A blog post from
Primate labs from a while back suggested a reason behind Apple's thinking in dropping the quad core option when transitioning from the 2012 model to the 2014 model. For what it's worth, the sockets on the dual core U and quad core H series logic boards remain different from Skylake onwards as far as I can see so we can wave goodbye to quad core in the Mac Mini for the foreseeable future as long as it's still based on a 13" Macbook Pro.
While a lot of folks will say that's a big blow, I think that it's more important for new Mac Minis to have better GPUs, even if they are integrated ones, which seems to be the general direction of travel for Apple these days since they seem to view OpenCL computing and retina displays as more important than entering into the additional cores race in the medium to long term.
While Skylake brings us Thunderbolt 3, it's made possible by an additional controller chip (Alpine Ridge) whereas the 'speed bump' successor to Skylake - Kaby Lake - starts arriving late this year with native Thunderbolt 3 controllers on board. Note that the 2015 iMac 27" Retina model has Skylake processors but sticks with Thunderbolt 2 ports. I would take that as a sign that Apple will be adding Thunderbolt 3 capable USB-C ports only with Kaby Lake Macs from late 2016 into 2017.
Thunderbolt 3 is important for Apple as it allows a single cable to drive a 4k display at 60Hz - opening the door for a possible Apple TB3 retina display although we'll still struggle to drive a 5k display without a discrete GPU as existing Iris Pro graphics don't appear capable of driving 5k. And Apple won't want to release a TB3 4k Retina display without every on-sale Mac being able to drive it with one cable.
For the future, then, I would like to think the Mac Mini (as well as any dual core laptop) continue to use decent graphics - Iris Graphics 550 for example - with a view to being able to drive a 4k monitor decently.
We could still hold out hope for the Mac Mini to be pulled into a Mac Pro-like case and give the option of a discrete GPU just so it could drive a retina display or perhaps do a job as a mini graphics station but I've long since given up on the idea of a quad core Mini if the idea is to continue miniaturisation and not to cannibalise iMac sales.
I think the current Broadwell 13" Macbook Pro will probably get a bump to Skylake while remaining with Thunderbolt 2 because Kaby Lake parts won't be ready until 2017.
The Mac mini hasn't been similarly bumped to Broadwell but I would expect it to get a late 2016 Skylake update. The 15" series has only just seen the announcement of suitable Iris Pro Skylake parts for which Apple ignored the Broadwell equivalents last year.
We might not see a full set of Kaby Lake updates until late 2017 but it's interesting to note that Intel have now released details of a
Skull Canyon NUC which uses a quad core 45w CPU with Iris Pro graphics.
There could be a glimmer of hope for the folks who want a quad core Mac Mini in the event that Apple choose to use a rumoured
i5-6350HQ chip - a 2.3GHz 4 core 45w CPU without hyper threading - in the Macbook Pro 15" series as a base model. This cheaper i5 CPU could be put into the Mac Mini because of the Iris Pro graphics but the whole range would have to move upmarket and we'd be looking at a case redesign for sure due to heat issues and perhaps the introduction of NV.Me SSD to help reduce case size.
Without hyper threading such a CPU would not be a challenge to the higher end iMacs and if you don't offer an i7 option at all or discrete graphics it never will be. The main benefit would be the ability to add a 4k monitor without the hassle of wondering if an Iris Graphics 550 unit will be capable of satisfactorily driving one.
