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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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I feel the same way. I am leaning toward purchasing a 2012 MacMini, but the weak graphics make me wonder how many more OSes it will support.
I remember reading somewhere else on MR that Apple was shifting parts from the 13" MBA/P down to the MM. These configurations appears to support that statement. If so, does anyone know if Intel has a low power quad-core Broadwell part that could be coming in the future? This may be our only hope for the return of a quad-core MM.
I still wonder whether OS X Server is now on the chopping block after Yosemite. First Apple eliminates its XServes (hardware), then its overly priced Server Software which is replaced with a $20 add-on (software), and now its last remaining MacMini Server (hardware). Following this pattern, it may be that Apple wants to eliminate its server software. In its place, I think Apple is positioning its iOS devices and services (family sharing to sync calendars, contacts, etc.) and iCloud/iTunes Match/iTunes Radio/Music Subscription Service a la Beats buyout to stream music. The revenue stream for the latter would be more plush for Apple who can push newer iOS hardware for newer (subscription-based) features. Servers function in other ways too, but I don't think Apple cares about that. They are only looking for the greenest grass. Thoughts?
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I can see your point as far as an entry level $499 machine for emerging markets and people who just want a cromebook mac for cruising the web and a fewest apps with handoff for docs and stuff.
It has lost its charm of user upgradeability and will never be the Mini it once was.
The graphics will be ok for most people and it's basically a MacBook Air or a 13" MacBook Pro without the screen.
It doesn't fit in with Apples design aesthetics any longer and without a redesign I look for this to be the last Mini.
I think Apple is even embarrassed to show it. It got a 15 second blip.
I was just having some fun. But thanks for noticing. I felt it was my duty to keep this thread bouncing as I have been waiting for quite a while
I also feel like one earlier poster: Apple just doesn't seem to want me (personally) as a customer
I can't find a single configuration that I want to spend money on in the OSX environment. And I am a 30 year user of Apple computers and have used them professionally at a major magazine, academically and personally for a long time. I am a long time user of BSD, Solaris, Unix, VaxVMS, etc.I wan't something around a $1k that will be fast and expandable for the next 5 years. I am NOT paying $3k since I don't need that much power any more. And the way Apple is starting to bloat OSX, the memory and graphics power in the mini is just unacceptable for my uses.
I don't want to build a hack because of the sound recording gear I use will make it very difficult to piece together everything I need, but they are forcing it on me. Plus, some friends and I are working on a short film and we have monitors galore, but can't spend $3k. I don't want an iMac and a MBP that fits our needs is also too expensive.
Plus, I personally don't want to touch Windows ever again. As someone who did PC and network support from 95-'99 and dealt with 3.11, '95, '98, NT, XP in a large environment, it will take mountains moving for me to go back. NOTHING has been as stable as NT for msft and they put it out to pasture. And nothing since XP sp2 has remotely been as smooth and stable with changing audio hardware updates.
Oh well.
I was just having some fun. But thanks for noticing. I felt it was my duty to keep this thread bouncing as I have been waiting for quite a while
I also feel like one earlier poster: Apple just doesn't seem to want me (personally) as a customer
I wan't something around a $1k that will be fast and expandable for the next 5 years. I am NOT paying $3k since I don't need that much power any more. And the way Apple is starting to bloat OSX, the memory and graphics power in the mini is just unacceptable for my uses.
I don't want to build a hack because of the sound recording gear I use will make it very difficult to piece together everything I need, but they are forcing it on me. Plus, some friends and I are working on a short film and we have monitors galore, but can't spend $3k. I don't want an iMac and a MBP that fits our needs is also too expensive.
Plus, I personally don't want to touch Windows ever again. As someone who did PC and network support from 95-'99 and dealt with 3.11, '95, '98, NT, XP in a large environment, it will take mountains moving for me to go back. NOTHING has been as stable as NT for msft and they put it out to pasture. And nothing since XP sp2 has remotely been as smooth and stable with changing audio hardware updates.
Oh well.
Linux is offering some good solid OS now and it's the direction I will probably be headed in.
I'll keep my 2012 Mini and buy something I can use for game playing and 4k HTPC next year when the Broadwell chips get released.
I fell the same way about windows after using it for 20 some years but I have 10 in a VM on the Mini and it has run really stable for being a technical review.
