The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[corvus32]

Windows is suffering the same thing with less demand for x86 PCs.

True, but the PC has seen a bit of a renaissance lately with gamers and hardware enthusiasts thanks in part to some companies really stepping up to the plate.

Nvidia, for example. They've hit the ball out of the park the past couple of years, but this year they really nailed it with their super efficient Maxwell cards. The GTX 970 is a 4 teraflop graphics card for under $350 that runs cooler and uses less power than slower more expensive cards from just a year ago. That's nuts. Drop one into virtually any modern PC with the correct PSU, and you can play BF4 in 1080p at >100 fps for less than the price of a console.

This renaissance leads to another in the monitor space with the 144Hz revolution. Then you combine the general upgradeability of the PC with the falling prices of other components like SSDs, and so now even a 4 year old Sandy Bridge i5 or i7 PC has tremendous value to someone.

 

[Crosscreek]

True, but the PC has seen a bit of a renaissance lately with gamers and hardware enthusiasts thanks in part to some companies really stepping up to the plate.

Nvidia, for example. They've hit the ball out of the park the past couple of years, but this year they really nailed it with their super efficient Maxwell cards. The GTX 970 is a 4 teraflop graphics card for under $350 that runs cooler and uses less power than slower more expensive cards from just a year ago. That's nuts. Drop one into virtually any modern PC with the correct PSU, and you can play BF4 in 1080p at >100 fps for less than the price of a console.

This renaissance leads to another in the monitor space with the 144Hz revolution. Then you combine the general upgradeability of the PC with the falling prices of other components like SSDs, and so now even a 4 year old Sandy Bridge i5 or i7 PC has tremendous value to someone.

The one bright spot in PCs is the Nvidia with true 4k HDMI 2.0 60hz support and could lead me to a PC in the future with Skylake desktop processor.

 

[adonis3k]

roll on 2016 mac mini......

 

[Micky Do]

Hi,

i work in an Apple Reseller and like many of you i'm waiting for the mini 2013 refresh.

From monday the two major Apple suppliers in Italy are suddenly and completely out of stock of minis. I know that this happen from time to time, but the timing is no coincidence.

Trust me, a new mini is coming next week, or at least we have solid evidence to believe it.

It was on this very day a year ago that this prediction was made. GabrieleR's post may have been out by forty something weeks, but the thread title was spot on….. and still is.

 

[talmy]

It was on this very day a year ago that this prediction was made. GabrieleR's post may have been out by forty something weeks, but the thread title was spot on….. and still is.

Sure would be nice if those suppliers were out again, to make room for the early 2015 minis!

But I've always said "be careful what you wish for" and those 2014s are a good example! The 2015s will, of course, use an ARM processor

 

[Crosscreek]

Sure would be nice if those suppliers were out again, to make room for the early 2015 minis!

But I've always said "be careful what you wish for" and those 2014s are a good example! The 2015s will, of course, use an ARM processor

I think Arm is still a couple of years off but it is coming. I still would like to see a Skylake Mini and then Apple can do what it wants about Arm.

 

[Crosscreek]

After reading all the reviews from Black Friday until now about the 2014 Mac Mini it seems that Apple missed the boat on Holiday Sales.

A new Mac Mini will certainly be coming to redeem it's past glory.

I felt the thread needed to live on.

 

[msbdude]

mini forever

After reading all the reviews from Black Friday until now about the 2014 Mac Mini it seems that Apple missed the boat on Holiday Sales.

A new Mac Mini will certainly be coming to redeem it's past glory.

I felt the thread needed to live on.

my 2012 i5 works fine for now- maybe apple will have a worthy successor some day......

 

[cinealta]

Anyone think the next Mac Mini could be like a Raspberry Pi, or network appliance, just to get onto iCloud? Maybe downsized to an ARM system on a chip (SOC)?

 

[Micky Do]

After reading all the reviews from Black Friday until now about the 2014 Mac Mini it seems that Apple missed the boat on Holiday Sales.

A new Mac Mini will certainly be coming to redeem it's past glory.

I felt the thread needed to live on.

Well, 2014 did bring a new Mac Mini, in all its underwhelming glory. It has attracted it knockers here, many of whom seem to desire something Mac Pro like, on the cheap.

A fully tricked out 2012 Quad core would have set them back about 2/3 the price of a Mac Pro….. why not got the whole upgradeable hog and be done with it? A mate has done just that, replacing an iMac.

Interestingly the biggest detractors are those whose faith seems to rest in Windows 10…… as yet the unknown quantity that the "will they or won't they" 2014 Mac Mini was until October.

