When is the new Mac mini Haswell coming out?

[nateo200]

There going to cripple the poor little guy, poor Mac Mini but Apple couldn't let anything but the Mac Pro have decent expandability beyond thunderbolt. Just a guess....

Anyways this talk of ARM processors needs to stop, they are nothing but a bag of hurt, why do you want ARM processors in a computer that plugs into the wall anyway? Do you want the bag of hurt that comes with compatibility just to be different? Dual Thunderbolt 2 ports, FW800 gone, Iris Pro Graphics, Haswell CPU's like the i7-4750HQ, and of course the quad core 4th gens.

Also this is MacRUMORS so we can speculate and rumor, obviously you can only speculate so far until you become a "rumor monger" (lol) but thus far its seams to be perfectly healthy speculation.

 

[raniel]

I cant wait. I hope apple will release the new mini together with the new MP

 

[HurryKayne]

The current A7 is comparable to the 2010 2.4GHz C2D Mini.

iPad Air

Mac Mini (Early 2010)

It's not hard to imagine an A8X scoring near the Core i5 SB Mini, with an A9 probably being as good or better.

So, it's doable.



When Intel architecture gets to such low TDP then what's the difference. If given the choice, I would want to use my own chips.

Besides, the line is blurred now anyways. Everything from Keynote to Garageband to Airport Utility has been ported to 64-bit ARM. Three quarters of the groundwork has already been done.

I can see continuing to offer Intel on their Pro/workstation line, but most people could get by without them.

Yes thats true,maybe A8 and A9 will debut quite close with A8 for Mainstream and A9 ( quad?) for Pro,the only i hope is to see 4GIG of Ram inside the Ipad devices ,1GIG for the low "c" models only and 2 GIG for the top Iphone,
don't know why but till we won't have at least 2 GIG i don't see Devs like Native Instruments or PropellerHeads REALLY jumping on the IPAD ship.
So in this kind of vision ,one day the NEW MAC MINI could be an A9 Apple Tv?

 

[rekhyt]

Thing is that I'm really in the market for a portable gaming PC. I was thinking about building another custom gaming PC but that'd be too much of a hassle and I can't really be bothered.

I was thinking of either getting a Mac Mini Haswell (possible future redesign with a discrete GPU) or the upcoming Steam Machine from Valve.

Either way I'd prefer a gaming-capable Mac Mini over anything (even the Valve-condoned Steam Machines made by other manufacturers) as it would be able to run OS X.

 

[mvmanolov]

Thing is that I'm really in the market for a portable gaming PC. I was thinking about building another custom gaming PC but that'd be too much of a hassle and I can't really be bothered.

I was thinking of either getting a Mac Mini Haswell (possible future redesign with a discrete GPU) or the upcoming Steam Machine from Valve.

Either way I'd prefer a gaming-capable Mac Mini over anything (even the Valve-condoned Steam Machines made by other manufacturers) as it would be able to run OS X.

what about getting an external TB video card… it will cost $$$$ but it will allow you to game from what i understand .. ?

 

[corvus32]

Anyways this talk of ARM processors needs to stop, they are nothing but a bag of hurt, why do you want ARM processors in a computer that plugs into the wall anyway?

That's like saying why would anyone want x86 processors in anything that runs on a battery. Huh?

Macs with ARM processors inside does sound crazy, but if you factor in a lot of things, including enough time, it's not so crazy after all.

In fact, it eventually makes a lot more sense for Apple to move to a common architecture than it does to maintain what they're doing now with two separate platforms. One being of their own design and wildly successful. The other being Intel-based and losing sales for four consecutive quarters.

 

[Charliebird]

Apple always likes to claim first and foremost they're a build of 'proud' engineers. Since they now have the talent to engineer their own custom Arm chip designs it would logically follow it will move into their desktop/laptop product lineup. Why design a 64 bit A7 processor and only give new IOS devices 1 GB of ram. It seems like eventually Apple is going to use their own chip designs across their full product lineup. However it seems like this transition will be a few years out but you never know with Apple.