I just called my local Apple store and they told me they are selling the 2012 base model Mini for $499. The only reason I'd consider it now is because it appears all but certain that the new Mini's are not easily upgradable regarding RAM. I could get by with 4 GB right now but down the road, who knows.
I don't see any retailers online that have discounted the 2012 Mini's since the keynote.
I'm really baffled by Apple right now. The iPad Mini got an embarrassing update. The Mac Mini felt like an afterthought at the keynote.
I don't see any retailers online that have discounted the 2012 Mini's since the keynote.
I'm really baffled by Apple right now. The iPad Mini got an embarrassing update. The Mac Mini felt like an afterthought at the keynote.
They did release new server software for Yosemite.
I'm still running the original mini server, when it came with the $500 Snow Leopard Server software. Basically it was like buying the base mini and software and getting the second drive, double RAM, and upgraded processor for free.
The 2012 server gave only a 1TB slow HDD and the $20 server software for an additional $200. IMHO not a good deal especially if you need to add external drives anyway. Basically, paying $999 for the server was a sucker purchase. I want to pick one up from the refurb store for $750 now it is discontinued. It's a good deal at that price!
Since I never maxed out the Core 2 Duo in that box, I'd say a viable server option if I were starting today is the $499 mini plus an additional 4GB RAM, combined with a 4 drive Thunderbolt bay equipped with 4 4TB drives, and the new server app. Cost would be about $500 less than my current setup and actually run much faster.
I used to build my PCs from scratch. Then I got tired of messing around with upgrading, which often left me with a dead computer as the new part would somehow cause another failure. So I started buying Dells, then went full Apple. Computers are appliances. Use them until they don't do the job then replace, passing the old computer down or selling it. Judging by the success of Apple's new products (increasing Mac sales in a down computer market) the public agrees.
The mini has almost always been just a MacBook without a display. The last generation quad-cores were an anomaly.
Macs were never intended to be designed for computer geeks. They were the computer for "the rest of us."
I'd say the 15 seconds is about right. Nothing innovative and a very small portion of the overall Apple sales.
Yes, it is a win for some folks.
I am not disgusted or angry, just a little bummed. Perhaps this means something else will come along down the pike. I remember when the 2012 Mac Pros got the minor tweak and then the 2013 nMP arrived. So maybe this is a sign of the same thing with the Mini.
Thanks. Yeah, Ubuntu has come a long way from Red Hat back in the 90's. I have a couple of servers running Linux: Qnap and some Rpi's. They are solid as can be.
Problem for me is I still think OSX is the best xWin environment ever developed. Maybe I'm stuck in the Cheetah and Snow Leopard eras.
I think I will wait for Broadwell also and put together a NUC. I will have to do a bunch of research for my older Apogee and Echo stuff.
Though, I'm starting to think I am being unrealistic
. I want a modern fast machine that runs the newest OSX for daily use and one that runs Snow Leopard for legacy hardware -- my problem is Logic. Maybe it is time to abandon Logic and go back to ProTools, yuck Its not a win. Apple just created a even bigger gap between the Mac Mini and iMac basically forcing you into a all-in-one option if you want to do anything semi intensive with the computer. You're only option is now a $3,000 Mac Pro if you don't want an all-in-one.
People are bummed because it's wouldn't take some engineering marvel to produce a Mini with the same internals as a Macbook Pro. I think everyone is pretty well aware Apple is purposely handicapping the Mini in fear of it taking away from other higher end computer sales(iMac, Mac Pro).
I have been using Linux Mint for half a year with good results, which has put me in a position to be a bit more picky with what Apple is offering. Apple is simply no longer my only way out of having to use Windows.
One should never say never, but I'm not very keen on going back to Windows. I have been Windows-free for 10 years now, as long as I don't count every day that I go to work. But at least my home is Windows-free, as long as I don't count all the times I bring my work laptop home... but you know what I mean!
But who knows, maybe Windows 10 is really good. Not that I'd find out since I won't try it... but if I only hear good things about Windows I may try it as soon as in the Windows 12-to-16 time frame.
Yeh, I use Mint a lot to on an old PC. I could use it full time if I had to and will probably use it on a Broadwell HTPC next year.I do prefer OS X though.
I've been testing the Win10 Technical Preview in Parallels and its a lot like XP and Win7. i had one occurrence of "unknow Exception at XXXXXetc." I had a sudden flashback of eeeeeeek.
