The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[Micky Do]

Next week is still coming

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

I still love the beginning of this thread:
from December 7, 2013.

I trust you, GabrieleR. In fact, I trust you exactly as far as I trust every other opinion in the MacRumors forums, posted by all the experts that like to post here. They're all so knowledgeable.

Still, it's a popular thread….. tuesday is still coming, and a hoot to boot.

And a productive Tuesday it has been, with a reasonable number of posts. The thread may yet reach 2,000, but at the current rate it is going to take longer than my earlier extrapolation of six weeks after the first thousand.

Tech is going cloud, wearable's and mobiles.

Desktops are a dying industry relegated to professionals that need workstations.

Dying industry? More like a mature sector, with a good bit of life left in it yet.

Sure all the buzz is around mobile, wearable and cloud, but it is not for nothing that the Mini is available in server configuration. One of the most connected guys I know has a couple of Mac Minis at the heart of his ecosystem (which doesn't include an iMac, and is unlikely to include a Mac Pro, although he could easily afford one or a few). And I have just a single Mac Mini; not the most recent, but it is still all the tech I need.

 

[Crosscreek]

Dying industry? More like a mature sector, with a good bit of life left in it yet.

Sure all the buzz is around mobile, wearable and cloud, but it is not for nothing that the Mini is available in server configuration. One of the most connected guys I know has a couple of Mac Minis at the heart of his ecosystem (which doesn't include an iMac, and is unlikely to include a Mac Pro, although he could easily afford one or a few).

Yes, I love the Mini too but I don't think Apple cares.

 

[squirrrl]

Yes, I love the Mini too but I don't think Apple cares.

You have to pay extra for Apple[to]Care.

 

[Micky Do]

Nice Pun

You have to pay extra for Apple[to]Care.

Out of interest, and as an aside to the thread, did you? Does anybody?

Not I. Most manufacturing defects show up early in a product's life, so I figure it's not worth bothering for Apple, or any other brand.

 

[talmy]

Out of interest, and as an aside to the thread, did you? Does anybody?

Not I. Most manufacturing defects show up early in a product's life, so I figure it's not worth bothering for Apple, or any other brand.

I've bought four, three are now 4 years old. Bought Apple Care for the Mac mini Server ($100, educational price). It did have a failed hard drive after 1 year but before 3. Not really worth $100, though. Other two minis I did not buy Applecare. They had no failures in the second or third years. One hard drive failed after 3. So basically it isn't worth it.

 

[leftyMac]

I don't see how you can think that.

Why would someone who's interested in a decently powered consumer-grade desktop computer in the $600-1000 price range spring for a $3000+ render-optimized workstation that will give them zero performance benefit?

The two markets are night and day different and so are the price ranges.

The Chevy Malibu steals very little business from GM's Cadillac division. And Nikon's $100 point and shoots cost them very few D4s sales.

In this case, I also put together a windows machine recently because I'm tired of waiting for a mini. I spent around $1000, so the MP was not even a remote consideration. At this point, I wouldn't even want a Haswell mini if it came out today. Haswell is too stale to buy in mid 2014.

I might consider a Broadwell mini if it comes out when the chips are still fresh. But given Apple's recent track record, I'm not holding my breath. I don't feel I'm leaving Apple, I feel Apple left me.

I agree, that's why I also mentioned an option of moving on to PC. if the specs are what you are after, it's a wise choice. if you want something between the current mac mini and mac pro and it has to be OSX, then there are rMBPs. I know they aren't desktop, but for Apple, I assume desktop is mostly for power users. everyone else can do without desktop. oh wait, then there's a whole line of iMacs as well! there you go. but if you want a headless, then they want you to buy a Mac Pro that they just released.

I would love a new more powerful mac mini just as much as you guys do, but mac mini was introduced to entice PC users to try out Macs for cheap. Apple already achieved that even with iPads. and now that they will release a new cheaper iMac, I see a very little chance of a new model of mac mini. they might bump up specs a little bit, but I think that's it. remember that they also stopped making 17" MBPs. it can happen to mac mini as well.

----------

Apple basically forced me back to the windows world due to there pig headed stubbornness over a decent headless pc at a fair price.

I'm guessing that Apple thinks most people wanting a decent desktop at a fair price use it for a basic use, such as web browsing, video chat, email, office tasks, etc. for Apple, they already have a bunch of products for their needs. and there's always a cheaper option: PC. sad, but it's the reality.

 

[Detrius]

Out of interest, and as an aside to the thread, did you? Does anybody?

Not I. Most manufacturing defects show up early in a product's life, so I figure it's not worth bothering for Apple, or any other brand.

Disagree. Having experience as a bench technician, I can say that more issues show up after the first year than in the first year. I never kept numbers, but we saw a lot of people getting use out of their AppleCare.

 

[crsh1976]

I'm guessing that Apple thinks most people wanting a decent desktop at a fair price use it for a basic use, such as web browsing, video chat, email, office tasks, etc. for Apple, they already have a bunch of products for their needs. and there's always a cheaper option: PC. sad, but it's the reality.

