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Mid-2014 Mini: What are we in for?
- Thread starter ZipZilla
- Start date
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Apple generally doesn't give a thought to cannibalization, because it doesn't need to; if you buy an iPad instead of a macbook, you're still in the Apple ecosystem and will likely spend a lot more money with Apple over the course of many years. Obviously their first choice is you buy the expensive device, but they'd rather they be the ones to sell you a less expensive device than have you leave the ecosystem.
Sorry Alex, this argument is wrong, since Apple dont see profitability on retail price, but on unit sale price minus unit cost, so there the mini is head to head to the iMac.
Only argument agaisnt the mini is that it allows to use any Monitor, meaning less monitors sourced from Apple (in the shape as TB Display or iMac), this is a point, but also its a Market open for Hacintosh because if you dont provide a solution for specific users, the Market will do, and the Market is the Hackintsh, actually you can get an Zotac Zbox E- series loaded with Iris pro graphics (haswell) w/o hdd and ram (barebone) for less than 600$, add the ram, ssd, hdd you like and Hackintosh it, its easy, this is the reason why we should see soon an HASWELL update to the MINI with MacBook Pro Retina INTERNALS (CPU/SSD) and No dGPU.
What to expect:
Less Optimistic:
Same Form Factor, with only Removal of the Firewire por in favor an extra Thunderbolt 2.
Soldered RAM, 4 and 8 GB on base models, with 16 GB on CTO.
PCIe SSD, the same part as on the latest rMBP/MBA.
Single Spinner HDD, no more provisions for a 2nd Spinner, so no more Mac Mini Server.
CPU/GPU Intel, no dGPU. CPU same as on the rMBP.
Top Optimistic:
New From Factor
acordingly Apple Trends: a Mini-Cube like Airport Express or a mini Cylinder like the New Mac Pro, Ultra Quiet also with Full Passive Cooling as possibility.
Storage: since th new Form Factor provides Space enough, could be available 2 HDD on 2.5" or a single 3.5" Hdd (as on the Airport Extrme TC), Plus PCIe SSD.
CPU/GPU: Same Options as on th Current iMac, also dGpu.
Storage: since th new Form Factor provides Space enough, could be available 2 HDD on 2.5" or a single 3.5" Hdd (as on the Airport Extrme TC), Plus PCIe SSD.
CPU/GPU: Same Options as on th Current iMac, also dGpu.
No More Mac Mini Server, those requiring a OS/X Server, just Download the Server App (maybe for free).
Whatever we see next days or weeks must be among those extremes.
I disagree and agree. Think nMP: There will be no more spinners, and there will be only one non-SATA SSD slot.
THIS! Ethernet Port is still prevalent and it is one thing that absolutely must be retained. And I agree with the specs. I am somewhat neutral with the Thunderbolt ports seeing that Thunderbolt devices are still expensive.
Sounds about right.
I just see it mainly being a bump up to Haswell, or possibly Broadwell if its released sometime in 2015.
Has Apple ever made a big deal of a Mac mini at any event? Seems like they've always been low key silent upgrades.
Yup even the redesigned 2010 model wasn't given any attention, if I remember correctly.
Indeed! It would be nice to see the most recent Wireless technologies in the Mini for the occasional transportation, but it's still a desktop device and as such it should NEVER lose the Ethernet Port. It's not going to be that extra wire that's going to cause a mess on the desk and Ethernet will always be more reliable than Wireless.
As for the second thunderbolt, now that I think about it, I think I'd actually prefer the the second HDMI that I also suggested. That way I could plug a second screen without having to resort to adapters
I disagree; the Mac Mini is still supposed to be an entry point Mac, it still doesn't make sense to force users to pay for an SSD, or sell a desktop with hardly any storage capacity.
Switching exclusively to SSDs makes a ton of sense for laptops not just for size, but also for resiliency (no moving parts = more portable), battery life etc. But for a desktop machine it doesn't make as much sense.
The Mac Pro isn't really a good point of comparison, as many serious Mac Pro users outgrew internal storage a long time ago, preferring separate, dedicated RAID boxes for their storage needs. Apple clearly decided that Thunderbolt now mostly has that covered, and it certainly does on performance, if not cost, so there was no real need to keep mass storage internal.
The Mac Mini is a different beast entirely; I believe storage is still very much more important than raw speed to casual Mac buyers who may want to install various apps, games, download movies etc., so forcing them onto an SSD doesn't make sense at all. So I don't see 2.5" drives being ditched completely just yet, maybe in a few more years when SSDs are even more affordable, but they're still pretty expensive in terms of either money or capacity, so it's better to leave it up to the customer whether they need the extra performance or not. Even many NUC machines still have room for a 2.5" drive.
Because I have a NAS for all my media files. For me and many others 128 GB is plenty enough for the OS and all installed applications. It's a perfectly acceptable size for the Mini, as long as there are BTO options for those who have other needs.
The lack of storage options in the 2012 i5 Mini is a disgrace. "You want an SSD? Then pretend the CPU has anything to do with it and buy the i7 model instead". Yes, I know I can put an SSD in it myself, but I wouldn't feel good about buying an intentionally crippled machine so I have skipped the 2012 Mini.
I think everything hinges on whether they keep the form factor the same or not.
If they keep the form factor the same, it can almost certainly maintain support for 2.5" drives and thus the entry level will likely start with a 500GB spinner with SSD BTO options. Fusion drives may also be optional. Similarly, the same form factor would almost guarantee the same RAM compartment on the bottom and thus user upgradable RAM. And, if they stick with the same form factor, it might offer enough cooling to support desktop Haswell CPUs as in the iMac.
