Mac Mini refresh soon

[Pardus]

just a fyi in case anyone is thinking about buying one.

buddy at mine who works at the apple store told me to hold off on getting a mac-mini. right now supplies are low and the mac mini server edition is imposible to order.

he said apple is not restocking these right now and that usually means a newer version of the mac mini is slated for release soon.

the current mac mini has been on market for 365 days, new models generally come out yearly.

apple is wating as the macbook pro just got updates/released 3-months ago apple dooesn't want to draw away sales from there premier laptop.

 

[Gooberlx2]

related

I'm eager to see what they put inside. Sandybridge CPU + Intel HD3000 GPU almost certainly. While I doubt it will happen, I'd be over the moon if they offered a quad-core CPU option. Something like the 2630QM found in the low-end 15" MBP.

 

[rugby]

Mac Mini server + Thunderbolt = happiness.

 

[Pardus]

Update

Apple management is so pumped up over the advantages presented by its forthcoming Mac OS X Lion operating system that the company has been holding back the release of at least one new Mac refresh until the software is finalized, AppleInsider has learned....
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The same methodology is believed to be in place for Thunderbolt-equipped versions of the Mac mini and LED Cinema Display, and will carry over Apple's forthcoming iOS devices like the next iPhone and iPod touch, which the company is similarly unwilling to ship without the iCloud-enabled iOS 5.0 software due this fall.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

do want mac mini with user replaceable hdd.

 

[TheStu]

do want mac mini with user replaceable hdd.

And I want a pony .
I don't know what the sale stats are on the Mini compared to the other Macs, but I would imagine that amongst the 'desktops' it would go (from best selling down) 21" iMac, 27" iMac, Mac Mini, and finally Mac Pro.

I have also been hearing that the MacBook Air, which has no user-replaceable anything is selling like hotcakes and might be worth $3B in revenue on its own.

 

[BD2003]

What I really want is a mac mini with a good 64gb of SSD, and no optical drive. And quad core sandy bridge of course. A nice little legacy-free brick.

Scratch that...what I really want is a proper apple desktop that isnt built around either laptop parts, a screen, or a huge hulking and expensive tower. Such a huge hole in their lineup.

 

[rugby]

A mac mini with two small mirrored SSD drives + thunderbolt and the capability for 16GB of ram would be great!

 

[Joseph F]

I'm anything but an Apple fan, but I'd sure as hell get a Mac mini if I had the cash for one.
Do they support 12.5 mm hard drives? If so, 1TB of storage would be kick-ass for an HTPC.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

And I want a pony .
I don't know what the sale stats are on the Mini compared to the other Macs, but I would imagine that amongst the 'desktops' it would go (from best selling down) 21" iMac, 27" iMac, Mac Mini, and finally Mac Pro.

I have also been hearing that the MacBook Air, which has no user-replaceable anything is selling like hotcakes and might be worth $3B in revenue on its own.

i'm okay with the mba not being user replaceable for anything - it's a laptop. i have the 13 inch one myself, and i love it for what it does. it's slow as shit at times, but the ssd makes all the diff in the world and form factor is second to none.

but for something at home, i don't want to have to pry open a plastic shell to shove in a sexy little ssd in there.

 

[TheStu]

I'm anything but an Apple fan, but I'd sure as hell get a Mac mini if I had the cash for one.
Do they support 12.5 mm hard drives? If so, 1TB of storage would be kick-ass for an HTPC.

I believe samsung makes a 9.5mm one now

i'm okay with the mba not being user replaceable for anything - it's a laptop. i have the 13 inch one myself, and i love it for what it does. it's slow as shit at times, but the ssd makes all the diff in the world and form factor is second to none.

but for something at home, i don't want to have to pry open a plastic shell to shove in a sexy little ssd in there.

Yea, but you really only need to do it once.

 

[rugby]

I'm anything but an Apple fan, but I'd sure as hell get a Mac mini if I had the cash for one.
Do they support 12.5 mm hard drives? If so, 1TB of storage would be kick-ass for an HTPC.

You can cram a 12.5MM drive in one. We use mac mini servers for security spy servers all the time and simply add the 1TB drive in place of one of the 500GB drives. It's a VERY tight fit however, and the mini is not a fun machine to take apart.

 

[dmw16]

What I really want is a mac mini with a good 64gb of SSD, and no optical drive. And quad core sandy bridge of course. A nice little legacy-free brick.

Scratch that...what I really want is a proper apple desktop that isnt built around either laptop parts, a screen, or a huge hulking and expensive tower. Such a huge hole in their lineup.

I don't think there really is a big hole in their lineup there. For people who's needs can't be satisfied by a spec'd out iMac probably are into the Mac Pro territory.

 

[BD2003]

I don't think there really is a big hole in their lineup there. For people who's needs can't be satisfied by a spec'd out iMac probably are into the Mac Pro territory.

If the mac mini hardware was satisfactory to everyone but those who need a mac pro, the imac wouldnt have significantly better hardware. Mac mini seems stuck with mobile chips and performance, 5400rpm drives, etc. The imac runs true desktop parts, quad core, 7200rpm, non IGP gfx, etc. I just want that, but not attached to a monitor.

 

[lokiju]

If the mac mini hardware was satisfactory to everyone but those who need a mac pro, the imac wouldnt have significantly better hardware. Mac mini seems stuck with mobile chips and performance, 5400rpm drives, etc. The imac runs true desktop parts, quad core, 7200rpm, non IGP gfx, etc. I just want that, but not attached to a monitor.

I agree with this.

I have a 2ghz mini and two 19" LCD monitors that work for my needs.

I don't see the point in paying a premium of the LCD cost just to get a more reasonable machine performance wise.

