I believe that the new Mac mini will be invisible. That is the perfect form for a product which no-one can see. It is there, it is not there, it was here last week, it is beautiful, it does nothing as well as nothing can be done. It is all things to all people. It is the perfect Mac, it is the fruition of rigorous, creative design. It has been completely re-thought, it has been re-imagined from the ground up. It is the ultimate expression of the Apple aesthetic, as defined by Jony Ive. It is thinner than thin, it is lighter than light, it provides the ultimate end-user experience. It is future-proof, it will take anything you care to throw at it, today and tomorrow. You will never need to buy another Mac ever again. It is here to stay. It is timeless. It will leave the competition slack-jawed and speechless. It is the perfect Mini, it is the last Mini. Enjoy it now because it is upon you. Close your eyes, can you not sense its presence? Can you not detect that unmistakable new-Mac smell? Observe the packaging, meditate upon the care taken down to the last, most minute detail, before opening it. Was it worth the wait, for a moment like this? Of course it was. Enjoy.
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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new mac mini concept
hey guys,
thought i'd try concept drawing. i tried to draw a circular version of the mac mini so it looks like a hotcake. but, i didn't like how it looks. i'm sure it's easy enough for you guys to picture a circular mac mini. that "picture" didn't appeal to me. so i tried to make the new mac pro smaller. shrink it down. and i think this direction was better and more appealing to me. so i tried to make a concept drawing, keeping in mind of the materials, too.
here it is:
so basically, the outer shell is aluminum like the ones in the classic macbook pros and current mac minis. it's not the shiny metal used in the nMP. this could differentiate it from being "pro." lol.
the top though is high quality transparent plastic like the old white minis. the 2007 mac mini's if you remember those.
the ports are vertical and that slit is what holds the outer aluminum shell and to get inside the mini is the same as the nMP in that the outer shell will slide up.
what do you guys think?
maybe there is a fan. but instead of getting air from the bottom and exhausting it up top like the nMP. the fan would get the air from the bottom and circulates around the case thru vital components and then exit out where the ports are. that's all i can think of.
specs would be new broadwell cpu's. coming out in jan 2015. Apple got a bunch of broadwell mobile cpu's with iris gpu's early from intel since apple and intel are close like that.
hey guys,
thought i'd try concept drawing. i tried to draw a circular version of the mac mini so it looks like a hotcake. but, i didn't like how it looks. i'm sure it's easy enough for you guys to picture a circular mac mini. that "picture" didn't appeal to me. so i tried to make the new mac pro smaller. shrink it down. and i think this direction was better and more appealing to me. so i tried to make a concept drawing, keeping in mind of the materials, too.
here it is:
so basically, the outer shell is aluminum like the ones in the classic macbook pros and current mac minis. it's not the shiny metal used in the nMP. this could differentiate it from being "pro." lol.
the top though is high quality transparent plastic like the old white minis. the 2007 mac mini's if you remember those.
the ports are vertical and that slit is what holds the outer aluminum shell and to get inside the mini is the same as the nMP in that the outer shell will slide up.
what do you guys think?
maybe there is a fan. but instead of getting air from the bottom and exhausting it up top like the nMP. the fan would get the air from the bottom and circulates around the case thru vital components and then exit out where the ports are. that's all i can think of.
specs would be new broadwell cpu's. coming out in jan 2015. Apple got a bunch of broadwell mobile cpu's with iris gpu's early from intel since apple and intel are close like that.
Apple will use those Broadwell chips in MacBooks first. You may see a Broadwell Mini later in 2015.
I like it. There could probably be some ventilation on the top, around the edge or under a raised apple logo.
i thought about that. but any vents on the top would ruin the design. remember that the mac mini will be using mobile chips so it doesn't need to have the cooling extravagance of the nmp. and broadwell cpu's are suppose to run even cooler. so.....
vents or openings at the top would also make it easier for dust to get in.
The Legend (as in, the person who managed to create a Mac Mini thread that is closing in on 100 pages, 500.000 views and 2.500 comments) has returned. Welcome back!
