Those are my similar thoughts. The Mac Mini has never really been a top-of-the-line priority with Apple and it seems to lead behind the MacBooks. That said, nor has Apple definitively discontinued the mini, which I see a future iterarion somewhere around early 2018.
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.
So, no Mini
- Thread starter Wirenut
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Those are my similar thoughts. The Mac Mini has never really been a top-of-the-line priority with Apple and it seems to lead behind the MacBooks. That said, nor has Apple definitively discontinued the mini, which I see a future iterarion somewhere around early 2018.
But how many times the Macbook (Pros) have been updated in these 3 years?
How much effort does one need, to simply put an actual Broadwell/Skylake/Kaby Lake/whatever CPU into the Mac minis enclosure.
Hell, even the Macbook Air was updated to at least 5th Generation of Intel CPUs. And than yesterday.
I think it's really, really bad for people to make excuses for Apple selling a 3 year old product (that was a downgrade from the release 2 years earlier) for the same retail price as when it was debuted.
We are talking about computers here, 3 year old product with 5 year old technology selling for full retail at the time of release?!?!
If you feel the 2014 is fine, that's OK. But it's absolutely not ok for it to sell for the same price as it did when released.
We are talking about computers here, 3 year old product with 5 year old technology selling for full retail at the time of release?!?!
If you feel the 2014 is fine, that's OK. But it's absolutely not ok for it to sell for the same price as it did when released.
If past behaviour is anything to go by, Apple typically silently/soft launch Mac Mini updates a few weeks after they update MBP processors.
I find it simply unbelievable at this point that anyone still thinks Apple is going to update the Mac mini. Stop being deluded, people. It's dead.
Apple released an unprecedented amount of hardware yesterday, some of which isn't even coming until December. They even publicly talked about a modular Mac Pro a while back. The complete and utter radio silence regarding the Mini is deafening.
Go and take a look at the Mac mini page on Apple's website. It's the only place where it even exists (there isn't a single photo of a Mini on any other pages – just notebooks and iMacs) and they can't even be bothered to update it with the new site-wide font! They have a photo of it from years ago connected to a long-defunct Thunderbolt display. Hell, on the purchasing page here in the UK, they even have a photo of a US power cable under "What's in the Box"!
The pages are mothballed; the product is EOL and a zombie. I'm not happy about it either; I don't want to buy iMacs every time I want my kids to have a new computer. But it is what it is.
Apple released an unprecedented amount of hardware yesterday, some of which isn't even coming until December. They even publicly talked about a modular Mac Pro a while back. The complete and utter radio silence regarding the Mini is deafening.
Go and take a look at the Mac mini page on Apple's website. It's the only place where it even exists (there isn't a single photo of a Mini on any other pages – just notebooks and iMacs) and they can't even be bothered to update it with the new site-wide font! They have a photo of it from years ago connected to a long-defunct Thunderbolt display. Hell, on the purchasing page here in the UK, they even have a photo of a US power cable under "What's in the Box"!
The pages are mothballed; the product is EOL and a zombie. I'm not happy about it either; I don't want to buy iMacs every time I want my kids to have a new computer. But it is what it is.
And yet…
Phil Schiller very recently was quoted as saying (at the time of the Mac roundtable discussion): "the Mac Mini is an important product in our lineup".
Last edited:
Which, when translated out of Schillerese, means only "it currently exists."
He also said: "The Mac Mini remains a product in our lineup, but nothing more to say about it today."
That's like saying "the Moon is round, but nothing more to say about it today". It's merely a statement of fact. Yes, it's in the lineup but the hardware is ancient and shows zero sign of ever being updated again. Seriously, they would have done it by now - the processors are Haswells for crying out loud!!!
The base Mini's CPU came out in Q2 2014. It can only display 4k at 30Hz; 5k is limited to 24Hz. The RAM is 1600MHz DDR3L. It has a 5400rpm spinner. And it's £479 in the UK!
No wonder it's "important" to Schiller - each sale equals insane profit for puny old hardware. It's EOL. None of the above hardware should exist in a computer costing that much in mid-2017. Sad, but true.
That's like saying "the Moon is round, but nothing more to say about it today". It's merely a statement of fact. Yes, it's in the lineup but the hardware is ancient and shows zero sign of ever being updated again. Seriously, they would have done it by now - the processors are Haswells for crying out loud!!!