I am aware of that, but I wonder about Apple's plans after Yosemite. I just find the removal of the Server model puzzling when it required no real separate product line. Moreover, the likelihood that the RAM in the new Minis cannot be upgraded made me think about Apple's trends and I can see them eventually dropping the Server software that we currently enjoy just so they don't have to support the software down the road.
I had actually thought about upgrading one of the non-server quad-cores because of using VMs. I don't think these new MMs are going to be nearly as fast as the old MMs and the older ones are more upgradeable. My only question is whether to buy an old 2012 model or wait and hope for Broadwell, but I am leaning toward the former.
Refurbished 2012's now available. Get one while it's hot!
Just got a notice from referb.me. All three former standard models now available, and with a price cut as well! About $100 less on any model.
Doesn't bother me in the slightest. These were never intended for intensive work so lower price at same performance is welcome.
Anyway I snagged a refurb mid model to replace my 4+ year old server. Don't need the second drive but want the quad core. Total cost $589 less my 5% Discover card discount is $559.55. I'll up the RAM and I'm good to go for another 4 or more years.
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I suspect that most "server" models were never used as servers. Frankly they were never really designed as servers other than adding the second HDD. And as I said, even the base 2014 mini would make a fine server at only $499!
Hurry, refurb quadcore minis are available as I write this!
Just got a notice from referb.me. All three former standard models now available, and with a price cut as well! About $100 less on any model.
Doesn't bother me in the slightest. These were never intended for intensive work so lower price at same performance is welcome.
Anyway I snagged a refurb mid model to replace my 4+ year old server. Don't need the second drive but want the quad core. Total cost $589 less my 5% Discover card discount is $559.55. I'll up the RAM and I'm good to go for another 4 or more years.
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I suspect that most "server" models were never used as servers. Frankly they were never really designed as servers other than adding the second HDD. And as I said, even the base 2014 mini would make a fine server at only $499!
Hurry, refurb quadcore minis are available as I write this!
You obviously have different currency in Tokyo. Here in the USA it's nearly 700 dollars for a dual core with no solid state as standard.
Hello to all. I was hoping for a redesigned mini with a dGPU. Bad luck!
Every presentation is getting more obnoxious every year; "hower best c**p ever" and counting!
I've a 2012's mini i5 on the living room, running XBMC very well. But, I also want games...
Anyway, what you think about the "Alienware Alpha"'s i7 4 cores?
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-alpha/pd?oc=dkcwa04
Intel® Core™ i7-4765T Quad-Core processor (8M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz)
Alpha chassis with NVIDIA® GeForce® GPU 2GB GDDR5
8GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz
2TB SATA 6Gb/s
Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 2x2 + Bluetooth 4.0
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Black) with USB adapter
Every presentation is getting more obnoxious every year; "hower best c**p ever" and counting!
I've a 2012's mini i5 on the living room, running XBMC very well. But, I also want games...
Anyway, what you think about the "Alienware Alpha"'s i7 4 cores?
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-alpha/pd?oc=dkcwa04
Intel® Core™ i7-4765T Quad-Core processor (8M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz)
Alpha chassis with NVIDIA® GeForce® GPU 2GB GDDR5
8GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz
2TB SATA 6Gb/s
Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 2x2 + Bluetooth 4.0
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Black) with USB adapter
Windows PCs have always been the best way to go for games. And there never was a chance of getting what you wanted in a mini -- too much heat for the housing.
First post! I have been following this thread for a year.
I was really excited when I saw Phil Schiller announce the new Mac Mini. More so when he said it would have Iris graphics. It would've been better if they would've been Iris Pro, but that will do.
Once I went to the Apple online store I was disappointed that a quad core option was no longer available. I made some research about the CPUs and GPUs online and I found this out: The high end configuration has a CPU 3 times faster than the one I currently have (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.66 GHz vs i7 3.0 GHz). And it has a GPU 2.7 times faster than the one I currently have (Nvidia GeForce 320M vs Intel 5100 Iris).
I also found out Apple's prices for RAM are actually rather reasonable. Assuming the new Mac Mini uses the same RAM as the 2012 Mac Mini, you can find 16 GB at Crucial for $150, and at Other World Computing for $200. Apple charges $200 for the upgrade. I still don't know if RAM will be upgradable after you buy it on the current model. I have the feeling it will probably be.