I've been out camping in the wilderness, making burnt offerings (well, dinner) and blood sacrifice (actually, that was mostly the mosquitos' doing) and generally invoking the Powers to make with the new Mini already. And yet I see that these efforts have failed? How can this be??!!
Ah well, I am truly enjoying the new Mini I have and it works much better for me than the one that isn't here yet. And I am pleased that the thread still lives. Greetings, oh great OP, did you ever guess what you were starting?
Wow, a long addition to the thread this time, albeit another rather sarcastic offering. Keep practicing and you may eventually crack the secret of writing satire.
Well, no wonder we haven't seen the new Mac mini. Apple would not do that without you around. But now...
There will only be a funky and/or nano form factor if the HDD is ditched for a SSD (and possibly some propriety / non upgradable components)
That rectangle can't be reshaped, and eve if placed on-end like the airport, is a solid chunk you somehow have to build a mobo around.
Just like older minis were constrained by the optical drive, similarly are HDD minis.
Personally I don't think the all new mini being delayed due the Broadwell delay, but due high stock of yet unsold new mini.
I'm very confident Apple will announce the all new Mac mini along OS/X Yosemite as Late'14 model, maybe no new format but sure no firewire instead more another Thunderbolt and a iris pro 5300 as top graphics.
I dream with an new format ala Mac PRO or at least like the Airport Extreme W. R.
I'm very confident Apple will announce the all new Mac mini along OS/X Yosemite as Late'14 model, maybe no new format but sure no firewire instead more another Thunderbolt and a iris pro 5300 as top graphics.
I dream with an new format ala Mac PRO or at least like the Airport Extreme W. R.
Unlikely. Apple has about the lowest levels of inventory in their industry. When customers stop buying, Apple cranks down the factory. Apple tracks and actively montiors their supply/demand chain. There is a meeting every week where senior execs monitor how well/badly everything is selling.
Apple caught with their pants down after several months of overproducing product doesn't really happen.
Intel does have backlog. Apple buying cheaper Ivy Bridge & Haswell to crank margins is something Apple would do.
Only the lowest Wattage ULV solutions of Broadwell are going to ship this year. A 'Y' series (Core M ) Broadwell caps out at 4.5W TDP and only 2 cores.
http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2014/2014070201_Details_of_first_Broadwell_Y_mobile_processors.html
Apple could gut the performance of the mini similar to how they gutted the performance of the entry iMac. That might be a good idea for a new "Mac nano" product , but for a mini that's the wrong direction.
There are no Core M products coming in 2014 with "Iris Pro".
http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2014/...x00_Iris_6100_and_Iris_Pro_6200_branding.html
Iris Pro means waiting until 2015.
Going vertical Apple could move the mini out of using mobile to using desktop chips (list most of the iMac line.... execpt the recent reversal). that would be a performance jump good enough not to have to wait for Broadwell to do.
I didn't name an Broadwell Mac mini, just a Haswell update.
See what's offer the Wincrap market: (gigabyte brix & zotac zBox E series) Intel i7-4770r with iris pro 5200 low TDP (under 65w). For 700$, more they just launched an i5 dual core with Nvidia gtx860M get for about 200$ less.
IMHO apple will sell soon a similar configuration as Late'14 Mac mini.
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More mobile solutions need cooling also. The MBP and MBA has vents and fans. The current mini has vents and fans. The 2011 MBP that thought they could slide with less vents and weak fans are crapping out with GPU problems. And the Mac Cube as a colossal bust. The new Time Capsule design is suspect. [ it hasn't failed in larger number yet but it wouldn't be particularly surprising when it does. ]
The top as a pimpmobile location for the logo does a whole lot of nothing. Design is about function (how the item works ) also. The fan/Wifi combo of the nMP is not extravagant. It is necessary. Just like it is necessary for a new Mini unless gut the performance and shot for "iPad like" performance solutions.
A "rounded AirPort Extreme" design isn't much of a concept. If being to do derivative work then the nMP is a far more well grounded starting point. Can toss the large central core heat sink that the mini doesn't need (and don't have to give up completely on 2.5" drives. ).
OK. I see but out of control inventory isn't an Apple problem. Reusing parts inventory over products is though.