Reviews eventually appeared, suggesting that the 2014 Mac Mini's computing performance was at least a match for most 2012 models (with the exception of the discontinued top end i7 quad core model, possibly for manufacturing reasons), but there were enhancements in other areas, such as graphics and connectivity. For many they are as important as raw computing grunt.

Reservations have been expressed about the lack of RAM upgradeability. However, in reality, with a choice of 4, 8 or 16 GB of RAM available at the outset, most Mini users will have all they really need. The 2012 Mini is maxed out at 16 anyway.

We have probably moved on from the days that exponentially increasing amounts of RAM were required to run the latest OS or Apps. 2 GB of RAM is the specified minimum for Yosemite.

All in all, though reviews have not been glowing, neither have they been scathing. For many users, and uses, there is a 2014 Mac Mini to do the job. For those with a 2012 Mini though, there is no incentive to make the change to the newer model.

For them, and others, the new Mac Mini is (still) almost certainly coming.

 

[mcarling]

Broadwell

I expect we may see a Broadwell mini in H2 2015. I don't expect any tremendous changes from the current mini, but a quad-core processor might return at the high end.

Some things the Broadwell mini probably will NOT feature:
- Thunderbolt 3
- Displayport 1.3
- 10Gbit Ethernet
- DDR4 DRAM

 

[blanka]

Anyone think the next Mac Mini could be like a Raspberry Pi

Yes, but we are at Banana right now. Raspberry is so 2012.
Banana Pi offers SATA slot for a true HD/SSD and is dual core. Perfect for HTPC Mini replacement and it is your totally customisable Wifi 300N/gigabit router at the same time.

 

[Crosscreek]

Well, 2014 did bring a new Mac Mini, in all its underwhelming glory. It has attracted it knockers here, many of whom seem to desire something Mac Pro like, on the cheap.

A fully tricked out 2012 Quad core would have set them back about 2/3 the price of a Mac Pro….. why not got the whole upgradeable hog and be done with it? A mate has done just that, replacing an iMac.


All in all, though reviews have not been glowing, neither have they been scathing. For many users, and uses, there is a 2014 Mac Mini to do the job. For those with a 2012 Mini though, there is no incentive to make the change to the newer model.

For them, and others, the new Mac Mini is (still) almost certainly coming.

The 2014 Mini was a stopgap addition and was a last minute measure to try and keep the little guy going until the Broadwell/Skylake chips become available.

The 2014 could have been released 6 months earlier with what eventually come as a bandaid so as not to fall 3 years behind for an upgrade.

As far as what some of us would have like to have seen in a refreshed Mini with Haswell was the quad core option for those of us that have apps that utilize 4 cores. We are not asking for a Mac pro on the cheap. Just a consumer based quad core Mini.

As far as running Yosemite with 2gb of RAM I say good luck my friend.

The coming year will bring new machines, new technology and revised OSs to utilize those advances.

I look forward to what Apple and other PC manufacturers have to offer.

Anew Mac Mini is certainly coming.

 

[talmy]

As far as running Yosemite with 2gb of RAM I say good luck my friend.

All depends on what you are doing. Our 2010 11" MBA with 2GB RAM and 64GB SSD that came with Snow Leopard runs Yosemite just fine. It's just not used for games, video editing, or browsing with lots of tabs. IMHO its the SSD that makes it a viable proposition -- a mini with 2GB and HDD is a sad story even for Snow Leopard. While it was OK for entertainment centers here I ended up upgrading them (I have two such minis) to 4GB when moving them to Lion and two of our five minis now have SSDs as well.

 

[AlecZ]

The 2014 Mini was a stopgap addition and was a last minute measure to try and keep the little guy going until the Broadwell/Skylake chips become available.

Maybe, but they didn't have to solder the RAM in and glue the whole thing together to make that tiny update.

 

[Crosscreek]

All depends on what you are doing. Our 2010 11" MBA with 2GB RAM and 64GB SSD that came with Snow Leopard runs Yosemite just fine. It's just not used for games, video editing, or browsing with lots of tabs. IMHO its the SSD that makes it a viable proposition -- a mini with 2GB and HDD is a sad story even for Snow Leopard. While it was OK for entertainment centers here I ended up upgrading them (I have two such minis) to 4GB when moving them to Lion and two of our five minis now have SSDs as well.

I have to agree that SSDs make all the difference.

----------

Maybe, but they didn't have to solder the RAM in and glue the whole thing together to make that tiny update.

This was Apples plan all along. Having soldered RAM reduces production costs and less bodies on the production line. Everything is probably fully automated.

 

[Fanner50]

The Mac Mini is an entry level computer for users just getting in to the Mac system and who already have a monitor and keyboard. It will never be what it was and what it is is what it will be. Want quad, get a iMac or Pro.

