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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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It’s not an upgrade, it’s a price cut.
NAND memory prices have fallen, the 15” MBP went from 256GB to 512GB (and 15” to 16”) with no price increase a few months ago. The armchair experts here at MR forums said the price would increase from $2,399 to $4,000 or more 🙄
Considering the new Air and iPad pro announced and the Mini only getting a storage price cut, what are the chances of an actual refresh? I was hoping it was going to be at least announced in March. Now I might just have to settle for the current model.
they could get intel to make them i9-9900 B variant, fits the envelope.Sounds about right for when Intel will have a new CPU in the socket the Mini uses available.
Can't upgrade when your suppliers (Intel) have nothing to upgrade to.
but yeah.
Yes, that is definitely what it is. As I detailed on another thread, given the various pieces of savings I took advantage of when I purchased my late 2018 model with a Core I5 processor, 256 gig SSD, and 8 gig of RAM on February 1st, I am not losing much, versus if I had waited until now.
Yeah but if your getting more mac for same money, then it’s still a plus....
Yes, that's always a good thing.Yeah but if your getting more mac for same money, then it’s still a plus....
More than just better value for money now, the refreshed Mini gives people the idea that it has 18-24 months more life left in it rather than the forgotten product that the 2014 model became after year 3. The timing is welcome but makes you wonder what happens to it if the iMac in the next 6 months (as expected) goes to Comet Lake S.
For what it's worth there is scope for the 27" iMac to go all pro, and then the 21.5" iMac could go mobile - especially if ideas about the latter's stand could take inspiration from the iPad Pro trackpad stand.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not hating it. Any time that Apple drops prices, it's a good thing. And yes, it demonstrates their commitment to the Mini, which is also very nice. Apple did the same thing with the 13" MacBook Air about 5 years ago (?). They upped the RAM to 8gb in the base model without changing price.
My only point is, I don't think changing the base model configuration is an "upgrade", since you could get the exact same computer in 2018.
My only point is, I don't think changing the base model configuration is an "upgrade", since you could get the exact same computer in 2018.
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A CPU/iGPU refresh is dependent on Intel offering a 10th Generation B-Series CPU. They did not make a 9th Generation B-Series and I have not seen anything definitive about them doing so for the 10th, but fingers crossed they do.
They could, but at what price? People already feel the Mini is too expensive and if Apple needs to raise the price another $100-200 to cover the cost of a custom Intel CPU for it...
18 to 24 months? I plan on using my late 2018 model for much longer than that.
Also, with this COVID-19 crisis, folks being laid off, and folks working from home, I suspect any new developments will be "put on hold", so to speak. Yeah, while a speed boost, and other enhancements would be nice, it is probably better to expect to live with what we have now. And by taking care of one's machine (or machines), they will last a long, long time.
Give it 12 months, there will be much gnashing of teeth about the lack of Comet Lake S CPUs in the October 2021 Mini
My course was more certainly locked in for Linuxland today. It becomes quite clear Apple does not care much for desktops, and I don't need an expensive iPad simulator.
OTOH, There's fun to be had with an inexpensive 4GB Raspberry pi 4. Kinda reminds me of an old Apple II. I liked that machine.
OTOH, There's fun to be had with an inexpensive 4GB Raspberry pi 4. Kinda reminds me of an old Apple II. I liked that machine.
If the iMac Pro is getting new CPUs, mini LED screen, and maybe new GPUs in Q4 this year I'd say there's a decent chance that the iMac follows very soon and crucially before Comet Lake S comes out.
The 2020 Mini got a refresh 6 maths earlier than I thought (but I still predicted the storage doubling which has also happened with the iPad Pro and MacBook Air), and it's easy to think that Apple could exactly the same with the iMac - before the Comet Lake S CPUs emerge.
So if the iMac is getting a simple spec bump refresh:
a. Apple get to make the iMac better value with bigger storage options - Fusion drive stays because there's no need to go all SSD without a T2 CPU. 2Tb as standard in the 27" gives you better performing system.
b. Apple could also choose to simply hand out better GPU as standard instead of bump the CPU. Radeon Pro 5300M, 5500M and 5600M sound about right.
c. And keeping the Coffee Lake CPUs for a year gives the 2020 iMac Pro a nice performance differential for a while when it comes out.
d. And what if design considerations with the next iMac, especially after seeing the iPad Pro keyboard case, mandate a lighter case? For example - if the iMac was becoming an iMac Air - with the iMac Pro going upmarket to do the heavy lifting?
The 2020 Mini got a refresh 6 maths earlier than I thought (but I still predicted the storage doubling which has also happened with the iPad Pro and MacBook Air), and it's easy to think that Apple could exactly the same with the iMac - before the Comet Lake S CPUs emerge.
So if the iMac is getting a simple spec bump refresh:
a. Apple get to make the iMac better value with bigger storage options - Fusion drive stays because there's no need to go all SSD without a T2 CPU. 2Tb as standard in the 27" gives you better performing system.
b. Apple could also choose to simply hand out better GPU as standard instead of bump the CPU. Radeon Pro 5300M, 5500M and 5600M sound about right.
c. And keeping the Coffee Lake CPUs for a year gives the 2020 iMac Pro a nice performance differential for a while when it comes out.
d. And what if design considerations with the next iMac, especially after seeing the iPad Pro keyboard case, mandate a lighter case? For example - if the iMac was becoming an iMac Air - with the iMac Pro going upmarket to do the heavy lifting?
