No new Mini today

[iamthedudeman]

Firewire will be gone on the mini most likely. I don't see any volume by Apple on firewire parts at all. Zero.

I do see a much higher volume on thunderbolt parts.

I could be wrong but I doubt it, they might have a surplus on firewire parts stuffed in a warehouse somewhere.

----------

Well will you look at that.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/2317790

 

[NewbieCanada]

And the 13" MBP did not get Iris Pro graphics, so everyone knows what that means.

Mac Minis are available with quad-core processors. 13 MBP is not, so doesn't necessarily apply

----------

I was extremely dissapointed. It's like Crapple doesn't give a s@it about any computers that you can easily up grade yourself or that are cheap. The Mac Mini has been the #1 Best Selling Desktop on Amazon for the past 2 years.

And the lowest selling Mac forever. Love the mini - but it's not an Apple priority and never will be.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Firewire will be gone on the mini most likely. I don't see any volume by Apple on firewire parts at all. Zero.

I do see a much higher volume on thunderbolt parts.

I could be wrong but I doubt it, they might have a surplus on firewire parts stuffed in a warehouse somewhere.

----------

Well will you look at that.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/2317790

Is that a new Mini?

And are you suggesting that they would ditch the FW port and include 2 TB ports? That would be great.

 

[iamthedudeman]

No probably not. Most likely hackintosh. But a good indication of what the mini numbers will be.

Yes that is what I am saying. They might not but I don't see firewire being on the new mini. Doesn't mean they will add a thunderbolt port, just means I don't see a firewire port.

Like I said this is good news.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

That's awesome. I'm definitely going to wait. 14,000 is more than enough for me.

 

[hipnetic]

Came by to see the reaction here after Apple didn't announce a new Mac Mini. Looks like a lot of folks weren't around the last time around, otherwise you wouldn't be surprised. The Mac Mini gets no love from Apple, so you just have to deal with it. Damn shame, but it is what it is. No surprise from me.

Really no big surprise on any of today's announcements. Well, I kind of expected the fingerprint sensor on at least the larger iPad, and I wouldn't have been shocked if they denied retina on the iPad Mini, so I would have been "pleasantly" (and mildly) surprised by the release of the iPad Mini Retina, if not for the fact that the price bump seems crazy, given the competition (e.g., Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7" w/1920x1200 display @ $229).

The 13" MacBook Pro w/Retina @ $1299, while no huge shock spec-wise, offered a bigger price drop than I might have expected, which is nice since that's the main device I was anticipating wanting to upgrade to.

As for the Mac Mini, I wasn't at all surprised by the lack of any announcement. I guess we should be grateful that they haven't EOLed it yet. Hopefully, if we're lucky, they'll keep it alive, bump up the specs, and keep it at the same price point, with the new model quietly released within the next 6 months. I think that's the best we can hope for.

 

[Micky Do]

Too bad. Maybe a separate announcement in a few weeks?

No big deal.

For the average Joe or Jill, for day to day use I doubt that a new Mini would offer much more than bragging rights.

Got a 2009 or later Mini with at least 4 GB of RAM.....? Install Mavericks and you'll be good to go for a while more.

I don't anticipate replacing my early base model 2009 Mini any time soon. I added 4 GB of RAM (now 5 GB in total) and had Mountain Lion installed just over a year ago. When the current term ends next March I will pop it in to the local Apple dealer to do the upgrade to Mavericks..... with an internet connection that seldom gets better than 300 kb/sec, downloading it myself is not really a goer.

 

[Che Castro]

The next Mac mini will be plastic & different colors like the iphone 5c
With a $350 price

 

[Richard8655]

Firewire will be gone on the mini most likely. I don't see any volume by Apple on firewire parts at all. Zero.

I do see a much higher volume on thunderbolt parts.

I could be wrong but I doubt it, they might have a surplus on firewire parts stuffed in a warehouse somewhere.

