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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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You see, in the photo above this post, what some people are saying is the new mac mini. It is very exciting, VR ready as you can see, and very portable. No monitor, mouse, or keyboard needed.
Nasty - very nasty and so very final - if only, reincarnation could cycle fast enough to observe it as a real possibility for those spirits we love of course ...
It's not meant to be "nasty" but somewhat "final" as you put it. Apple appears to be only focusing on their top selling products. I also own the latest IPT and frequent that forum as well. You have to get to a point where you see the writing on the wall. Like you, I'd luv to keep hope alive about us getting a new mini, however, every day it is looking more and more like it isn't going to happen. For Apple, if it isn't the iPhone, it's considered "other".
J
J
Folks have been saying as much since 2007.
But the new Mac Minis have kept coming, and will almost certainly continue to do so, albeit less frequently than in the past.
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Yeah, but Spock dying was only half as bad as Nimoy dying and that means it's for good. So - we must keep the "idea" of Spock and the ideal of symbiotic relationships (Jim / Spock) or (Mini / Us) alive so we can "Live Long and Prosper"!
I can't see why Apple would continue to make the Mini. It's a great little machine that served its purpose at the time—but that time has long since passed. That being said, I hate to see any Mac simply go away so I hope they do update it.
What was the Mac Mini's purpose? Why do you say that time has long since passed? True for some folk maybe, but it serves my purposes as much now as it did a dozen years ago when it first arrived on the scene. I wanted a small computer that was occasionally transportable, but I didn't want a portable to carry every day, and I wanted something that I could just set up and use with minimal hassle. Some might want something more powerful, faster or whatever, but for many folk it is all the computer they need. The new Macs are coming and there will almost certainly be new Mac Mini among them, sooner or later.
That may be what YOU wanted it for, but that's not what Apple made it for. They make fantastic media servers for TVs and music speakers, but that's not what Apple made them for.
The Mini's purpose was to offer a cheap Mac that current Windows users with an existing monitor, keyboard and mouse could switch to. Period. The fact that it could be used for so many other things is a bonus to us, but not to Apple.
The Mini worked for a few years in accomplishing the goal, but the reality turned out to be that the iPhone accomplished this task better. And after a while, most "switchers" opted for higher-end iMacs and laptops anyway. This isn't the Mini's fault, but it is what it is.
Hmm, then I wonder why Apple said this?
https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/06/15Apple-Unveils-All-New-Mac-mini.html
"Inside its sleek, compact enclosure, the new Mac mini includes the fastest integrated graphics processor on the market today. With 48 processing cores, the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor delivers up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, making Mac mini ideal for graphics intensive applications or visually rich games."
"Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server fulfills all the server needs of a workgroup or small business including email, calendar, file serving, Time Machine® backup, Wiki Server, Podcast Producer and more."
I get what you're saying, and maybe this is wishful thinking on my part, but I hope no handheld device ever replaces a PC/Mac.
I'm not who you quoted but I feel the Mini was the gateway into the Mac world, its purpose was to ditch your PC and BYOKMM (bring your own keyboard mouse and monitor). But now I feel its a poor representation of the Mac line and cost friendly options exist with the iMac line (or at least Apple would want you to believe that).
I also don't think its dead but when I ask myself why the only thing I come up with is wishful thinking and nostalgia.
We need to hang banners that say "Make the Mini great again". Once again provide that cost effective way for Windows defectors to get their feet wet without downgrading, provide a top notch experience or at the very least offer models that can provide that!
Yeah, I have to say, this is why Apple is stumbling today. The first question asked for each device produced is: "what is its role?" Is it to attract Windows users? Is it to keep current customers in the fold? Is it to sell more hardware, either by integrating it into the computer itself (ala iMac's integrated screen), or via relatively incompatible ports (Firewire, Thunderbolt, USB C)?