Yeah, I started my personal computing days with an Apple IIE, back in 1982. I remember the excitement of enhancing that machine with various plug-in cards. Also, I was able to provide my on call duties using that machine at home. I used that machine for about 6 years, finally upgrading to an Apple IIGS.
In the meantime, the place I was working at that time was one of the first companies to get the original Macintosh. I got to play with it, but I still would relish getting home to use my IIE.
I again used the IIGS in a very productive manner until 1996, and that is when I purchased by first Mac, a Power Macintosh 6100. But those Apple IIs will always hold a special place for me.
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Why so....? New Mac Minis will almost certainly be coming.
I started with an Apple ][ in 1978, went all out and got the 16k version. No disk drives yet, you needed a cassette recorder. No floating point BASIC in ROM, you had to load it into RAM from tape every time. At work, we got an Apple //e and Apple ///. My Dad had an Apple //c. My boss got the original Kaypro. Man, that thing weighed a ton! Later we got an Apple IIgs at work.
In 1985 I got a "Fat Mac" 512, and so it began. I used BSD unix in the 80's, had an AT&T 3B1 "unix PC" at home and later was an early adopter of Red Hat Linux, setting up a mail and web server for my company with it.
This was all a lot of fun, and very exciting at the time. But I don't want to go back. I'll stay with the Mac.
Fascinating! I never got as technical as you did, but I did understand the advantages of getting the upgrade "cards" that plugged into the slots inside the IIE (and later the IIGS). Still, though, both the IIE and IIGS served me well, and that included being able to use them for my on-call responsibilities. I distinctly remember getting called in the middle of the night, then logging onto the mainframe with either machine, and then being able to resolve the issue. It was fun! Plus, with folks always looking down at Apple products at that time, I of course felt a great deal of accomplishment by using such machines.I started with an Apple ][ in 1978, went all out and got the 16k version. No disk drives yet, you needed a cassette recorder. No floating point BASIC in ROM, you had to load it into RAM from tape every time. At work, we got an Apple //e and Apple ///. My Dad had an Apple //c. My boss got the original Kaypro. Man, that thing weighed a ton! Later we got an Apple IIgs at work.
In 1985 I got a "Fat Mac" 512, and so it began. I used BSD unix in the 80's, had an AT&T 3B1 "unix PC" at home and later was an early adopter of Red Hat Linux, setting up a mail and web server for my company with it.
This was all a lot of fun, and very exciting at the time. But I don't want to go back. I'll stay with the Mac.
As I mentioned above, the place I was working at in the early 80's was one of the first companies to get the original Macintosh machines. This article, on page 23, mentions that employer, Seattle-First National Bank, and their decision to "connect" those Macs to the IBM mainframe (Title of article is "Bank Plans to use Macintosh to Interact With Mainframe"):
InfoWorld
InfoWorld is targeted to Senior IT professionals. Content is segmented into Channels and Topic Centers. InfoWorld also celebrates people, companies, and projects.
books.google.com
But shoot, I had been using my Apple IIE to interact with the mainframe machine, originally a Honeywell, then an IBM.
Like you, I won't go back (retired anyway). But I just relish those times!😃
I really miss the old days of the constant small spec bumps like this as it made less important that you hold off on upgrading.
Still not enough to get me to upgrade my 2012 model, but hopefully we a real upgrade later this year sometime. Still really hoping for AMD 4000 series APUs, but seems like a pipe dream, I'd be happy enough with newer Intel processors with better GPUs and WiFi 6 support.
Still not enough to get me to upgrade my 2012 model, but hopefully we a real upgrade later this year sometime. Still really hoping for AMD 4000 series APUs, but seems like a pipe dream, I'd be happy enough with newer Intel processors with better GPUs and WiFi 6 support.
I had happily been using a Core i7 2012 model, but I suspect Catalina is the last OS that can run on it. So, I sold it, and purchased a 2018 model, with a 3 GHz Core i5 processor, 256 gig SSD, and 8 gig of Ram. I thought I'd be taking a step back in processors, but that is far from the case. The 2018 model is definitely faster, and a pleasure to use. Plus, I was able to sell the 2012 model for a good price.
There's not really much for them to bump to, until Intel get a desktop CPU out that isn't a refresh of a refresh of a refresh.
You could put in a 9th generation, or whatever their long name 10th gen 14nm parts are, but it would still be about the same IPC and come with those pathetic graphics.
It's nice to see 128gb disappear.
You could put in a 9th generation, or whatever their long name 10th gen 14nm parts are, but it would still be about the same IPC and come with those pathetic graphics.
It's nice to see 128gb disappear.
i7 8700 B was practically a custom chip, it's the same chip except different socket. Not rocket science at all.
MSRP of i7-8700K is 303$,
MSRP of i7-8700B is 303$
MSRP of i9-9900K is 423$
They could keep the baseline mini the same i3, but 9300 instead of 8300, and bumped the CPU upgrade for 150$ instead of what it's now.
problem solved.
in the world of computing, if you're getting the same as 2 years ago for a 10% discount that's a pretty weak plus.Yeah but if your getting more mac for same money, then it’s still a plus....
Nope, because the price has not dropped.
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It is an upgrade, albeit a minor one, offering better value for money. The price has not been cut.