----------

Well will you look at that.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/2317790

Oh no, really?... that would be bad news. I just bought a WD external Firewire 2 TB drive for my current Mini. I don't think any Firewire to USB adapters exist.

----------

No big deal.

For the average Joe or Jill, for day to day use I doubt that a new Mini would offer much more than bragging rights.

Got a 2009 or later Mini with at least 4 GB of RAM.....? Install Mavericks and you'll be good to go for a while more.

I don't anticipate replacing my early base model 2009 Mini any time soon. I added 4 GB of RAM (now 5 GB in total) and had Mountain Lion installed just over a year ago. When the current term ends next March I will pop it in to the local Apple dealer to do the upgrade to Mavericks..... with an internet connection that seldom gets better than 300 kb/sec, downloading it myself is not really a goer.

Probably a good move. I have an early 2009 Mac Mini and with 15mbps cable speed it took more than an hour to download and install Mavericks.

 

[COrocket]

Oh no, really?... that would be bad news. I just bought a WD external Firewire 2 TB drive for my current Mini. I don't think any Firewire to USB adapters exist.

If they do add a 2nd thunderbolt port, you'd have to get one of these http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapter and you are back to the 2012 functionality. Does WD really sell Firewire only drives?

 

[Cape Dave]

I am very sad. I wanted a new mini.

 

[Richard8655]

If they do add a 2nd thunderbolt port, you'd have to get one of these http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapter and you are back to the 2012 functionality. Does WD really sell Firewire only drives?

Thanks! I didn't realize or consider the Thunderbolt to Firewire aspect. That would solve it at a reasonable price.

Yes, WD does sell USB 2.0 and 3.0 external hard drives. But my thinking was why tie up one of the much needed USB ports while an empty Firewire port is just sitting there. Should have been more forward thinking.

 

[Yamcha]

I am very sad. I wanted a new mini.

Same, disappointed when I heard there was no update announced for the Mac Mini. I've been waiting and hoping for one for a few months now..

Let's hope there will be a silent upgrade soon..

 

[Snowshiro]

I think Apple deliberately *don't* want to release another mini. With Haswell and Iris inside it, it's too much of a little beast. Stick a half decent monitor on it, and 90% of casual users really don't need much more. There's a danger that it could cannibalize Apple's premium priced lines like the iMac.

Apple's main growth area in their userbase, people switching from a PCs, don't need to buy a monitor, because they'll probably already own one, so instead of buying a Premium priced iMac, a lot of folks will find everything they need in Apple's cheapest computer product. I don't think that suits Apple's bottom line.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

Two: They are either redesigning the mini or making up for the slight difference in wattage by altering the fan or cooling for the mini. That is why there is or was likely a slight delay. I don't see any other mobile processors in the pipeline other than the ones that the macbook pro haswell chips. Apple saves on each chip since they buy in bulk. The more they buy the more they save. They would actually lose money by going with another processor since they would not recieve the benefit of saving more by buying more.

Here are the likely processors based on sales from Intel to Apple. These three have the highest procurement rate, meaning that Apple ordered the most of these chips than any other mobile processors that they ordered. All cannot be going to the macbook pros.

http://ark.intel.com/products/75990/Intel-Core-i5-4258U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-2_90-GHz

http://ark.intel.com/products/76087/Intel-Core-i7-4750HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz

http://ark.intel.com/products/76086/Intel-Core-i7-4850HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz

I hope so....

Bad News?

I don't think APPLE will redesign the outer case in 2013...MAX TDP 45W is a critical limit? I don't know...

Good News?

TB2 appeared in new MBP!!! Possibly, we will find TB2 (up to 20 Gbps) in new Mac Mini, too....

 

[Lilleskotte]

I hope so....

Good News?

TB2 appeared in new MBP!!! Possibly, we will find TB2 (up to 20 Gbps) in new Mac Mini, too....