The mini has historically gotten major parts from other Macs ( namely MBPs and perhaps MB when those were still around and major volume player). To hit lower price point Apple has the mini ride in the bow wave of something lese. The most recent example is the entry iMac shifting to MBA parts.
There is nothing in Apple line up in the i7 xxxxR range. The general Windows market is spread over a much broader, shotgun, approach to design that Apple has.
The i5 xxxxR from the 'old' entry iMac maybe (although its volumes were not sufficient ... hence need for lower priced iMacs so not much of a bow wave to ride). Drifting in to something that none of the other Macs has is unlikely.
The Iris Pro out of the MBP line up would be far more likely than some higher end desktiop i7 Apple doesn't use at all.
Minus a move by MBP or iMac the Mini is unlikely to move independently.
The mini takes cues far more so from other Macs than in closely tracking the General Windows space. Closely tracking the general Windows space is far more wishful thinking than an opinion.
Actually apple builds iMac and Mac mini on the same intel 8 series chipset, stocking an i7+4770R it's just question to order and put it on the assembly line coz requires same BGA and Logic chipset, so a mac mini can fit anything actually the iMac offer the same way the iMac could offer the Not so new i7-4770R (now they is also an newer version with ip5300, don't remember the model number).
What's restrict the Mac mini is the max TDP can't excess 65W so an i7+nvidia 780 it's impossible, and an i5+nvidua discrete unlikely (I'll never buy).
A new format could render the max TDP limit allowing i7 with discrete graphics.
Anyway all this is mere speculation, as Apple never warned the retina mbp (and here most people rendered impossible due impractical, no std res on market, etc) AND here we have the retina mbp, Mac PRO, and osx Yosemite give some cues on an possible retina iMac.
The same historical analysis would rendered Impossible to exist the trash can Mac PRO, the retina Mac PRO, the iPad mini, the retina iPad mini etc, it's Apple men, not an small Oem integrator as zotac or gigabyte.
So understanding your knowledge of Apple supply chain I still believe they have some issues with Mac mini inventory, maybe not at Apple store but other retailers at least have unsold stocks.
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there's a fan in my mac mini concept. i mentioned it. it pulls air from the bottom and circulates around and exits at the opening where the ports are which are on the side as shown above on my concept drawing.
the top is not a pimpmobile location for the logo. it's just a top and my concept doesn't have openings on it b/c i feel that the slit and opening where the ports are are adequate as "vents." the logo is just there b/c it is the most logical place for it that i can think of. it has the most surface area and is made of hi-quality white opaque/transparent plastic like the top of 2007 "fat" mac minis. if the logo wasn't there, it would just be blank. and all macs have an apple logo so i figured to put it where there is blank space.
also, the nMP has openings at the top for exhaust and repels dust. my concept mini is not propelling air upward so if the top has openings, dust will get in.
the only thing i'm not sure of is the 4.4" diameter. i think it might need to be bigger like 5.7" in diameter.
i like a smaller mac pro w/ mobile broadwell innards, which is what my concept looks like. i don't think it looks like a circular airport extreme since my concept mini will obviously be substantially larger, has aluminum outer body. in fact, the new airport extreme will compliment my concept mini well since it is of a different shape. they'll sit next to each other on a desk as two distinct shapes and functions.
you're confusing design and function. every design has a function. it's just a matter of how well it works and i think my concept of the mini has adequate function of propelling hot air out of the chasis.
so you think the classic unibody macbook pro's such as the 2011 have inadequate thermal solution? i'm asking b/c i have the same chasis but the 2010 mbp model with gt330m dgpu.
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Getting increasingly difficult to find good reasons why the Haswell upgrade is not happening in the Mini. Given the level of power of the new Mac Pro, especially its dual high power discrete graphics cards, upgrading the Mini to Haswell (even to Iris Pro level) is not likely to threaten MP sales. Maybe they have a complete redesign for the Mini that skips Haswell, but its release date is being repeatedly messed up by ongoing delays to Broadwell.
In which case, Apple, just give us the Haswell update now (mainly for improved graphics); plus Wi-Fi ac, ditch the FW port for another TB port, and upgrade both TB ports to TB2. It will be good for at least another 12 months or so.