The base Mini's CPU came out in Q2 2014. It can only display 4k at 30Hz; 5k is limited to 24Hz. The RAM is 1600MHz DDR3L. It has a 5400rpm spinner. And it's £479 in the UK! No wonder it's "important" to Schiller - each sale equals insane profit for puny old hardware. It's EOL. None of the above hardware should exist in a computer costing that much in mid-2017. Sad, but true.
The 2015 MacBook Air already had a 5th generation (Broadwell) CPU. The only "update" yesterday was bumping the speed of the entry level i5 model from 1.6ghz to 1.8ghz. They did not update the i7 version of the MBA. I think that just means it will remain on life support for a little longer, it is dead meat at this point. They are just keeping it around because it sells so well.
There another option you can try. Get one of the Seagate Thunderbolt adapters and put your SSD in there and use it as startup drive.
Thats what I've done and it works great.
I expected the announcement of new MacBooks/MBPros yesterday, but the introduction of new iMacs (ready to ship) was a surprise, as I didn't believe they would be shipping until later this summer.
Perhaps the criticism of the past year or so has "gotten through" to Apple (could be wrong about that!).
No one realistically expected new Minis yesterday, but I'm thinking we could see them come October or so. I'm not ready to write off the Mini yet, even though its future at the moment remains uncertain.
Or, as they say...
"The new Mac Mini is most certainly coming"...
Perhaps the criticism of the past year or so has "gotten through" to Apple (could be wrong about that!).
No one realistically expected new Minis yesterday, but I'm thinking we could see them come October or so. I'm not ready to write off the Mini yet, even though its future at the moment remains uncertain.
Or, as they say...
"The new Mac Mini is most certainly coming"...
The_Interloper said "and they can't even be bothered to update it with the new site-wide font!" - absolutely priceless!
tubular said "Which, when translated out of Schillerese, means only "it currently exists." - this is also like Trump speak "He's been here since the beginning" - then the guy gets fired.
Somehow we forgot something as Apple has in the past poisoned us with quality, aesthetics and their ecosystem that just works. Every iteration of processors generally means faster, smaller and you'd have to believe after the R&D expense the manufacturing costs for Apple should typically go down which means our computers should really be costing less as time goes on in keeping with the benefits of new technology minus the R&D.
So why should I pay 4999.00 for a device whose future will be controlled by Apple - and short-lived it will be for five thousand dollars.
Madness minus the Hype - pure madness!
tubular said "Which, when translated out of Schillerese, means only "it currently exists." - this is also like Trump speak "He's been here since the beginning" - then the guy gets fired.
Somehow we forgot something as Apple has in the past poisoned us with quality, aesthetics and their ecosystem that just works. Every iteration of processors generally means faster, smaller and you'd have to believe after the R&D expense the manufacturing costs for Apple should typically go down which means our computers should really be costing less as time goes on in keeping with the benefits of new technology minus the R&D.
So why should I pay 4999.00 for a device whose future will be controlled by Apple - and short-lived it will be for five thousand dollars.
Madness minus the Hype - pure madness!
I was surprised by how much they announced yesterday and it did seem to address the criticism. But with the $5000 iMac and the coming Mac Pro that will surely be very expensive, I see a definite statement from Apple. "You want high performance machines? OK here they are, now pay up or shut up."
As for the Mini, I really don't expect anything, they will let it sit there for awhile. If it really matters, maybe they'll do a token CPU upgrade for the entry level model without changing anything else - this is what they did for the MacBook Air. The Air has significance as their $1000 laptop option and the mini is their $500 desktop. They may want to keep these around just for the sake of show.
I jumped ship. The pros defiantly outweigh the cons on the new iMac 27inch model. So I am going from the 2013 Mac Mini/24inch monitor to the 27 inch quad 4.5,16gb ram,2tb fusion,8gb ram 580. No more cable clutter as well
That simply does not work for someone who HDMI's to 60 in TV's. The mini line is absolutely critical to some people.
I am still sticking with my prediction from earlier in the year, that was, the mini will be effectively replaced later this year with the new Mac Pro which will have an entry level configuration designed to take out the current mini line. That will mean a further two lines merged into one and thinning the lines is absolutely what they are doing.
They have said the Pro will be upgraded but not until next year. So I am sure at this stage that is what is coming.
They have said the Pro will be upgraded but not until next year. So I am sure at this stage that is what is coming.
The 2012 Mac Mini was a threat to Apple, as it was easily upgradeable, in both RAM and Storage.