TB2 availability at this time has been scarce, though. It wasn't expected for a full release until early 2014, as far as I've heard. I'd love a Mini with TB2, but since both MacBook Pro and Mac Pro has it, I think that either:

(1)we'll see a Haswell Mini sometime this year with TB1, and no new updates until late, late, late.... laaaate 2014 or possibly 2015

or

(2)They wait 3-4 months until they have all the parts they need to make the Mini as good as it can get for a while. Which might give us the entire package with TB2 and Haswell in early 2014.


Please correct me if I'm wrong about the TB2 abailability. I'm happy to be proven wrong with a TB2 Mini coming out this year

 

[ioannis2005gr]

TB2 availability at this time has been scarce, though. It wasn't expected for a full release until early 2014, as far as I've heard. I'd love a Mini with TB2, but since both MacBook Pro and Mac Pro has it, I think that either:

(1)we'll see a Haswell Mini sometime this year with TB1, and no new updates until late, late, late.... laaaate 2014 or possibly 2015

or

(2)They wait 3-4 months until they have all the parts they need to make the Mini as good as it can get for a while. Which might give us the entire package with TB2 and Haswell in early 2014.


Please correct me if I'm wrong about the TB2 abailability. I'm happy to be proven wrong with a TB2 Mini coming out this year

Generally speaking, I agree with you!

Option 2, if happens, it will take more than 3-4 months....I guess between Apr-Jun. 2014. I think Option 1 is the most possible! TB2 and graphics (combined with quad-core processor) are still a mystery...

TB2 announced and new MBP is available...that means TB2 has already been added!

 

[Semester]

Perhaps they saved it for the rumored Apple TV (hockey-puck) event.

 

[iamthedudeman]

I think Apple deliberately *don't* want to release another mini. With Haswell and Iris inside it, it's too much of a little beast. Stick a half decent monitor on it, and 90% of casual users really don't need much more. There's a danger that it could cannibalize Apple's premium priced lines like the iMac.

Apple's main growth area in their userbase, people switching from a PCs, don't need to buy a monitor, because they'll probably already own one, so instead of buying a Premium priced iMac, a lot of folks will find everything they need in Apple's cheapest computer product. I don't think that suits Apple's bottom line.

Well you answered your own question. The mini 2012 model was Apples second best selling consumer desktop. And best selling business desktop. Taken together it was Apples best selling desktop in overall sales. It is a very important product for them. Already it has canniblized imac sales.

The 2012 mini was also important as a server and apple sold more quads last year than any other.

 

[Previse]

Ah some good posts here! And in regards to http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/2317790

I really do hope they put the IP5200 in the Mac Mini. For me, at least, it's hooked up to my projector + surround sound and is used as an htpc. Watch movies, web browse etc etc... It having the 5200 gives me the capability at playing games at low-medium. The 4000 is great, and i play Gmod / runescape / wow on it at lowest @ 1080p; Albeit having the IP5200 in a MM would make me smile.

EDIT: That geekbench browser shows Macmini6,2 -- Aren't the current quads 6,2 currently? That being a hackintosh would seem more viable.

I too was eagerly waiting for a refresh, but ... low and behold ... Nothing. I do, however, strongly feel that there will be a silent upgrade such as the iMac was in the near future.

Lastly; does anyone know of websites that receive apple products the day of updates? I lucked out with my L2012 MM. 820 Shipped brand new in box MM Server.

 

[haravikk]

Yeah hopefully a speedbump at least when the store re-opens. Doesn't really need a re-design IMO, but seriously needs Haswell & better gfx.

I'm now hoping for it as I think a Mac Pro is a bit too excessive as my needs haven't really changed much from my early 2008 Mac Pro.

Assuming the update includes a Haswell chip and 8gb of RAM as standard that would bring the quad core Mac Mini in line with my current 8-core early 2008 Mac Pro. It'd lag a little on specialist multi-core workloads (due to the way the two hardware threads per core thing works) but is better at almost everything else. Plus the Iris GPU on Haswell should be about as good my current GeForce 8800 GT; again the 8800 does have some advantages, but the Iris blows it away on shader performance.

