The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[wlossw]

Allow me to rephrase for him: 2 year old technology at 2 year old prices. And with 2 year old ports.

I'm doing the same as you -- see what the new Mini looks like, and immediately pull the trigger on a refurb if the new one isn't what I am looking for.

Plus 1 - there's nothing I hate more than paying full price for apple stuff right before a refresh... Also I do a lot of video encoding so I want something with guts... And that can transcode 4 1080p streams simultaneously... I have a lot of family members that use my media library...

 

[mojolicious]

Reading the last few posts has made me realise that I'm not actually waiting for the new Mini.

I've got a 2.3GHz Mid 2011 and the only meaningful advantage of the current – if 'current' is the right word – model is the presence of USB3. I can't believe that the next Mini will bring anything as significant as the USB2>3 jump.

If I bought a quad core Late 2012 today then, with the addition of an SSD boot disk and 16GB of memory, I reckon I'd be set for at least five years. I think my present Mini will also be serving some useful purpose in five years' time, assuming nothing major fails.

 

[MichaelLAX]

I've got a 2.3GHz Mid 2011 and the only meaningful advantage of the current – if 'current' is the right word – model is the presence of USB3.

I can't believe that the next Mini will bring anything as significant as the USB2>3 jump.

You and me, both!

Get a Thunderbird to USB3 Dock from Belkin or Elgato and stop waiting!

 

[mojolicious]

YGet a Thunderbolt to USB3 Dock from Belkin or Elgato and stop waiting!

*checks prices*



Here in the UK the 2011 models hold their price ridiculously well. It would be no more expensive for me to sell my i5/2011 and buy a used i7/2012 than to add one of those things.

 

[Micky Do]

The "Mac mini 2013/2014 refresh." thread died back in March. For a while, it was running neck and neck with this one and STILL had over 240,000 replies. Imagine if there had been only one thread. It would now have over 500,000 posts!

Yes, indeed this thread did take the thunder out of a couple of earlier incarnations. Your numbers may be out by a couple of powers of 10, but that's just a minor detail. Combined, the numbers are stupendous.

Close to 1500 posts, and still no cigar??
HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAAHAHAHHAAHA>...!!!
The kind of blind faith we are giving out
It's just too much, too much

C'mon, we're beyond the mere hundreds, here. It is now the thousands that matter.

As sure as Tuesdays come and go, as do incarnations of Mac Minis, the antsy will continue to clamour for the next big thing to meet their desires.

Saw the most of the iMac between those three. The most common issue varies depending on the model. The early Intel iMacs all eventually have lines in their LCDs. That is, by the time I left, it would be shocking to see one with a working LCD. Every day, we'd swap out multiple HDDs, but I never saw a single bad SSD (I've been out for two years, for reference).

All iMac models had common issues with graphics cards and power supplies failing. Pros had RAM issues. All machines had airport issues.

Thanks for the answer. I thought it might be the iMac that you saw most of, given the screen issues they seem to have.

One of the attractive things about the Mini is being able to choose a monitor according to needs and budget. On my second Mini, I am still using the ViewSonic monitor I got with my first in 2005. Doing more photography now, I could do with one with a better resolution, but for word processing, keeping records, browsing and the like, it's fine.

HDDs, with their moving parts, are bound to be the least reliable part for any brand of computer. A few fail after a year or less, while some soldier on for many years. I am still on the original HDD in my 2009 Mini, but will probably replace it with an SSD in due course.

You don't mention what proportion of computers sold, come back for repair within the warranty / extended warranty period.

 

[Florals]

I've been lurking on this thread since its inception, and like everyone else I'm growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of updates, but I refuse to pay such a hefty price for two-year-old tech.

I'm still chugging along with my CoreDuo 2006 Mac Mini as my main desktop, and I'm reluctant to consider a refurb as I am still eligible for the UK academic discount and three year warranty (I'm a PhD student). I'll be pretty frustrated if WWDC comes and there's no sign of a new mini.

 

[burne]

I can understand the 3k, but does 2 year old technology really matter? I've got a late 2009 Mac mini server, used as a home server, it loafs basically all the time (it never hits 100% CPU).

I maxed out mine. Homebuilt fusion drive with a 256Gbyte flash and 1Tbyte spinning storage, maximum RAM, and it runs a bunch of VM's with web servers and mailservers and stuff. Like you say, without breaking a sweat. Since they are VM's (running linux) moving to different hardware is limited to the time needed to copy the virtual harddisks.

I doubt I see any measurable improvements from new hardware, except the 'new car smell'-effect. Which in itself is enough to update and shuffle all machines one owner down. (If I upgrade people who got my previous machines get a free upgrade as well..)

 

[SpinalTap]

I've been lurking on this thread since its inception, and like everyone else I'm growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of updates, but I refuse to pay such a hefty price for two-year-old tech.

I could have accessed the academic discount on my latest Mac Mini but chose the 'refurb' option instead. Why? First, this is my fourth Mini since 2005 and not one of them developed any fault.

Second; the refurb Mini Server was £712 compared to £764 with academic discount. I bought my Mini Server on 7th March 2014. Its build date was March 2014. So, it wasn't a 'refurb' but a brand-new Mac Mini. That means spare cash for maxing-out the RAM and adding an SSD.

 

[Hrothgar]

First of all, those who want a Mac mini are probably doing so for at least one of two reasons:

I want a good, low-cost music server. But I guess it's stupid to buy one before WWDC?

 

[Florals]

I could have accessed the academic discount on my latest Mac Mini but chose the 'refurb' option instead. Why? First, this is my fourth Mini since 2005 and not one of them developed any fault.