If fact, the 2012 Mini started a cottage industry. Techies/geeks/hardware freaks loved the Mac Mini, easily maxing it out and running it a power desktop. Tons of videos of Mini upgrading on YouTube even to this day.
From 2012
It was amazing. Technies, who often avoid Mac, starting falling in love with the Mini, and tinkering with it.
Apple could not have that. They soldered in the RAM on the 2014 Mini, and made the Storage difficult to change.
Apple prides itself on supplying turnkey products ... yet the Mini appealed to tinkering nerds.
When the 2014 Mac Mini came out, the price of the older 2012 Mac Mini actually went up ... people were that disappointed with the 2014 Mini.
Apple should spare the Mini, and restore it to its one product line that appeals to tinkerers. Either than or let it drop.
As it is, after the disappointment of the 2014 Mac Mini, the hackintosh trend went through the roof.
We now have the spectiable of $70 machines out performing some of Mac's newer stuff.
Apple should update the Mini but
1) Give it a quad-core option
2) Supply a basic dGPU option
3) Stop the soldering and make it fixable. (Let this be Apple's one model for tinkerers)
If fact, the 2012 Mini started a cottage industry. Techies/geeks/hardware freaks loved the Mac Mini, easily maxing it out and running it a power desktop. Tons of videos of Mini upgrading on YouTube even to this day.
From 2012
It was amazing. Technies, who often avoid Mac, starting falling in love with the Mini, and tinkering with it.
Apple could not have that. They soldered in the RAM on the 2014 Mini, and made the Storage difficult to change.
Apple prides itself on supplying turnkey products ... yet the Mini appealed to tinkering nerds.
When the 2014 Mac Mini came out, the price of the older 2012 Mac Mini actually went up ... people were that disappointed with the 2014 Mini.
Apple should spare the Mini, and restore it to its one product line that appeals to tinkerers. Either than or let it drop.
As it is, after the disappointment of the 2014 Mac Mini, the hackintosh trend went through the roof.
We now have the spectiable of $70 machines out performing some of Mac's newer stuff.
Apple should update the Mini but
1) Give it a quad-core option
2) Supply a basic dGPU option
3) Stop the soldering and make it fixable. (Let this be Apple's one model for tinkerers)
Apple showed their Mac line up yesterday.....no Mac Pro and no Mini. No Headless Macs. The iMac Pro is the new Mac Pro and the low end iMac is the new Mini.
That's all your getting.
Make your choice and move on.
That's all your getting.
Make your choice and move on.
I think it's stupid for Apple to ignore all the people that they can get to start using their OS (which will lead to them using their other products). The Mini was great to bring new people over, people who have a monitor and keyboard already and just want a new computer.
The funniest part about it is how WIndows computers have taken after the tiny form factor of the Mini and they are selling like hotcakes. So why would Apple ignore that?
The funniest part about it is how WIndows computers have taken after the tiny form factor of the Mini and they are selling like hotcakes. So why would Apple ignore that?
Jason Snell at this week's Upgrade podcast pondered the fate of Mac mini a little bit. That announcement of iMac Pro hints Mac Pro as being all about expansion and customization.
Customization means freedom to prioritize (1) CPU power, (2) GPU power, and (3) storage today, with freedom to upgrade in the future.
Today's maxed out Mac mini with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD tops out at $1999. Cheapest Mac mini with SSD (8GB RAM and 256GB SSD) costs $899.
My suggested compromise. Offer a low-end Mac Pro with entry level iMac class CPU, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD for $1499, with same new Mac Pro chassis with all the benefits like (1) user serviceable RAM, (2) user serviceable multiple SSD storage connectors), (3) upgradable GPU (remains empty), and (4) ton of I/O ports.
And sell current generation Mac mini in limited budget configuration to appease those with a strict budget, much like MacBook Air exists today.
Customization means freedom to prioritize (1) CPU power, (2) GPU power, and (3) storage today, with freedom to upgrade in the future.
Today's maxed out Mac mini with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD tops out at $1999. Cheapest Mac mini with SSD (8GB RAM and 256GB SSD) costs $899.
My suggested compromise. Offer a low-end Mac Pro with entry level iMac class CPU, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD for $1499, with same new Mac Pro chassis with all the benefits like (1) user serviceable RAM, (2) user serviceable multiple SSD storage connectors), (3) upgradable GPU (remains empty), and (4) ton of I/O ports.
And sell current generation Mac mini in limited budget configuration to appease those with a strict budget, much like MacBook Air exists today.