The only question is now is when the Mini will get some attention. If it is going to be a new design then it's likely to be next year. Personally I like the Minis as they are design-wise, so I'm hoping they'll just get a spec bump before the end of the year, maybe losing the Firewire port in favour of a second Thunderbolt port, hopefully an extra USB 3 port as well.

 

[Previse]

I'm now hoping for it as I think a Mac Pro is a bit too excessive as my needs haven't really changed much from my early 2008 Mac Pro.

Assuming the update includes a Haswell chip and 8gb of RAM as standard that would bring the quad core Mac Mini in line with my current 8-core early 2008 Mac Pro. It'd lag a little on specialist multi-core workloads (due to the way the two hardware threads per core thing works) but is better at almost everything else. Plus the Iris GPU on Haswell should be about as good my current GeForce 8800 GT; again the 8800 does have some advantages, but the Iris blows it away on shader performance.

The only question is now is when the Mini will get some attention. If it is going to be a new design then it's likely to be next year. Personally I like the Minis as they are design-wise, so I'm hoping they'll just get a spec bump before the end of the year, maybe losing the Firewire port in favour of a second Thunderbolt port, hopefully an extra USB 3 port as well.

In regards to GPUS (if we're speaking of mobile gpus )
8800 GTS
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-8800M-GTS.6934.0.html
8800 GTX
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-8800M-GTX.8836.0.html

IRIS Pro 5200
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Iris-Pro-Graphics-5200.90965.0.html

The iris is ranked top tier 2, meanwhile the 8800 GTS & 8800 GTX are ranked mid and top tier 3 respectively.

I couldn't agree with you anymore regarding the design. They look clean are are very sleek. I hope they don't "redesign" it being cylindrical like the Mac Pro. I HOPE they leave 2.5" drives rather than PCI-E Based storage. For me nothing beats the Mac mini when it comes to an HTPC.

 

[hudson1]

I've posted this before, I'll say it again.

There won't be a new Mini this year.

Apple still has not introduced the new Mac Pro yet, and any revamp of the Mini will come _after_ the Mac Pro has hit the market and is selling.

Apple will not let the Mini steal from Mac Pro sales or impact them if possible. The best way to assure this is to hold back the Mini introduction to let the Mac Pro shine on its own.

I would expect to see a new Mini (that is, if there's going to _be_ a new Mini) up for sale in January or February 2014.

Maybe December, but again, ONLY after the Mac Pro is on the shelves...

A silent update of the mini would be completely inconsequential to the Mac Pro. Heck, they could even release both on the same day and it wouldn't matter.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

A silent update of the mini would be completely inconsequential to the Mac Pro. Heck, they could even release both on the same day and it wouldn't matter.

I have the same opinion.

 

[haravikk]

The iris is ranked top tier 2, meanwhile the 8800 GTS & 8800 GTX are ranked mid and top tier 3 respectively.

Those are both newer cards than the old Mac Pro one as well, the one I have is just the plain GT version with 512mb so it's about 10-25% slower (in theory).

It depends which brand of Iris the mini gets though; the Iris (5100) and Iris Pro (5200) are technically identical, except that the Pro comes with a 128mb Crystalwell L4 cache; not quite as good as fully dedicated VRAM, but a hefty boost to the CPU and/or GPU depending upon your workload.

But since the Mini isn't a pro product I'm not sure whether to expect the Iris Pro or not; it's intended for desktops rather than laptops, but then Apple may opt for the regular Iris as it's cheaper and consumes a bit less power (or rather you save power on not having that extra cache).

Obviously I'd love to see the Iris Pro in the Mac Mini, but Apple seems to me to generally err towards it being a desktop made of laptop parts, while the Macbook Pro is almost the opposite, but then it's got to live up to the Pro name.