 

[hudson1]

That's like saying why would anyone want x86 processors in anything that runs on a battery. Huh?

Macs with ARM processors inside does sound crazy, but if you factor in a lot of things, including enough time, it's not so crazy after all.

In fact, it eventually makes a lot more sense for Apple to move to a common architecture than it does to maintain what they're doing now with two separate platforms. One being of their own design and wildly successful. The other being Intel-based and losing sales for four consecutive quarters.

You seem to be avoiding the important question that has been raised multiple times... How do you maintain compatibility with Windows applications that many people are running on their Mac? Please answer this time.

 

[deconstruct60]

Why design a 64 bit A7 processor and only give new IOS devices 1 GB of ram.

Because the new instructions are coupled to the 64 bit registers. It is the instruction set change that is the big win with ARM 64 in the handset/iPad space. Not addressing 4+ GB of RAM.

What ARM did was eject alot of old legacy baggage when they redesigned for 64 bit. Very similar to the partial clean up that AMD and Intel did.

It seems like eventually Apple is going to use their own chip designs across their full product lineup.

Not at all. That very much depends upon what Intel does (and maybe outside chance AMD).

Apple already has a OS for ARM. It is called iOS. They don't really need another one. OS X is fine. Yet another CPU change doesn't really by a whole lot when Intel dropping better performance over a larger range that the Mac product line up occupies.

ARM is no where near catching up to where the iMac and Mac Pro processors are. Even the MBP 15" processors. Overlapping with the MBA say not much of anything unless myopically viewing the Mac product line as consisting of the MBA and mini.

However it seems like this transition will be a few years out but you never know with Apple.

If Intel falls flat on their face with product updates then perhaps yes. There is zero sign of that happening soon though. ARM is fully on Intel's radar. Has been for 3-4 years at this point. The ATOM line up is not lagging generations behind in process tech anymore. Power management is front and center across the whole line up.

"Outsourcing" the Mac CPU design problem to Intel is cheaper ( allows Apple to share the R&D load with large group of other vendors ) and allows Apple CPU design group to remain focus on faster growing markets where Intel isn't as dominate. Apple is keeping up with Qualcomm and all other ARM vendors. If they dilute their CPU skills over more products that is going to be significantly harder. One reason Apple is ahead is because they saw the instruction set change and filtered out to just what they needed just for a phone/iPad to get to next generation faster. They are NOT trying to make a low power 64-bit server core to compete in that space.



Moving OS X to ARM means coming up with a Rosetta like emulator ( Apple didn't have internal folks before, what makes think has them now) and return of fat binaries. Fat binaries for purely web (and limited bandwidth) software distribution is bad idea. It only increases the pain for those who don't have the bandwidth. It increases costs even for Apple even delivering to the customers that do.

 

[Schnort]

or do something like .net/clr and have most things interpreted in a virtual machine.


But I don't think the ARM big iron is anywhere near the Intel big iron processors and won't be for a while. Intel will win on process technology, if nothing else.

 

[Charliebird]

I don't have a crystal ball but it's not as outlandish as you might think. You have to think outside of the box but things are changing in the PC world. Smart phones and tablets are becoming like PC's and PC's are becoming like tablets. The IOS kernel was originally derived from OSX so they're not so different. Intel chips definitely have a performance edge, however ARM chips have a big power savings and price advantage. The A7 chips only cost Apple about $19 dollars a piece to stamp out and that covers the CPU and GPU. Regarding backwards compatibly with X86 applications that technology is changing. Somehow android supports arm processors and intel bay trail x86 chips. I don't really understand the technology but seems pretty seamless unlike Rosetta. Finally Apple has picked up a bunch of ex-AMD engineers which makes you wonder.

 

[OhHaiThere]

All you guys drinking the ARM coolaid need to stop. ARM doesn't have the MIPS to compete with the Intel i-series chips and won't for many years to come, especially as Intel keeps improving.

Additionally, OS X isn't written to run on ARM, that would be a huge undertaking and then everyone who writes software for OS X would have to rewrite their software to either run in OS X for ARM or some type of VM technology (like the CLR/JVM) that Apple would "invent."