It appears like the Mac Mini is a mid-tier MacBook Pro without a screen. That's not bad. And I NEED a Macintosh without a monitor. I am a photographer and most of the photos I take are in portrait mode. You don't know how much time I started saving once I started using a portrait monitor. Further, the Mac Pro is too expensive for me and even though it is very fast for video editing, it will not be much faster for photo editing, web design, email, and web browsing than a regular Mac.
That probably justifies an upgrade on my part. I have been with my current Mac Mini for four years and have been waiting for an update from Apple for a year. A better GPU will probably be better for me than four cores.
Therefore, I just placed an order for a new Mac Mini with the following configuration:
3.0 GHz i7
16 GB RAM
256 GB SSD
It should be delivered by Halloween.
I have been following this thread for a year.I was really excited when I saw Phil Schiller announce the new Mac Mini. More so when he said it would have Iris graphics. It would've been better if they would've been Iris Pro, but that will do.
Once I went to the Apple online store I was disappointed that a quad core option was no longer available. I made some research about the CPUs and GPUs online and I found this out: The high end configuration has a CPU 3 times faster than the one I currently have (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.66 GHz vs i7 3.0 GHz). And it has a GPU 2.7 times faster than the one I currently have (Nvidia GeForce 320M vs Intel 5100 Iris).
I also found out Apple's prices for RAM are actually rather reasonable. Assuming the new Mac Mini uses the same RAM as the 2012 Mac Mini, you can find 16 GB at Crucial for $150, and at Other World Computing for $200. Apple charges $200 for the upgrade. I still don't know if RAM will be upgradable after you buy it on the current model. I have the feeling it will probably be.
It appears like the Mac Mini is a mid-tier MacBook Pro without a screen. That's not bad. And I NEED a Macintosh without a monitor. I am a photographer and most of the photos I take are in portrait mode. You don't know how much time I started saving once I started using a portrait monitor. Further, the Mac Pro is too expensive for me and even though it is very fast for video editing, it will not be much faster for photo editing, web design, email, and web browsing than a regular Mac.
That probably justifies an upgrade on my part. I have been with my current Mac Mini for four years and have been waiting for an update from Apple for a year. A better GPU will probably be better for me than four cores.
Therefore, I just placed an order for a new Mac Mini with the following configuration:
3.0 GHz i7
16 GB RAM
256 GB SSD
It should be delivered by Halloween.
I just ordered the same setup for my work. Disappointed in the lack of quad core, but a vast improvement over my 7 year old Dell (with XP still) I inherited when I started at this place 5 years ago.
I think I'll grab a 2012 next month from the refurb store if they are still around for home use.
Somewhat dubious inferences. Declining software price means doom? Apple used to charge for iOS upgrades. They are now free .... iOS is doomed? Not plausible at all. Apple used to charge for OS X upgrades. They are now free ... OS X is doomed? Not really plausible.
The server version was always the same kernel with some apps installed and services configured. It is now an AppStore download. There is about zero expertise need to install the additional apps (login with AppleID and hit download). Configuring isn't rocket science.
As for hardware, the server was dropped because it didn't sell reasonable enough (from Apple's perspective) in volume. The mini doesn't have that problem. The server SKU is largely just preinstalled AppStore software at this point.... installing isn't a huge value add. A big chunk of the underlying services are largely based on open-source software. ( no multi million dollar development cost for any one of those). Alot of what server's users interact with is just GUI config and reporting apps. ( i.e., they need some money for app development and open source maintenance but it isn't huge megabucks).
The dual HDD Mini grew out of the design decision to drop the optical drive. The old space and SATA connector was just hooked to a 2nd SATA drive. In an era when Apple is moving toward PCI-e storage connectivity the 2nd SATA connector is likely toast due to that overall trend. It has nothing particularly to do with the OS X Server instance operation or config at all.
Apple has dropped Mac hardware model SKUs and the Mac hasn't disappeared.
If Apple radically slowed the pace of OS X Server updates then that would be something indicative. Similarly if OS X Server's ranking in its subcategory of the MacApp Store radically dropped over several update iterations then it would be in trouble. As long as it is being bought and installed at a steady ( or better still growing) rate then it will likely live on.