In which case, Apple, just give us the Haswell update now (mainly for improved graphics); plus Wi-Fi ac, ditch the FW port for another TB port, and upgrade both TB ports to TB2. It will be good for at least another 12 months or so.
I'm not sure that really affects the Mac Mini though; with an all aluminium body and Broadwell's reduction on heat we might actually see Apple go the route of passively cooling the CPU by transferring all the heat into the case, similar to the Akasa Euler case. If they can do this for the PSU as well they could probably make the smaller, and make the whole system smaller with a bit of clever design.
The question is still how much smaller; the current flatter profile would work well for passively cooling (provided people are told not to put stuff on it) as it has more surface area for heat to rise from. A taller, rounder design might be a good idea in that case as it would be more difficult for people to block, though I don't think it should be too tall (IMO the benefits to WiFi are pretty small, a split case where each part is used as an antenna should do the trick nicely.
If I could suggest Apple a new design for the mini, it must be a middle among nMP and Airport Extreme, an small vertical cylinder with one or two 2.5" hdd plus ssd slot (m.2 pcie std) a frontal power button and a couple of usb3, behind usb3,Thunderbolt, Lan, hdmi and power plug. Round cylinder or small cube whatever with no more than 2/3 real estate area than current mini (as gigabyte's Brix) , as internals: Haswell i7 4771R as top choice, as well i5 with iris pro 5200, all capable to drive at least one 4k display on display port or hdmi 2.0
The mini will come, it will
Here's my theory: the current mini is really a very good machine. Especially if you stuff some memory and an SSD into it ... this i7 of mine boots in like 15 seconds and I had to buy an extra fast Das Keyboard just to keep up with it. I'm thinking ... if Metal really does deliver the kind of performance increase that was hinted at, it will make the Mini faster than anything they could do in hardware. So speed isn't the driving factor. But the display - Retina support would really be a giant step forward, and would help sell more expen$ive displays, and would be enough of a driver to get people to trade up - more than a slight bump in performance.
What would it take to Retinate a mini?
Here's my theory: the current mini is really a very good machine. Especially if you stuff some memory and an SSD into it ... this i7 of mine boots in like 15 seconds and I had to buy an extra fast Das Keyboard just to keep up with it. I'm thinking ... if Metal really does deliver the kind of performance increase that was hinted at, it will make the Mini faster than anything they could do in hardware. So speed isn't the driving factor. But the display - Retina support would really be a giant step forward, and would help sell more expen$ive displays, and would be enough of a driver to get people to trade up - more than a slight bump in performance.
What would it take to Retinate a mini?
You are mixing wishes with stuff from iOS
Metal is for iOS not OSX, Apple is able to make Metal because they are desgining the chips and do Metal. OSX has OpenGL to do that (which well lacks kinda in OSX)
Make the mini ready to drive a Retina display - it just needs a better graphic chip which will happen next release.
This could also mean that Apple is planning to discontinue the Mac Mini. In the past, Amazon often knew about new and discontinued Apple products before they were announced/discontinued.
My guess is that Apple is planning for a redically redesigned Mac mini. Much much smaller. Since they can get rid of the harddisk, they can safe a lot of space inside. The days of the harddisk in Apple products are counted anyway since they want you to safe your data in the iCloud. Imagine something like the Macbook Air in a very small form factor Mac mini. I'd love to see a Mac mini cube.
That's not true. The mobile 4850-4860 Haswell mobile chips are Iris Pro. Those are under the i7 badge. Under the i5 badge the 4258 and 4288 have "Iris" graphics (not Iris pro).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture)#Mobile_processors
Oh, I didn't catch that. Bad brain! Bad! Been smoking too many marshmallows around the campfire. On the other hand ... since there have been rumors of an A7 chip etc. in future minis ... will Metal be specific to iOS, or just specific to the A7 chip? I found an article which makes me think it's chip-specific, and if Apple stuck an A7 chip in the mini, could the Metal API be called from with Yosemite as well?
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8116/some-thoughts-on-apples-metal-api