despite what some have said, it's not as fast as a wired connection. Theoretical bandwith and actual throughput are very different things

And to the one guy..the Mac mini has no comparison to a mbp 13

Expect the new processors and graphics. Maybe FireWire 800 goes away in favor of TB.

I'd like to see an external power supply to free up room inside for better cooling or enhanced CPU/gpu
 
No brick. I just got my new Mac mini 2 days ago. I was surprised to find it had no brick. Just a power cord.
 
wwohl said:
I'd like to see an external power supply to free up room inside for better cooling or enhanced CPU/gpu
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While not a deal breaker, I love that the PSU is internal. I'd prefer they go to PCIe SSDs (accessible from the bottom!) then use the space where the SSDs/HDDs used to go for a bigger fan (especially if bigger fan means slower fanspeed = quieter!). maybe make the top of the mac mini look like the old cheese grater MP to vent the heat - whatever works, just give me 4 core haswell with Iris pro 5200!
 
I guess I don't understand the need for quieter. Now, admittedly, I've only had my mini for 2 days, but my external hard drive was louder than my mini. I finally unmounted it and shut it off. My mini is barely audible.
 
wwohl said:
I'd like to see an external power supply to free up room inside for better cooling or enhanced CPU/gpu
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They got rid of the optical drive; there should already be plenty of room.
 
CoolHotCold said:
Goes back to when Steve jobs came in and cut Apples lines of development.

It goes for every category there is a Pro version and a consumer version.

Desktops is iMac for consumers, Mac Pro for Professionals
Laptops is MacBook Air for consumers (replacing the MacBook), MacBook Pro for Professionals
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The problem is that actually didn't work due to the rest of the market changing. The MBA is actually moved to the other side. Initially it wasn't a "MacBook" replacement. Still isn't if keep the screen size up.

Similar on desktop the iMac didn't get the deep traction it has down until tracked to the middle. Over time the ever shrinking average priced desktop box alternatives meant that iMac had to diverage since have the display bundled. Similarly the iMac has taken on desktop parts over time. The last "desktop" that primary leverages laptop economies of scale is the Mini. That's why it appeared over time and while it will likely stay around as long as the laptops are a dominate force.

Right now the hiccup with the mini is that is was tightly coupled to the MBP 13" and Apple has "lost its way" with that model. The ultra-thin characteristics of the MBA and rMBP make little sense applied to the mini which will never by quite that thin.
 
I'm not saying my logic is correct, but if the Mini was to be updated silently together with the new iPads, it should be available in the Australian online store right about now, which it's not.

Back on with my patience hat :)
 
I don't see Ethernet being dropped, but I can see Firewire 800 being replaced (I think it's the only Mac that still has Firewire now?). I'm unsure if it'll see a jump to Thunderbolt 2, but two ports will be welcome.

Processors will definitely be Haswell, probably Iris graphics on the whole range, hopefully Iris Pro on the high end model. Might have Iris Pro on the server model too, as Crystalwell can accelerates both CPU and GPU depending upon their workload.

Definitely wireless ac and latest Bluetooth.

RAM is another slight question-mark, but since the entry level iMac has 8gb of RAM now I could see the Mac Mini getting the same 8gb as standard, especially since it helps with the integrated GPU, particularly with the improvements in Mavericks in how it allocates the RAM.


I don't see an all-new design coming just yet. If they do do a new design though then I can see it dropping the second slot for the hard drive in favour of using an mSATA or PCIe SSD for Fusion Drive options, this will allow them to make the machine even tinier, maybe even ditch the square (someone suggested round in another thread, and it seems likely to me). But again, I don't see that coming from the next update unless it's delayed till the next media event, but I'd expect (and hope) for the more modest spec-bump only update to just come out quietly.
 
Mac mini refresh

When tim cook says things like "proud of our product lineup going into the holidays" it suggests to me it's not going to be upgraded. Besides, you can already purchase a quad core i7 Mac mini with fusion drive which matches the current iMac's.
 
Windows2Mac said:
When tim cook says things like "proud of our product lineup going into the holidays" it suggests to me it's not going to be upgraded. Besides, you can already purchase a quad core i7 Mac mini with fusion drive which matches the current iMac's.
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i would agree with the analysis of the cook quote… :(

but the second part of your statement isn't exactly correct, now is it…?
 
mvmanolov said:
i would agree with the analysis of the cook quote… :(

but the second part of your statement isn't exactly correct, now is it…?
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I'll rephrase. The difference isn't exactly going to make people jump out of their seats to buy a refreshed mini if it's only going to include intel iris and a haswell processor. It's mainly going to attract people using mini's prior to 2012 or new mac customers (like me). I think they will try and do something which makes It stand out more as the form factor hasn't really changed for quite a while.

Possibly an airport influenced design? I. Just throwing it out there..
 
I think it'll be a refresh.

It's not a major profit driver and putting too much focus or redesigning it will detract from all the recent launches and the Mac Pro launch next month. They'll stick a Haswell chip in it (probably the same chips in the 13 & 15 inch rMBP's) and replace the firewire port with a thunderbolt port.
 
CoolHotCold said:
I think it'll be a refresh.

It's not a major profit driver and putting too much focus or redesigning it will detract from all the recent launches and the Mac Pro launch next month. They'll stick a Haswell chip in it (probably the same chips in the 13 & 15 inch rMBP's) and replace the firewire port with a thunderbolt port.
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I agree...most possible to follow 13'' rMBP chips....along with TB2....
 
there was one year - 2008 when there was no new mini. it was tough back then cause we were stuck with Crappy GMA graphics and weak CPU.
honestl if they skip Haswell gen its not really tragic. the performance is still great, you can put two SSDs to have PCIe like performance and plenty of ports.
 
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