The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[ELMI0001]

I've been waiting since May/June 2013, frustrating isn't it? Patience is a virtue I keep telling myself! I'm just about coping, but memory is becoming a bottleneck for me and I don't see any point in getting any more at this point when I could get a new machine soon. At this point I suppose it will be nice to get to 5 years with my '09 mini, which will be in March I think. Pretty good longevity for a desktop isn't it?

5 years is very solid. I just passed 5 years on my MacBook and celebrated by putting in a fresh SSD and doing a clean install of Mavericks. The machine still does enough for what we need but I will be buying a new Mini as soon as it's released.

 

[dudedude]

I'm not sure why everyone equates size with user upgradability. They are 2 different things. I wouldn't be opposed to a smaller footprint as long as I can swap the RAM and the mSata drive (all anyone really wants). I realize a lot of these smaller machines get soldered on parts but size really doesn't have anything to do with it. The intel NUC is smaller than the Mini and it's a barebones machine. It seems like is moving in this direction but be mad at Apple not the computer size.

 

[762999]

In Canada, BestBuy, Futureshop & Staples are all out of the entry level mini.

Sold Out
Quantity Remaining: 0​

It's a little weird that they are all out at the same time without any specific reason.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

mSATA seems like an odd choice for Apple, who's been aggressively pushing PCI flash storage over the past year. I don't mind mSATA (it will just be another part that can be easily upgraded) but it would seem to go against Apple's recent engineering choices.

I also think it's highly unlikely Apple will make a larger server model just to house two drives. Either there will be no regular SATA storage, or there will be two hard drive slots which would totally kick ass, because you'd have basically three storage slots available (1x mSATA, 2x SATA).

And there better be an i7 in the $799 model.

 

[Crosscreek]

mSATA seems like an odd choice for Apple, who's been aggressively pushing PCI flash storage over the past year. I don't mind mSATA (it will just be another part that can be easily upgraded) but it would seem to go against Apple's recent engineering choices.

I also think it's highly unlikely Apple will make a larger server model just to house two drives. Either there will be no regular SATA storage, or there will be two hard drive slots which would totally kick ass, because you'd have basically three storage slots available (1x mSATA, 2x SATA).

And there better be an i7 in the $799 model.

What Apple could do with msata is free one of the drive bays and as other mini boxes coming out provide a empty drive bay with sata3 connector or as in the sever model fill the space with a sata3 HD for fusion or just a HD. Just let us have our ram and sata access and all is good.

 

[scottsjack]

At this point I suppose it will be nice to get to 5 years with my '09 mini, which will be in March I think. Pretty good longevity for a desktop isn't it?

I just sold my late 2009 mini 2.66 and replaced it with a 2012 2.3. The 2009 was just too slow for what I wanted to use it for but it was operating perfectly right up until the day I installed the OEM HD and packet it up.

If my new one lasts as long I will be very happy.

 

[talmy]

If my new one lasts as long I will be very happy.

My understanding from some threads a few years ago is that the mini has the highest reliability of any Mac. I'm assuming that the aluminum models do just as well (and I haven't read otherwise).

 

[animatedude]

what's the difference between mSata SSD and PCI-SSD?

 

[And]

5 years is very solid. I just passed 5 years on my MacBook and celebrated by putting in a fresh SSD and doing a clean install of Mavericks. The machine still does enough for what we need but I will be buying a new Mini as soon as it's released.

I had a look in old emails. I think my mini will be 5 on March the 20th. If Apple don't get a successor out soon it may have to stumble on for another year yet!

 

[nathanjbrown]

From my post in another thread on January 29th:

I'm now thinking that Apple's newfound love of the Apple TV - as evidenced by the product's new placement in their online store - will ultimately lead to a media event wherein the new Apple TV and Mac Mini are unveiled.

We shall see!...

A number of Chinese websites are circulating the same story of a March event that will see a Haswell Mac mini released alongside a new Apple TV; they also suggest that the mini will feature the mSATA variant of Samsung's 840 EVO SSD and that this implies a decrease in the size of the mini's form factor.

Google translation of weiphone.com article:

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

We shall see!...

I heard a rumor regarding the 5th March 2014.

 

[sorryiwasdreami]

Care to elaborate, Mr. Retrofire?

 

[Cloudsurfer]

what's the difference between mSata SSD and PCI-SSD?

PCI has a faster interface than sata (if I'm not mistaken 8 gbit/s vs 6 gbit/sec) so PCI allows for faster storage

 

[gregorsamsa]

two different mac mini design seem very un-apple-like ... I hope they just keep the old design!

(or I'll try to get the current one)

Agree. Can't see 2 different Mac Mini designs as it just adds to production costs. Not the Apple way.

Re the current design: same here. The day the Mini's user-upgradability totally disappears, is the time I look to buy older Minis only. Fortunately, the Mini has an excellent lifespan, even compared to other Macs as often cited by Mac engineers. So there should be plenty of older refurb models available for years to come.

As much as I look forward to the new Mini, I just hope it's not spoiled with needless design alterations purely for the sake of superficial appearance, ie. made even smaller/thinner. Thinner laptops: yes, please! But no need to tinker with the Mini's already compact proportions that seem near-perfect for most users.