Second; the refurb Mini Server was £712 compared to £764 with academic discount. I bought my Mini Server on 7th March 2014. Its build date was March 2014. So, it wasn't a 'refurb' but a brand-new Mac Mini. That means spare cash for maxing-out the RAM and adding an SSD.

You really lucked out there with getting such a new mini, but I doubt that is an everyday occurrence. To me buying a refurb would be 'settling' - technically second hand, unlikely to be the exact config I wanted, no three year warranty and only £50 cheaper than a brand new one. If I had to make a snap decision right now I would still choose a new BTO machine over a refurb.

Of course the best possible scenario would be for Apple to release an updated model ASAP, but who even knows if that's going to happen.

 

[Yvan256]

I want a good, low-cost music server. But I guess it's stupid to buy one before WWDC?

If it's only for a low-cost music server, wouldn't it make more sense to buy an old Mac mini G4?

 

[foobi]

Is Apple having some problem to manage all prodcuts in there productline? First they ignore Mac Pro for some years, and yeah when they release the damn thing, they starting to ignore mac mini..... MAKE SOMETHING APPLE!

 

[Crosscreek]

Is Apple having some problem to manage all prodcuts in there productline? First they ignore Mac Pro for some years, and yeah when they release the damn thing, they starting to ignore mac mini..... MAKE SOMETHING APPLE!

I think Apple is only concerned with the money making IProducts.

That's where all the juicy news and hype is at.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Refurbs in stock today in almost every configuration. This means.... it doesn't mean anything.

 

[talmy]

Refurbs in stock today in almost every configuration. This means.... it doesn't mean anything.

Congratulations! You got it right!

 

[RugDr]

Broke down and bought current mini

It's pathetic that Apple can't update this simple machine. The iWatch? I certainly don't care for that idiotic gadget. The mac pro was announced, but people have to wait months to get the damn thing. But, rest assured, since I bought the current one, they'll have a shiny new mac mini for sale on their website next week.

I'm becoming increasingly disappointed in those clowns.

 

[Crosscreek]

It's pathetic that Apple can't update this simple machine. The iWatch? I certainly don't care for that idiotic gadget. The mac pro was announced, but people have to wait months to get the damn thing. But, rest assured, since I bought the current one, they'll have a shiny new mac mini for sale on their website next week.

I'm becoming increasingly disappointed in those clowns.

From what I have read there will be no hardware introduced at WWDC.

There may be some announcement of upcoming hardware but I don't think there will be anything involving the Mini.

Maybe after or when the IMacs get there refresh in the fall would be the earliest.

I'm more of the opinion next year with the Broadwell chip since all the other mini's will have them.

 

[squirrrl]

From what I have read there will be no hardware introduced at WWDC.

There may be some announcement of upcoming hardware but I don't think there will be anything involving the Mini.

Maybe after or when the IMacs get there refresh in the fall would be the earliest.

I'm more of the opinion next year with the Broadwell chip since all the other mini's will have them.

"From what I have read" -- hahahaha..... Really? Did you read it from the OP of this thread? Perhaps from a European retailer? Fact is, we don't know squat until we do. Leaks come out about iPhone because it's popular and rumors increase page views but not that many care about desktop rumors so there's no real incentive to leak info.

Besides they just released a new MBA with minimal upgrades so it seems like apple is fine with baby step upgrades in their hardware. You assume that it's all go big or go home with apple but clearly it isn't.

 

[Crosscreek]

"From what I have read" -- hahahaha..... Really? Did you read it from the OP of this thread? Perhaps from a European retailer? Fact is, we don't know squat until we do. Leaks come out about iPhone because it's popular and rumors increase page views but not that many care about desktop rumors so there's no real incentive to leak info.

Besides they just released a new MBA with minimal upgrades so it seems like apple is fine with baby step upgrades in their hardware. You assume that it's all go big or go home with apple but clearly it isn't.

Seems to be a well respected Apple source:
http://recode.net/2014/05/02/codered-no-new-apple-tv-at-wwdc/

 

[Cape Dave]

It's pathetic that Apple can't update this simple machine. The iWatch? I certainly don't care for that idiotic gadget. The mac pro was announced, but people have to wait months to get the damn thing. But, rest assured, since I bought the current one, they'll have a shiny new mac mini for sale on their website next week.

I'm becoming increasingly disappointed in those clowns.

I share your pain. That Pro announcement and then a 6 month or more wait was INSANE. Even Apple cannot do that many more times and have any customers left. IWatch? PATHETIC. Who cares?

 

[squirrrl]

Seems to be a well respected Apple source:
http://recode.net/2014/05/02/codered-no-new-apple-tv-at-wwdc/

???? The only thing that article says is that there's going to be no AppleTV or iwatch. There's been rumors for a while about a retina MacBook air coming out. The way I see it is that they are going to be pushing macOS 10.10. Why wouldn't they update at least some of the hardware if they're pushing for a desktop/laptop OS.

 

[Crosscreek]

???? The only thing that article says is that there's going to be no AppleTV or iwatch. There's been rumors for a while about a retina MacBook air coming out. The way I see it is that they are going to be pushing macOS 10.10. Why wouldn't they update at least some of the hardware if they're pushing for a desktop/laptop OS.

They will update hardware in the fall as normal along with releasing OSX10.10 and ISO8.

 

[Lesser Evets]

It's pathetic that Apple can't update this simple machine. The iWatch? I certainly don't care for that idiotic gadget.

 

[Cape Dave]

Image

Maybe the best post in this entire thread

 

[cypriot]

Image