It ain't happening, not any time soon anyway. Microsoft rewrote Windows to run on x86 and ARM and their development environment builds to both, but that was an enormous undertaking. If Microsoft knew how to build their UI properly, it would be a huge success. However, at present they're in a position to run on both platforms, with an OS that even the biggest M$ supporters would agree needs a lot of tweaking and polish.

Now, back to the mini.... how much longer do I have to wait for Haswell?

In addition to Haswell, I hope they also incorporate Intel's 802.11ac wireless like they did in the MBA.

 

[Charliebird]

Now, back to the mini.... how much longer do I have to wait for Haswell?

In addition to Haswell, I hope they also incorporate Intel's 802.11ac wireless like they did in the MBA.

Thanks for reminding me. Sign me up for a Haswell Mini. A quad-core Haswell with Iris graphics and a hybrid HDD would fit the bill real nicely.

 

[docprego]

Still no stock on either the $599 or $799 Mac Mini model on Amazon for the last 6 days. Earlier tonight the $799 model was in stock for a fleeting moment and then was gone. Which leads me to believe they had a couple of units available possibly due to returns.

I find it very unusual that Amazon would be out of stock on these units for so long. That said Apple's store still shows immediate availability on all 3 models. I wonder what it all means, if anything.

 

[OhHaiThere]

Still no stock on either the $599 or $799 Mac Mini model on Amazon for the last 6 days. Earlier tonight the $799 model was in stock for a fleeting moment and then was gone. Which leads me to believe they had a couple of units available possibly due to returns.

I find it very unusual that Amazon would be out of stock on these units for so long. That said Apple's store still shows immediate availability on all 3 models. I wonder what it all means, if anything.

It doesn't mean anything and in fact, many sites right now are running promotions where all the mini's are $50 off. So they're actually $550 and $750 respectively - in stock.

Hope it's not illegal for me to post this here, but check out B&H... even comes with Parallels 9.

 

[transistors]

It doesn't mean anything and in fact, many sites right now are running promotions where all the mini's are $50 off. So they're actually $550 and $750 respectively - in stock.

Hope it's not illegal for me to post this here, but check out B&H... even comes with Parallels 9.

I believe it means something. The clearance is possibly ongoing. If the sale of the current mini lasts for a longer time, the mini will be pre-installed with Mavericks. However, except the apple, no retailers are selling mini with Mavericks. It depends on the stock.

 

[OhHaiThere]

I believe it means something. The clearance is possibly ongoing. If the sale of the current mini lasts for a longer time, the mini will be pre-installed with Mavericks. However, except the apple, no retailers are selling mini with Mavericks. It depends on the stock.

You may be right - and I hope you are. The pricing, I believe is due to all the Black Friday sales.

I didn't even notice the OS, I don't much care since mine will be running Windows. I just want the hardware. It's the best hardware I can buy for what it is. Haven't found anything which can truly compete with it from every angle.

 

[swingerofbirch]

I noticed the BH price as well as the best out there at the moment. I am thinking of picking up that model. I went as far as to add it to my cart, but I had the opposite thinking with regard to Amazon being out of stock. Maybe wishful thinking, but I started wondering whether they pulled their stock in anticipation of a black friday sale on them.

Now that I write it, it sounds quite illogical.

For my purposes, I don't mind the current generation model. Although, I want to either get it at the best price I can, or get the next-generation. The BH price is pretty good, though, on an already relatively low cost computer. I'm just planning to wait through black friday, and otherwise will probably buy from BH.

 

[corvus32]

You seem to be avoiding the important question that has been raised multiple times... How do you maintain compatibility with Windows applications that many people are running on their Mac? Please answer this time.

I get the feeling people have this idea that Tim Cook will walk out on stage one day and announce they've terminated Intel and switched everything over to ARM. That's not how it would work. IIRC, iOS began with one device and zero third party apps.