 

[ELMI0001]

I had a look in old emails. I think my mini will be 5 on March the 20th. If Apple don't get a successor out soon it may have to stumble on for another year yet!

Will you plug-in the new Mini to current config or are you upgrading other pieces of hardware too? Maybe you have in the last 5 years. I'm thinking a new monitor and keyboard after the new Mini for myself. I'll need adequate speakers too.

I'm hoping the new Mini retains some of it's current form. Mostly the accessible hard drive. I bought the 500GB SSD to put into a Mini but got sick of looking at it so I'm test driving it in the old MacBook.

 

[omnisphere]

I think we have to wait for the new Intel Broadwell chip before a new Mac mini is coming.

There is no faster i7 processor with 45Watt that fit Mac mini right now.

Apple is going for a completely new design with stronger power supply 65Watt so they have a wider collection of processors to choose from.

Right now I think Mac mini is designed for 45Watt processors?

We have to blame Intel for the delay, because they have lost in speed and new processor designs does not get more energy efficient.

Back in the days, the processors became twice as fast every year, now they almost stand still.

 

[EADGBE]

I'm still left wondering why the SSD and fusion drive options are back ordered 2-3/3-4 weeks respectively. This is in the Apple US store.

 

[omnisphere]

EADGBE!

That is strange! I think apple use Toshiba SSD?

Toshiba acquired OCZ and it can be the cause but why?

 

[faradaycage]

I'm still left wondering why the SSD and fusion drive options are back ordered 2-3/3-4 weeks respectively. This is in the Apple US store.

If you custom configure anything OTHER than the CPU, the wait jumps to 2-3 or 3-4 weeks. Oddly, if you change i5 to i7, the delay is only 3-5 days.

Gotta mean a new one is coming <crosses fingers>...

 

[And]

Will you plug-in the new Mini to current config or are you upgrading other pieces of hardware too? Maybe you have in the last 5 years. I'm thinking a new monitor and keyboard after the new Mini for myself. I'll need adequate speakers too.

Will be plugging into current set-up - 24" monitor, magic mouse, wireless keyboard. Speakers... I have a very cheap sony unit and would very much like to get harman kardon soundsticks. Maybe, we'll see!

 

[resotek]

EADGBE!

That is strange! I think apple use Toshiba SSD?

Toshiba acquired OCZ and it can be the cause but why?

FYI... my 1 month old mini shipped with a Samsung 830 which is a rock solid drive for sure.

 

[jimj740]

If you custom configure anything OTHER than the CPU, the wait jumps to 2-3 or 3-4 weeks. Oddly, if you change i5 to i7, the delay is only 3-5 days.

Gotta mean a new one is coming <crosses fingers>...

If only this were true... There has been nothing but crickets since the Belgian website rumor in around January 20th, which was not very credible by itself - there are no other sources to collaborate. Usually I see leaked model numbers or new hardware IDs in beta builds before an immanent release. For example the latest beta builds of IOS have references to a new AppleTV hardware ID, but the latest betas of Mavericks 10.9.2 have no new hardware IDs to support new mac mini models...

To me, a February release is now highly improbable. The delays in BTO mac minis look like supplier restock issues on SSDs and 4GB memory modules.

Oh well...

-JimJ (and yes, I too am waiting for the refresh to buy new machines....)

 

[Foggerty]

I got tired of waiting and ordered a 11" Air (upgraded cpu and memory) - Its not a quad core, but considering I can get most things done on my Core2Duo Macbook I should be sweet Once I realized it can do everything a Mini can do that I NEED, it kinda made sense. Slowly weaning myself off the old geek "MUST HAVE TEH MOST SHINYZ" mentality. Less power than the mini, but I can take it with me (plus have monitor / keyboard / mouse workstation setup for a laptop already).

Now its just a matter of waiting for the inevitable buyer's remorse to set in....

 

[Crosscreek]

I got tired of waiting and ordered a 11" Air (upgraded cpu and memory) - Its not a quad core, but considering I can get most things done on my Core2Duo Macbook I should be sweet Once I realized it can do everything a Mini can do that I NEED, it kinda made sense. Slowly weaning myself off the old geek "MUST HAVE TEH MOST SHINYZ" mentality. Less power than the mini, but I can take it with me (plus have monitor / keyboard / mouse workstation setup for a laptop already).

Now its just a matter of waiting for the inevitable buyer's remorse to set in....

Well you have 14 days to make a decision and send it back if you aren't happy.
Air is up for refresh also. I personally don't believe there will be a new mini until June. Apple will probably introduce new monitors too.

 

[dylin]

I got tired of waiting and ordered a 11" Air (upgraded cpu and memory) - Its not a quad core, but considering I can get most things done on my Core2Duo Macbook I should be sweet Once I realized it can do everything a Mini can do that I NEED, it kinda made sense. Slowly weaning myself off the old geek "MUST HAVE TEH MOST SHINYZ" mentality. Less power than the mini, but I can take it with me (plus have monitor / keyboard / mouse workstation setup for a laptop already).

Now its just a matter of waiting for the inevitable buyer's remorse to set in....

Its funny that you say that because i usually buy when an item refreshes, and then when the new one comes out a year later, i get buyers remorse then lol