The Mini, of course, was not created as the "gateway" to the Mac. It was, instead, a feat of engineering; a full-featured PC crammed into a tiny box. The Apple marketers went ahead and treated it as if it were a gateway device, but that was of course ridiculous. If Apple really wanted to attract existing PC users over to their side, they would have come out with a Mac in the form factor that is by far and away the most popular design of all: the desktop tower PC. Inexpensive, powerful, easy to upgrade and maintain, and capable of neatly storing multiple drives internally, this is the best form factor for a PC today.
The Mini is no longer an engineering marvel. SFF PCs are now mainstream, common devices. And Apple would prefer that everybody get on board and purchase their one-size-fits-all iMacs. So yeah, there is not much future for the Mini.
I agree and disagree.
You are talking as if a small elegant design was something new to Apple even back in 2005 when the Mini was first released. It wasn't, it was already going into a line up of "Mini" devices and other devices touted for being smaller then their PC counterpart. Apple has always gone on and on endlessly about their design choices.
Price is very relevant for attracting new customers. The price of switching ecosystems is a serious gamble, minimizing expense makes way for the risk involved especially if you can use the display, mouse and keyboard you already own.
It was BYODMK btw, I screwed that up.
"And we want to price this Mac so people that are thinking of switching have no more excuses", Steve Jobs
Aside from SJ directly stating it, this thing screams at PC owners. Cheap (cheaper then other Macs) and you can use all your peripherals you already own. Keep in mind the Mini was 499 on release for the base model, the slightly more powerful eMac G4 was 799 (599 dollar Mini equivalent) and the eventual redesign iMac G5 was 1299. Unless you wanted/needed a specific display there wasnt much incentive for people that already owned Macs (because they would need to buy a display) to switch to a Mini. I don't know if you remember when it was released but it wasn't impressive for current Mac owners, I was a PC user at the time but a lot of my friends and family used Macs.
Illustrates another point btw. I use an iMac because of the same incentives, it doesn't make sense to downgrade AND buy a monitor. Just more cost effective to stick with the iMac line. By crippling the Mini they made buying it somewhat unreasonable for me, however if it shared CPU's with the iMac line I would get one.
EDIT : Sorry, rambling a bit.
WTF?!?!?!?
The time is NOW for the mini. As the PC market have taken the sharp turn toward portable, Apple needs a compelling Mac Mini to keep those needed a desktop on board, and to sway PC users to the Mac.
I'm replacing two old iMacs this year. They will NOT be reaplced with another iMac, Apple's only shot at a purchase is with a new Mac Mini.
As others have pointed out, the Mac Mini concept has been adopted and far surpassed by the windows world. I don't want to buy a iMac with a monitor, that I have to toss out, once the innards become outdated.
Apple is a luxury brand. And with the Mac lineup moves, they are pricing themselves out of the sub $1k computer world. It's already reached absurd levels, and with the death of the mini, it's going to be even worse.
It's sad how much Apple Computers has lost it's way under Tim.
There are still employees inside apple that care about the mini, even the old one; I just noticed when uploading a Geekbench 4 score that my BIOS/EFI/ROM whatever you call it for my 2012 i7 Quad was more recent than most on there. Probably updated with the Sierra 10.12.4 beta.
The EFI ROM on mine date from December 10, 2016. Pretty sure about the Sierra beta updating it, as the only other person with the same ROM as me on the geekbench website is also on 10.12.4 beta.
The EFI ROM on mine date from December 10, 2016. Pretty sure about the Sierra beta updating it, as the only other person with the same ROM as me on the geekbench website is also on 10.12.4 beta.
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I am yet to see a Windows user with existing monitor, keyboard and mouse that people would ditch to replace with an iPhone...?
If we look at the Apple business model under Tim you will see all services that Apple provides lead to IOS and that is what products will receive the most attention.
Macs are still on the list but their influence along with macOS are fading.
IMHO since the desecration of the Mini with the 2014 refresh will lead to less and less demand and will EOL very soon with a restructuring to ARM chips only for Apple products in the future,
Macs are still on the list but their influence along with macOS are fading.
IMHO since the desecration of the Mini with the 2014 refresh will lead to less and less demand and will EOL very soon with a restructuring to ARM chips only for Apple products in the future,