If they redesign the Mac Mini, they can reduce the size significantly by moving to a single PCIe SSD blade used in the MacBooks. If they do this, 128GB SSD would be the entry level config. A redesign could very well jeopardize user upgradable RAM. A new slimmer form factor would also probably mean mobile Haswell CPUs similar to the MacBook line up. The whole thing could probably be half the height of the current Mac Mini if they wanted it to be with the PSU perhaps being the limiting factor in size reduction.
Bottom line: I believe a lot hinges on form factor.
For ports/RAM:
Thunderbolt 2 is unlikely to make it into this budget oriented computer. I would expect TB1 only... with dual ports (which are standard on Intel's controller). Firewire would almost certainly disappear. Ethernet and USB3 will remain. The only question mark in my mind is HDMI... a redesign could eliminate native HDMI requiring a TB-HDMI adapter for those of us using them as HTPCs.
RAM could start at 4GB, if only to meet a price point, although 8GB seems to be the standard across most of the Mac line now.
Last but not least, I really wish they offered the Mac Mini in BLACK! It currently looks like an odd duck in my HTPC setup.
If they keep the form factor the same, it can almost certainly maintain support for 2.5" drives and thus the entry level will likely start with a 500GB spinner with SSD BTO options. Fusion drives may also be optional. Similarly, the same form factor would almost guarantee the same RAM compartment on the bottom and thus user upgradable RAM. And, if they stick with the same form factor, it might offer enough cooling to support desktop Haswell CPUs as in the iMac.
If they redesign the Mac Mini, they can reduce the size significantly by moving to a single PCIe SSD blade used in the MacBooks. If they do this, 128GB SSD would be the entry level config. A redesign could very well jeopardize user upgradable RAM. A new slimmer form factor would also probably mean mobile Haswell CPUs similar to the MacBook line up. The whole thing could probably be half the height of the current Mac Mini if they wanted it to be with the PSU perhaps being the limiting factor in size reduction.
Bottom line: I believe a lot hinges on form factor.
For ports/RAM:
Thunderbolt 2 is unlikely to make it into this budget oriented computer. I would expect TB1 only... with dual ports (which are standard on Intel's controller). Firewire would almost certainly disappear. Ethernet and USB3 will remain. The only question mark in my mind is HDMI... a redesign could eliminate native HDMI requiring a TB-HDMI adapter for those of us using them as HTPCs.
RAM could start at 4GB, if only to meet a price point, although 8GB seems to be the standard across most of the Mac line now.
Last but not least, I really wish they offered the Mac Mini in BLACK! It currently looks like an odd duck in my HTPC setup.
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This statement is more unlikely.
C'mon, Apple's not that dumb any more. Anything that doesn't have its own screen will have an HDMI port. It's 2014, not 2020.
Your analysis seems accurate, but fells along memory.
I must to said, there is no chance to see ram slots, since Apple will move the mini to s new logic board (from ivi bridge to Haswell), apple move to soldered ram, saves cost and service calls, only high level system will keep upgradeable ram (as the iMac 27 and the Mac Pro), you may not agree but actually few Mac users upgrade their Ram, and is mostly due they save purchasing underpowered Mac, and as soon they put they hands on, swap ram modules for beefier ones (I used to do that), Apple it's aware this, and aware on the solution (soldered ram), they may make few DIYers cry but actually doesn't affect sales, but saves cost and users use to order reasonable spected Mac.
So next mini has little chance to get ram slots, while maybe cheaper as return.
No chance for a new form factor if they simple quietly update the mini, this is sad, a new form factor will be announced at am media event at least, it's what deserves.
A Haswell update may offer same cpu we see a the iMac or the rMBP, unlikely they remove the spinner, they didn't with the cheaper iMac less likely to do that on the mini.
About Thunderbolt, rMBP comes with TB2, coz it's part of the Haswell chipset and the fisical connector it's the same, to offer the Mac mini Apple will require a sort of downgraded chipset, unlikely.
Hdmi port has no risk, as the rMBP users cry for an extra usb3 instead hdmi Apple kept the hdmi port.
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I'm basing this on the MBP refresh. They have TB2 now so it's likely the next iMac refresh will also. The fact that the MBA and the low-end iMac don't have TB2 is another matter. Those are low GHz machines, and I don't see Apple refreshing the Mac Mini with less GHz than it already has. Moore's Law has kind of been dead since Intel has moved on from the Core 2 Duos.
I've really been craving a thinner Mac mini. Mine from 2011 is just way too thick.
Please, oh, please Apple give us a smaller, thinner desktop computer. That way we won't have to put up with those pesky internal hard drives and RAM slots. While you're at it, please take away all the unsightly and superfluous stuff like extra USB ports, HDMI, ethernet and Firewire. The computer will then look so much nicer!
Please, oh, please Apple give us a smaller, thinner desktop computer. That way we won't have to put up with those pesky internal hard drives and RAM slots. While you're at it, please take away all the unsightly and superfluous stuff like extra USB ports, HDMI, ethernet and Firewire. The computer will then look so much nicer!
The bottom line is since there will no longer be a server model there will no longer be a need to service the Mini and therefore it will be sealed, glued and soldered.
I would almost bet it will be flash memory like the MacBooks and you will have to pay the Apple tax to upgrade it and the same with RAM.
No this time, a least this mini generation will see an spinner HDD.
If Apple wants to move the mini to ssd to make it more propertary, why they didn't on the much more expensive iMac?
As entry point device the mini with an 500640 gb spinner it's cheaper than one with 64 or 128 gb ssd.
This doesn't mean the mini will be an easy to upgrade Mac.