I think the mini is considered a fair compromise as far as Apple's business objectives go - it's a cheap low-end, good for everything except gaming, box that doesn't cannibalize iMac sales.

The MP is not and cannot be threatened by the mini, as it's been said already, it's a totally different market; if one buys a MP because there's no new mini out, it's an isolated case.

The case for the fabled "xMac" has been laid out over and over for years; we as consumers see it as a no-brainer product that would relieve us from having to buy an iMac when we want a midrange desktop machine, Apple however doesn't see it that way.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Disagree. Having experience as a bench technician, I can say that more issues show up after the first year than in the first year. I never kept numbers, but we saw a lot of people getting use out of their AppleCare.

Could this be perhaps because people who don't have AppleCare don't bother bringing in their computers into the store after the first year?

 

[leftyMac]

we as consumers see it as a no-brainer product that would relieve us from having to buy an iMac when we want a midrange desktop machine, Apple however doesn't see it that way.

exactly. of course an updated mac mini would be ideal for many users, but Apple has other products they want us to buy. simply put; headless = Mac Pro. decent desktop = iMac. I'm not anti-mac mini, but I understand why Apple wouldn't bother anymore with mac mini.

 

[ABCDEF-Hex]

Almost down to 3 weeks to go - no leaks yet

this is a good sign that there is a redesign.
Need some new Mini's and displays.

 

[ElectronGuru]

For Mac enthusiasts Apple does not seem as fun anymore as it once was. It used to be that there was an element of excitement, innovation and "happening" surrounding Apple. Currently it is boring Tim, grumpy Jony, same old phones and giant holes in the product line. So sad.

Apple has the very same models as during the last Steve golden age, so I don't know about holes, but I'll go with the rest. Steve derived so much personal satisfaction from the presentation of new tech and new design on the stage that it often felt like apples reason for being was to feed those moments. Without that force, apple is a different company, if only in personality. Now instead of presentations leading apple, presentations are following apple. Tim doesn't get an emotional payoff from release so neither do we.

this is a good sign that there is a redesign.
Need some new Mini's and displays.

The biggest reason to wait (by choice) is if the wait itself has a payoff. And the biggest payoff right now is the move to 4k. If apple can't make a mini today that supports a quality 4k experience (without boosting prices), that may be reason enough to hold off. If you're apple, you have to choose between frequent changes and bigger changes. If the nMP is any indication, they now prefer the later.

 

[talmy]

Apple has the very same models as during the last Steve golden age, so I don't know about holes, but I'll go with the rest. Steve derived so much personal satisfaction from the presentation of new tech and new design on the stage that it often felt like apples reason for being was to feed those moments. Without that force, apple is a different company, if only in personality. Now instead of presentations leading apple, presentations are following apple. Tim doesn't get an emotional payoff from release so neither do we.

Yes, Steve was a great pitchman, turning the most ho-hum of features into excitement. Tim doesn't have the "force field" or the "Kool aid" attributes. But the products are really just as exciting/boring as they always were. Apple ought to hire Anthony Sullivan for keynotes.

 

[Crosscreek]

Yes, Steve was a great pitchman, turning the most ho-hum of features into excitement. Tim doesn't have the "force field" or the "Kool aid" attributes. But the products are really just as exciting/boring as they always were. Apple ought to hire Anthony Sullivan for keynotes.

Meh, Ron

 

[mojolicious]

Currently it is boring Tim, grumpy Jony, same old phones and giant holes in the product line. So sad.

The return of Saint Steve was marked by the creation of a six year hole in the product line, when there was *nothing* for the desktop other than iMac/eMac and Power Mac. We might not like the deliberate crippling of the Mini's capabilities, nor the slow update cycle, nor the refusal to release a 'Mini Pro' or 'Power Mac Lite', but we should still be grateful that the Mini exists at all.

 

[Micky Do]

Disagree. Having experience as a bench technician, I can say that more issues show up after the first year than in the first year. I never kept numbers, but we saw a lot of people getting use out of their AppleCare.

An interesting point of view, which raises more questions.

Mini, iMac, or Pro, which did you see most of?

What was the most common fault?

Do you have any idea of what percentage of all Macs sold came back with issues…. under Apple care and in total?

Could this be perhaps because people who don't have AppleCare don't bother bringing in their computers into the store after the first year?

exactly. of course an updated mac mini would be ideal for many users, but Apple has other products they want us to buy. simply put; headless = Mac Pro. decent desktop = iMac. I'm not anti-mac mini, but I understand why Apple wouldn't bother anymore with mac mini.

I guess Apple's reason for bothering with the Mac Mini now, is much the same as their reason for bothering with it in the first place. Having been around, for the best part of a decade, going through several generations in that time, it is hardly a flash in the pan product.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Yes, Steve was a great pitchman, turning the most ho-hum of features into excitement. Tim doesn't have the "force field" or the "Kool aid" attributes. But the products are really just as exciting/boring as they always were. Apple ought to hire Anthony Sullivan for keynotes.

