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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

Since Apple has gone whole hog into donglerama with the new MBP, there seems little reason for the "next" MacMini (if there ever will be one) to have its power supply built into the chassis.

My guess (if there ever will be a new mini) is that it will be a little larger than an iPhone plus, but with one port. Nothing expandable or replaceable.
 
I've given up on Apple. I'm using Windows 10 on my Dell laptop, FreeBSD on my Thinkpad, and Debian Linux on my desktop computer. My MacBook Pro gets little use, and my MacBook Air has been shelved. I don't want or need a cell phone and I can see no compelling reason for purchasing an iPad.

I'm quite happy with Windows 10 and the free OSes are always fun to play with. I really have no need for macOS or Apple built products.
 
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now i see it said:
Since Apple has gone whole hog into donglerama with the new MBP, there seems little reason for the "next" MacMini (if there ever will be one) to have its power supply built into the chassis.

My guess (if there ever will be a new mini) is that it will be a little larger than an iPhone plus, but with one port. Nothing expandable or replaceable.
Click to expand...
I am VERY tempted to say "yes, because the only problem with the Mini is that it's just so BIG" but yes, this is Apple. Expect basically a slightly thicker beer coaster with one USB-C slot and a dongle to connect the display and power sold separately.
 
fastlanephil said:
The fact that Apple has gotten out of the standalone display market dosen't bode well for the future release of an Apple desktop computer without a built-in or attached display.
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Actually, I kind of read that move the opposite way: Apple has been selling displays in its laptops and in its AIO machines forever. And, so long as they're spending so much of their hardware effort on displays used in that manner, it seemed only logical that they would go ahead and also sell those same displays housed in an external enclosure, for use with both their laptops and their headless desktop computers (or, heck, if you need a second display for your iMac).

Apple completely dropping their standalone display seems to me that they wish to scale back on being a producer or distributor of display hardware. The next logical step, in my opinion, would then be to separate the screen from the iMac as well, and just use one of those pretty LG monitors instead.

I suppose Apple isn't going to go that way, but a guy can hope, right? ;)
 
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Cape Dave said:
Funny, but I actually think that if that is the case, they will not even need to announce it, it will be self evident :)
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yep, but they some how they need to at least remove it from apple store, like clasic macbok pro, the 11" macbook air. But i think there is a 90% chance to see a redesign new mac mini, since these little things desktop device market is growing
 
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I hope they don't do away with it. My 2010 model is doing great every since I upgraded the hardware last year, but it won't last forever. I like the mini because all I use it for is my pictures and iTunes library and the occasional web browsing. Now that I'm getting a IPP I won't use the mini near as much, but I don't want to spend $1,000's on the iMac.
 
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Lankyman said:
I think this video more than anything else represents mine and many other Apple users of late.
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While I agree with some of what he said, I also disagree about what he said. Picturing Windows and Surface as this perfect world is far from the truth. Microsoft failed miserably with their WindowsPhone attempts, and while the Surface devices are good Windows devices, they are massively overpriced compared to other Windows machines and non-upgradable as well! Speaking of Windows, most of the 2-in-1 solutions are very compromised and people rarely use. Touch on laptops and desktops were a cool tech 2 or 3 years ago, but now you see companies like Dell and HP going back to non-touch laptops in-favor of making thinner machines.

Yes, Apple does need to take more risks and try to surprise us with things, but the reality is that no tech company is doing that great these days. Samsung had their issues with the Note 7, Microsoft products keep getting more expensive, Google simply gone copying the iPhone's overall style for their Pixel...so it's not like Apple have fallen compared to the competition or anything; 2016 was just a bad year for tech in general.
 
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Xeyad said:
While I agree with some of what he said, I also disagree about what he said. Picturing Windows and Surface as this perfect world is far from the truth. Microsoft failed miserably with their WindowsPhone attempts, and while the Surface devices are good Windows devices, they are massively overpriced compared to other Windows machines and non-upgradable as well! Speaking of Windows, most of the 2-in-1 solutions are very compromised and people rarely use. Touch on laptops and desktops were a cool tech 2 or 3 years ago, but now you see companies like Dell and HP going back to non-touch laptops in-favor of making thinner machines.

Yes, Apple does need to take more risks and try to surprise us with things, but the reality is that no tech company is doing that great these days. Samsung had their issues with the Note 7, Microsoft products keep getting more expensive, Google simply gone copying the iPhone's overall style for their Pixel...so it's not like Apple have fallen compared to the competition or anything; 2016 was just a bad year for tech in general.
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I'm not sure that proffering the excuse that the competition hasn't done much in the last year would have ever washed with someone like Steve Jobs. The point the video was making and it's being made by many other people as well is that Apple are simply not innovating anymore while companies like Microsoft are. I will enclose another video on similar lines but takes a closer look at the MBP.

No matter how much you idolise a company you cannot continue to make excuses for them ad-infinitum.

 
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Lankyman said:
I'm not sure that proffering the excuse that the competition hasn't done much in the last year would have ever washed with someone like Steve Jobs. The point the video was making and it's being made by many other people as well is that Apple are simply not innovating anymore while companies like Microsoft are. I will enclose another video on similar lines but takes a closer look at the MBP.

No matter how much you idolise a company you cannot continue to make excuses for them ad-infinitum.

Click to expand...