Hopefully the new Mini's will be more in line with the iMac just minus the LCD.

 

[Anteaus]

If the mac mini hardware was satisfactory to everyone but those who need a mac pro, the imac wouldnt have significantly better hardware. Mac mini seems stuck with mobile chips and performance, 5400rpm drives, etc. The imac runs true desktop parts, quad core, 7200rpm, non IGP gfx, etc. I just want that, but not attached to a monitor.

I'm with you on this, but Apple doesn't want any other non-mobile computers in that price range. The iMac is a niche market as it is. Diluting it's market share further it is not a smart movie from a business standpoint. They need to move X number of units to stay profitable. I personally loathe the all-in-one approach, but thats why I will never buy an imac. Apple makes most of their money off of mobile products....

....which is why the mac-mini is based on the macbook. It's the same computer, minus the screen. All they have to do is fit it in a different case. It's the Taco Bell of the computer world. It's all the same stuff, just in different shapes.

 

[BD2003]

I'm with you on this, but Apple doesn't want any other non-mobile computers in that price range. The iMac is a niche market as it is. Diluting it's market share further it is not a smart movie from a business standpoint. They need to move X number of units to stay profitable. I personally loathe the all-in-one approach, but thats why I will never buy an imac. Apple makes most of their money off of mobile products....

....which is why the mac-mini is based on the macbook. It's the same computer, minus the screen. All they have to do is fit it in a different case. It's the Taco Bell of the computer world. It's all the same stuff, just in different shapes.

Making a product people want to buy is always a smart business move.

They could just as easily apply the same logic of the MacBook/Mac mini to an macbook pro/iMac/Mac medium.

 

[TheStu]

Making a product people want to buy is always a smart business move.

They could just as easily apply the same logic of the MacBook/Mac mini to an macbook pro/iMac/Mac medium.

They need to counterbalance how many people would want to buy and how it would affect their product strategy. And there is very little to differentiate the MacBook (once it gets updated) and the MacBook Pro. Slightly faster CPUs, and better GPUs and that is about it. Anything else that separates them goes out the window once you put it into the Mini's form factor (screen res/quality, keyboard backlighting, some ports, that sort of thing).

 

[Kaido]

Really jonesing for a Mini as a Plex box for my TV. $699 though...ouch. Wish they were cheaper!

 

[BD2003]

They need to counterbalance how many people would want to buy and how it would affect their product strategy. And there is very little to differentiate the MacBook (once it gets updated) and the MacBook Pro. Slightly faster CPUs, and better GPUs and that is about it. Anything else that separates them goes out the window once you put it into the Mini's form factor (screen res/quality, keyboard backlighting, some ports, that sort of thing).

Well, CPU and GPU, and just performance in general are still important to people and are as important a differentiating factor as any. Currently, the imac isnt a little bit faster than the mini, it's a LOT faster. Sure they're going to move up to sandy bridge, I just hope theres some higher performance options there like quad core and discrete graphics, not just a measly little clock boost on the higher model minis.

 

[silverpig]

Really jonesing for a Mini as a Plex box for my TV. $699 though...ouch. Wish they were cheaper!

Same. I ended up going with an AppleTV, then jailbroke it and installed the plex app. It doesn't look like regular plex at all (yet), but it will allow you to connect to a plex media server.

 

[Anteaus]

Well, CPU and GPU, and just performance in general are still important to people and are as important a differentiating factor as any. Currently, the imac isnt a little bit faster than the mini, it's a LOT faster. Sure they're going to move up to sandy bridge, I just hope theres some higher performance options there like quad core and discrete graphics, not just a measly little clock boost on the higher model minis.

You do realize that the iMac is based on mobile hardware also right? It uses a notebook MB, notebook ram, 2.5" hard drives and mobile GPU tech. Discrete or not they are using 6XXXM gpus. The mac mini as designed is meant to be sold in a lower price bracket than the iMac. Even with it's low power, it is quite perfect for HTPC or server duties, or even basic desktop use.

If Apple really wants to change the game, they should add a blu-ray drive, remote control support and a decent multimedia front end and they could be huge. *shrug*

The iMac might be more powerful in comparison, but it's still nothing to write home about.

 

[rugby]

You do realize that the iMac is based on mobile hardware also right? It uses a notebook MB, notebook ram, 2.5" hard drives and mobile GPU tech. Discrete or not they are using 6XXXM gpus. The mac mini as designed is meant to be sold in a lower price bracket than the iMac. Even with it's low power, it is quite perfect for HTPC or server duties, or even basic desktop use.

If Apple really wants to change the game, they should add a blu-ray drive, remote control support and a decent multimedia front end and they could be huge. *shrug*

The iMac might be more powerful in comparison, but it's still nothing to write home about.

The iMac uses 3.5" drives, not 2.5". It's powerful enough to be used in environments that would have required a mac pro a year or two ago.

 

[BD2003]

You do realize that the iMac is based on mobile hardware also right? It uses a notebook MB, notebook ram, 2.5" hard drives and mobile GPU tech. Discrete or not they are using 6XXXM gpus. The mac mini as designed is meant to be sold in a lower price bracket than the iMac. Even with it's low power, it is quite perfect for HTPC or server duties, or even basic desktop use.

If Apple really wants to change the game, they should add a blu-ray drive, remote control support and a decent multimedia front end and they could be huge. *shrug*

The iMac might be more powerful in comparison, but it's still nothing to write home about.

Hard drives are 3.5". CPUs are desktop class, not low power or voltage. Whether or not the MB or RAM is "mobile" is irrelevant to performance. Unfortunately the GPUs are still mobile variants, but other than that, its desktop class hardware.