Well what is it going to have in it? Where is everybody?
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/25/mac-mini-october-update/
No Iris Pro No Sale.
Well, there's a few things that Apple could do now. The fact is, we seem to have missed out on a Haswell upgrade for the Mini and the Haswell refresh chips have appeared in relevant Macbook Pros since July this year.
Broadwell chips are arriving as of next year, but the 4.5W low power models are imminently available with a much lauded ability to run fanless tablets or computers due to low heat generation and power consumption.
The easy options are:
1. Haswell Mac Mini turns up in existing case - it should have turned left at Albuquerque but it's here now.
2. Haswell Refresh Mac Mini turns up in existing case, with no mention of what (if anything) became of a Haswell Mac Mini which would be upwards of a year late at this stage.
Apple now use the innards of a Macbook Air using Haswell Refresh in the base iMac 21.5" but with a spinning disk hard drive.
http://www.apple.com/imac/specs/
It's been noted elsewhere that 802.11ac requires
beam-forming antennae and therefore hints at a tall case factor rather than an AppleTV form-factor.
However, it wouldn't overly surprise me if Apple opted to go for a compact form factor while sacrificing 802.11ac. They wouldn't be able to go to an AppleTV size as they would have to sacrifice the spinning disk hard drives unless they seriously think they will be able to use 64Gb flash only in a desktop Mac.
3. This could suggest a Mac Mini using Macbook Air innards - 15w parts - this could be in the existing case as per the iMac or we could be looking at a case redesign which is increasingly probable as the existing case is designed for 2.5" SSDs and up to 47w CPUs, plus the 802.11ac factor as mentioned earlier.
4. Low power Broadwell chips are the only ones from that range available this year - colloquially known as Core M - in a 4.5W package. This is rumoured to be the chip that goes into a Macbook Air with Retina screen but could it be the chip that goes into a fanless Mini? The implication of this would be a very small form factor that would sit nicely on a desk or in front of a home cinema.
In a desktop Mac the Core M Broadwell has decent graphics (HD 5300) but not exactly world-beating and obviously not even close to Iris or Iris Pro graphics.
My current opinion is that Apple have waited as long as possible to simplify their supply chain by getting rid of the Ivy Bridge innards and the 2.5" form factor Samsung 830 SSD - only the basic 13" non retina Macbook Pro is still on sale using similar components and I expect that to quietly disappear if a Retina Macbook Air appears.
What I think we might see in October is a Coke-can shaped Mini - the tall form factor allowing for 802.11ac wifi. Apple will probably have to allow for an internal 2.5" HD for the low end options, with a PCIe flash stick serving as a higher end option and the basis for a fusion drive. The finished article might not be too far from the current Time Capsule in design.
Most users here would love a Haswell refresh mini with Iris or Iris Pro graphics but based on the iMac refresh there's also a chance of Macbook Air innards like the base iMac. I hope I am wrong.