Yes, the reality distortion field™. Something which was only ho hum presented as more. And there were those, when Steve wasn't able to find or force into existence, something truly great. But watch video of the first iBook release. He had legions of dudes pulling all nighters to make that moment (and other such moments) possible. In between moments of RDF were moments of greatness, around which, apple functioned. It's these moments of greatness for which we are now pining because it's these moments that inspired the products for which we now pine.

Put another way, apple was driven by steves ego and steves ego was driven by presentation of the result of apples drive (great products). In this cycle, presentations were the cause of innovation, not the result of it.

 

[opeter]

About four weeks until the WWDC ... let's hope Apple doesn't forget us.

 

[Oracle1729]

I agree, that's why I also mentioned an option of moving on to PC. if the specs are what you are after, it's a wise choice. if you want something between the current mac mini and mac pro and it has to be OSX, then there are rMBPs. I know they aren't desktop, but for Apple, I assume desktop is mostly for power users. everyone else can do without desktop. oh wait, then there's a whole line of iMacs as well! there you go. but if you want a headless, then they want you to buy a Mac Pro that they just released.

What does this, or anything else you said, have to do with your comment that a mac mini will steal sales from the new mac pro.

You're pulling different groups or user cases out of your^H^H^H^H the air, and then speaking for their needs in your opinion

How can you even assume desktop means power user means nMP graphics performances. Plenty of people are fine with consumer grade performance and want a proper keyboard, mouse, screen, etc. Maybe the iMac will lose sales to the mini, but the nMP? It's not even really targeted as a desktop PC, it's a performance workstation

You have a very, very, very narrow world view, and try to squish everyone into it.

 

[bingeciren]

I am happy with the current Mini as it is. Adding 4k support won't mean much to me considering the way I use my Mini.

My Server Mini is used as a shared work station in our house. It has two printers and two scanners hooked up to it and has 7 TB external storage attached to it. It serves as a print server, scanner station, backup centre, media server and video & picture editing station.

The reason to choose the server version is the quad core i7 and two internal disks. I replaced one of the internal disks with a 500GB Samsung SSD and upped the memory to 8GB which made a huge difference in performance. Total cost of the upgrade was $300 for the SSD, and $100 for the memory.

The only thing I'm afraid is that the new Mini will not be as easily modifiable (maybe none at all) as the current Mini at the expense of styling.

Ive's obsession with thinness and lightness is killing the road to user upgradability. Profitable for Apple and not so good for the technically capable consumer.

 

[bingeciren]

Disagree. Having experience as a bench technician, I can say that more issues show up after the first year than in the first year. I never kept numbers, but we saw a lot of people getting use out of their AppleCare.

Meaningless in Europe, as we have the EU mandated 2 year warranty. Apple care actually extends the European warranty only for 1 more year.

I bought countless Apple products over the past 8 years and not even once I had a problem beyond the second year. In fact with the exception of one dead Airport Express after the second year, none of my devices gave me a problem after the first year. Take a look at the list below,

5 Mac Minis - From 2009 to 2012. Not a single problem.
4 MacBook Airs - From 2010 to 2013. One had a faulty trackpad on arrival. Replaced under warranty. No other problem on any others.
3 MacBook 15" - From 2010 to 2013. One had a faulty main board. Replaced during the first year. No problem on any others.
1 rMBP 15" - 2013. Still under warranty, no problem so far.
2 iPhone 4 - Still working great.
1 iPhone 5S - Still under warranty and no problem.
2 iPad 1st gen - Still working and no problem.
1 iPad 2nd gen - Still working no problem.
1 iPad 3rd gen retina. - No problem.
2 iPad Mini 1st gen - No problem.
1 iPod Touch 4th gen - No problem.
1 iPod Classic current gen - 3 years old, still working fine in my car.
2 Time Capsule 2 TB 1st gen - No problem.
1 Time Capsule 2 TB 4th gen - No problem
3 Airport Express 1st gen - One died after 2 years, the others are working fine.
2 Airport Extreme 5th gen - No problem.
1 Airport Express 2nd gen - Still under warranty, no problem.
2 ATV 3rd gen - No problem.

(I should get a preferred customer status from Apple)

I figured, the money I saved so far by not getting the Apple Care will easily cover all my future purchases.

Am I just lucky, or Apple builds quality products, or both? - You decide...

 

[Crosscreek]

(I should get a preferred customer status from Apple)

I figured, the money I saved so far by not getting the Apple Care will easily cover all my future purchases.

Am I just lucky, or Apple builds quality products, or both? - You decide...

That is a lot of inventory.

I think you are lucky Apple builds quality products.

 

[bingeciren]

That is a lot of inventory.

I think you are lucky Apple builds quality products.

Oops, I forgot to include the 24" Cinema Display, 27" Cinema Display, 2007 model 24" iMac and a 27" iMac. One of the iMacs developed a gray spot just before I sold it (it was just barely within the 2yr warranty period). Those iMacs had the CCFL back lighting rather than LED.

I guess you are right. I am lucky as Apple builds quality products.

 

[tjcampbell]

I sure hope it gets a bump soon as I'm waiting to pull the trigger on one. My MBP can't handle the video editing I'm doing.

 

[Crosscreek]

1400 headed to 2000?