 

[corvus32]

People like to compare a switch from Intel to ARM (or a coexistence of the two) to the switch Apple made several years ago from PPC to Intel. Well, there are some major major differences between 2014 and 2005. Back then Apple's business was Macs. That's not the case anymore.

 

[jetblast]

I noticed the BH price as well as the best out there at the moment. I am thinking of picking up that model. I went as far as to add it to my cart, but I had the opposite thinking with regard to Amazon being out of stock. Maybe wishful thinking, but I started wondering whether they pulled their stock in anticipation of a black friday sale on them.

Now that I write it, it sounds quite illogical.

For my purposes, I don't mind the current generation model. Although, I want to either get it at the best price I can, or get the next-generation. The BH price is pretty good, though, on an already relatively low cost computer. I'm just planning to wait through black friday, and otherwise will probably buy from BH.

Why not just price match to Best Buy? I know you'll pay tax, but you have until January 15th to return it. That seems like the best choice now because 1) you have 1.5 months to see if the new one comes out, and 2) you have 1.5 months to see if you like it and can return it without a restocking fee. To me that's worth the extra $40 or so in tax (if you have AMEX, look for the $25 off $250 to make it even more worthwhile).

The first unit I bought had a loud HDD. I went to BB and exchanged it. I ran some serial numbers and chose a unit that was manufactured in Nov 2013. This unit is pretty flawless. You won't have any of these luxuries with B&H!

 

[johnnyturbouk]

IMHO, who can get by with a mini (current or upcoming) has no need for and little desire for a new Mac Pro.

No true

I can get by on a mini but hell, I drool all over the new Mac Pro!

Just wish if apple did a cheaper Mac Pro
Or a Mac mini pro. Ie with dedicated GPU, more tb(2) ports, maybe a quad core i7 3.2 processor

 

[neilmacd]

People like to compare a switch from Intel to ARM (or a coexistence of the two) to the switch Apple made several years ago from PPC to Intel. Well, there are some major major differences between 2014 and 2005. Back then Apple's business was Macs. That's not the case anymore.

Indeed. Apple's business in now iDevices. Mac sales make up a tiny percentage of sales in comparison.

Macs/PCs are a dying tech (IMO), at some point in time the only way to support them will be to have them all running the same architecture.

 

[Freyqq]

Thing is that I'm really in the market for a portable gaming PC. I was thinking about building another custom gaming PC but that'd be too much of a hassle and I can't really be bothered.

I was thinking of either getting a Mac Mini Haswell (possible future redesign with a discrete GPU) or the upcoming Steam Machine from Valve.

Either way I'd prefer a gaming-capable Mac Mini over anything (even the Valve-condoned Steam Machines made by other manufacturers) as it would be able to run OS X.

Please don't - you will be disappointed with the gaming performance. The mini cannot game well at all with integrated graphics. If you are in the market for a desktop for gaming, make sure it has something like this in it: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-PCI-..._3?ie=UTF8&qid=1385584058&sr=8-3&keywords=660

----------

All you guys drinking the ARM coolaid need to stop. ARM doesn't have the MIPS to compete with the Intel i-series chips and won't for many years to come, especially as Intel keeps improving.

Additionally, OS X isn't written to run on ARM, that would be a huge undertaking and then everyone who writes software for OS X would have to rewrite their software to either run in OS X for ARM or some type of VM technology (like the CLR/JVM) that Apple would "invent."

It ain't happening, not any time soon anyway. Microsoft rewrote Windows to run on x86 and ARM and their development environment builds to both, but that was an enormous undertaking. If Microsoft knew how to build their UI properly, it would be a huge success. However, at present they're in a position to run on both platforms, with an OS that even the biggest M$ supporters would agree needs a lot of tweaking and polish.

Now, back to the mini.... how much longer do I have to wait for Haswell?

In addition to Haswell, I hope they also incorporate Intel's 802.11ac wireless like they did in the MBA.

Agreed. Even if they went through all that work, ARM will always be a step behind intel because of the manufacturing processes that Apple has access to. Intel is currently at 22 nm, while the ARM community is on 28 nm.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Amazon is back in stock with the base model at $549.