Yes I agree with all you said, and I'm unsatisfied with Apple's latest efforts, especially the iPhone 7. But my point being, that like the video you posted, they're picturing other companies like they're a leap ahead of Apple, when that isn't true at all. And another point is that people are criticizing the MacBook Pro for the wrong reasons. Removing ports is NOTHING NEW to Apple, and they did remove stuff too quickly. I do remember when people went nuts when Jobs released the MacBook Air without a CD drive and they were all calling it the end of Apple. I also remember when people bashed Steve when he released the iPad, and people called it "just a big iPod Touch and can't innovate beyond the iPhone." But now he's passed away, we've gone to this nostalgia effect thinking that if Steve is still around that he would do things so perfectly and no one would criticize him.

Apple's biggest worry right now isn't from Microsoft or Google or Samsung, it's from the new Chinese tech companies. They're growing so fast, and they're building their brand and reputation around innovation, and so we could see them rise to the top in the next few years.
 
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There are some points that I agree with in the video, but a lot of it just sounds like whining to me. If you think Windows is better, be my guest. I'm not interested in switching. When we discussed the UK price hike before, I believe if you include the effect of exchange rates plus all local taxes, the cost is very similar to what we pay here in the US.

In the end it's pretty simple. If you don't like Apple products, don't buy them. The market will take care of the rest. ;)
 
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jpietrzak8 said:
Actually, I kind of read that move the opposite way: Apple has been selling displays in its laptops and in its AIO machines forever. And, so long as they're spending so much of their hardware effort on displays used in that manner, it seemed only logical that they would go ahead and also sell those same displays housed in an external enclosure, for use with both their laptops and their headless desktop computers (or, heck, if you need a second display for your iMac).

Apple completely dropping their standalone display seems to me that they wish to scale back on being a producer or distributor of display hardware. The next logical step, in my opinion, would then be to separate the screen from the iMac as well, and just use one of those pretty LG monitors instead.

I suppose Apple isn't going to go that way, but a guy can hope, right? ;)
Click to expand...

Seems more likely that Apple is going to phase out the Pro and the Mini and focus strictly on computers with integrated displays. If we're lucky, the Pro and the Mini will get one final update to add Thunderbolt 3, but I wouldn't count on it.
 
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Boyd01 said:
There are some points that I agree with in the video, but a lot of it just sounds like whining to me. If you think Windows is better, be my guest. I'm not interested in switching. When we discussed the UK price hike before, I believe if you include the effect of exchange rates plus all local taxes, the cost is very similar to what we pay here in the US.

In the end it's pretty simple. If you don't like Apple products, don't buy them. The market will take care of the rest. ;)
Click to expand...

No you're wrong, the Apple products have gone up massively but not just in the UK but price rises across Europe too. Trying to blame Brexit which won't happen at the earliest for another 2 years at least is taking the proverbial.

I'm absolutely convinced that Windows 10 has leap frogged MacOS as I use both daily. Whilst the Microsoft SS is niche and yes expensive, it's a total breath of fresh air. What has Apple really done on the innovation front since SJ passed over? Well they've made things unnecessarily thinner, removed ports and hacked off a large chunk of their user base, oh and made a watch that not many people want. iOS is now trailing Android in the mobile market too. I'm not talking about phone sales, simply innovation.

I'm afraid until I see some 'real innovation' transferring through into tangible products then I won't be buying any more Apple products. An OS is simply a means of accessing programs that you really need for what you want to do. MacOS Windows 10 or Linux will all get the job done.

I agree with the video, TC may be good at business but he's not an inspirational leader.
 
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One item I see missing in these videos (and, honestly, with Apple itself) is that in their emphasis on always coming up with new innovative products, they're implicitly just dumping all the old innovative products. It's like the car industry saying "Oooh, we've got this hot new design we call the SUV! Ok, lets start building lots of SUVs, and stop building stodgy old sedans."

There are still reasons for people to buy sedans. If you want, you can still market up-scale sedans and make a profit. By just giving up on older styles of device (like the classic tower PC with expansion slots!!!), Apple is slowly painting itself into a corner; there are only so many ways you can repackage a general-purpose computing device. At some point, it's not going to make sense any more to keep purchasing the same device housed in an innovative new enclosure: if you've already got a tablet, a phone, and a watch all doing the same thing for you, you're not going to need the next device (a necklace? a wallet? a shoe?) that can also do the same tasks.

There is honor, and profit, in just producing the highest-quality sedan. I wish Apple could see that...
 
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Lankyman said:
No you're wrong, the Apple products have gone up massively but not just in the UK but price rises across Europe too.
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I'm curious about this…. If I purchase a base Mac Mini from the Apple Store in New Jersey, it costs $533.93 including sales tax. At current exchange rates, that would be £431.19 or €502.05.
[doublepost=1479730410][/doublepost]
Lankyman said:
TC may be good at business but he's not an inspirational leader.
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Well there's one thing we can agree on at least. :)
 
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I've been using Macs since 1988, but I haven't seen anything truly inspiring or must-have come out of Apple since the iPhone, and I don't own an iPhone. But when MS revealed the Surface Studio, my jaw dropped. Where did Microsoft find the inspiration to build a product like that? And, more importantly, why didn't Apple do it first?

I know the answer: smart phones.

Apple scored so big with the iPhone that almost all of their attention now is focused on iOS products. But Microsoft's phone flopped, so their attention is focused on PCs.

What this means is that iOS products are the enemy of macOS products, and the only way we're going to start seeing real Macintosh innovation again is if Apple's iPhone business crashes and burns.

Of this I am certain.

So if you care about the Mac, stop buying iPhones. Really.
 
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