I went from a mid 2010 Mini to a maxed out late 2014 Mini and I am very happy with this new machine with 1TB SSD and 16GB ram. True, I'm not a gamer, but if I were a gamer I would not be messing around with a Mini anyway.

It is what it is, and it will never be what it was. Get over it guys.

 

[Crosscreek]

The Mac Mini is an entry level computer for users just getting in to the Mac system and who already have a monitor and keyboard. It will never be what it was and what it is is what it will be. Want quad, get a iMac or Pro.

I went from a mid 2010 Mini to a maxed out late 2014 Mini and I am very happy with this new machine with 1TB SSD and 16GB ram. True, I'm not a gamer, but if I were a gamer I would not be messing around with a Mini anyway.

It is what it is, and it will never be what it was. Get over it guys.

Your right it will never be user upgradeable with out voiding warranty.

iMac and Pro may never be an option for me. I will be satisfied to have a Skylake Mac Mini in the future even if it is dual core and in the mean time I have built a Hackintosh quad core that can handle anything I need. I will always hang on to my 2012 quad Mini just out of nostalgia of the good old days.

I hope CES brings some good news on new tech.

 

[Actarus]

OF course, the mini is an entry level computer, but 1,4Ghz for the basic one is way too low. We must keep in mind that we are speaking about a desktop computer. But I agree we shouldn't look for a gamer machine or an 8-core one running at 4Ghz, this is not the purpose of the mini, but offering a decent computer should have been the objective, which in this case has failed.

But the worst part is the impossibility of upgrading it. Of course i'm not asking about upgrading the CPU or any other component, but at least the RAM and Disk. Huge mistake. I'm now looking for a mini but not looking at the new models. I'll try to buy a second-hand one.

 

[palebluedot]

Apple will start introducing ARM Macs in the future and will start weaning people off of OSX that don't need x86 compliant apps. Even Windows apps are becoming IOS compatible.

All apps will be ARM in the future and you will assimilate.

And in this dystopian future, we will all forget how to tinker and create. Instead we can endlessly download apps in our walled garden app store and tweet each other funny Internet videos.

Of course, I am being bombastic. But it is crazy that the more walled Apple gets, the more people seem to love it. Where are the Woz and Jobs era innovators who liked to break and build? I guess over on *nix and Windows PCs, now that MSFT seems to be reversing course some on the walled garden attempts at W8.

Suffice it to say, I really hope you are wrong.

 

[Crosscreek]

And in this dystopian future, we will all forget how to tinker and create. Instead we can endlessly download apps in our walled garden app store and tweet each other funny Internet videos.

Of course, I am being bombastic. But it is crazy that the more walled Apple gets, the more people seem to love it. Where are the Woz and Jobs era innovators who liked to break and build? I guess over on *nix and Windows PCs, now that MSFT seems to be reversing course some on the walled garden attempts at W8.

Suffice it to say, I really hope you are wrong.

I said that I would never go back to Windows again after coming over to Mac after Windows XP and I needed to upgrade or move on to another OS.

I've been using Windows 10 in a VM as much as I've been using OS X here lately and I do not fell as antagonistic towards Windows any longer.

MS followed Apples lead of letting users decide what they would like to see as far as the OS goes and I think it is working out well for them.

I will no longer rule Windows out but I still prefer OS X right now. I just don't care for the choice of hardware and the cost as compared to PC hardware and performance.

 

[tennisproha]

iMac and Pro may never be an option for me. I will be satisfied to have a Skylake Mac Mini in the future even if it is dual core and in the mean time I have built a Hackintosh quad core that can handle anything I need. I will always hang on to my 2012 quad Mini just out of nostalgia of the good old days.

I hope CES brings some good news on new tech.

Won't the Skylake or next quad core Mini update essentially finally replace the 2012 Mini? I don't understand the nostalgia. it's coming down the road rt, 2014 Mini just happens to be a stop gap…

 

[scottsjack]

The Mac Mini is an entry level computer for users just getting in to the Mac system and who already have a monitor and keyboard. It will never be what it was and what it is is what it will be. Want quad, get a iMac or Pro.

I went from a mid 2010 Mini to a maxed out late 2014 Mini and I am very happy with this new machine with 1TB SSD and 16GB ram. True, I'm not a gamer, but if I were a gamer I would not be messing around with a Mini anyway.

It is what it is, and it will never be what it was. Get over it guys.

You spent $2200 on a mini?

 

[Rodster]

You spent $2200 on a mini?

Yikes, is that what they sell for? I would have gone with a Mac Pro for a few hundred more.

 

[MadTester]

Yikes, is that what they sell for? I would have gone with a Mac Pro for a few hundred more.

Completely agree