I was not planning to report on Apple's announcement but, well, this just struck me as odd.
So Apple has relaunched the Mac Mini with fourth-generation Intel Core processors, after two years of waiting. It is the same height as the Intel NUC, but it also almost twice the length and twice the width (Apple's 20cm x 20cm versus the NUC's ~11cm x 11cm when the case is included). So, after waiting through the entire Haswell architecture launch cycle, right up until the imminent release of Broadwell, they are going with the soon-to-be outdated architecture, to update their two-year-old platform?
((Note: The editorial originally said "two-year-old architecture". I thought that Haswell launched about six months earlier than it did. The mistake was corrected.))
I wonder if, following the iTunes U2 deal, this device will come bundled with Limp Bizkit's "Nookie"…
The price has been reduced to $499, which is a welcome $100 price reduction especially for PC developers who want a Mac to test cross-platform applications on. It also has Thunderbolt 2. These are welcome additions. I just have two, related questions: why today and why Haswell?
The new Mac Mini started shipping yesterday. 15-watt Broadwell-U is expected to launch at CES in January with 28W parts anticipated a few months later, for the following quarter.
People probably weren’t
People probably weren’t buying the iMacs, which I find ridiculous. Why would you want to build the computer into the display? Most people keep their displays a lot longer than their computers. Most people are also not going to buy a Mac Pro, as these are also ridiculous. With a bigger PC case, you could have 8 memory slots instead of 4 and you could get a dual socket board for how much it cost. You would also have some ability to update the video cards since it wouldn’t be a proprietary form factor. This leaves some set of people who may want a desktop system, if only as a back-up for thier laptop, with no real options.
apple doesn’t want you to
apple doesn’t want you to keep anything, buy a whole new EVERYTHING!
mac pro… mac says they did it perfect and nobody can do it better so why would you need upgrade and exp options when its the computer created by god.
This is how apple has always been, we did it perfect, you messing with things would only screw up the perfection.
cult marketing…….
Apple makes me laugh, They
Apple makes me laugh, They are so overtaken with marketing twits trying to sell phones and fondle slabs, that devices like the Mac Mini are left to wither on the vine. Come on with that most power efficient desktop crap, the new Mac Mini is not a desktop by any stretch of the imagination, it’s a laptop without an LCD, or keyboard. At least Apple could offer a battery powered Mac Mini, because the processors sure the hell are not desktop class! Apple goes as far as introducing its new iPad, for order, and has no display model in its store, WTF, all that hype, and not one display model to even try! Soon Apple will be introducing its new products with a ring of a bell, and no other information, and the salivating dogs will just kneejerk their Apple Pay buttons, and purchase the next new and shiny! It’s easier, Apple will hold your hand, Apple will change your diaper, just let Apple install its iProbe up the old iPlace, where the sun does not shine, and its iBrainslug on your brain, and All will be iWell! Just slobber, and press pay at the sound of the bell…
Good work if you can get it,
Good work if you can get it, amirite?
the mac mini isn’t a desktop,
the mac mini isn’t a desktop, and neither is the imac, they are all laptops shoved in other things.
Same thing could be said
Same thing could be said about the NUC or a mini itx htpc, labels are getting blurry
My guess, maybe Intel was
My guess, maybe Intel was sitting on a big pile of unsold Haswell chips that they wanted gone before the new year and Apple came a knocking looking for just such a large pile of chips on the cheap.
Most likely it’s to placate
Most likely it’s to placate the current cries for an update. Plus it gets the brand awareness back into the public eye. I would be it will see a true upgrade next year.
It is strange considering the
It is strange considering the market and the push for new style desktop, from Intel. Apple has used a relatively new SKU of Haswell, the i7-4578U, that came out “Q3 2014”. The Mac Mini released in 2012 had the nice ability to use to 2.5″ hard drives / SSDs. This could proved to be a clever strategy hold onto the Mac Mini till a hypothetical Mac Pro Mini is ready. I can see it now, a mini trashcan and codename Luke.
HP has a mini desktop, with a
HP has a mini desktop, with a socketed CPU, so the user can change the CPU, the HP mini desktop also is easy to take apart, and add memory, it also comes with m.2 slot for an SSD, an M.2 slot for wireless, in addition to a SATA plug for a hard drive, or SSD. Why the Hell PcPer does not review this is beyond me, just because it is advertised as a business computer, does not make it useless. The mini desktop opens with a thumbscrew, and it is user serviceable, its torx screwed together components can be easily accessed and updated, go read the service manual at HP website, you will never see Apple do something like that. After Apple pulled this no quad core crap, that was it for me. You could make a HTPC/server with this mini, it has 6 USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet port, 2 displayport with multi-stream video ports, etc.
The Mac Mini had this form
The Mac Mini had this form factor for many years. Years before Intel NUC.
The implications in this “news post” are that the Mac Mini was inspired by Intel NUC when it’s the other way around.
It’s probably late in the cpu cycle because old stock took time to sell off and they wanted to increase the appeal of the mini before broadwell arrives.
Note the power supply on the
Note the power supply on the mac mini (and AppleTV, Airport etc.) is internal. So a direct size comparison to a unit with a power brick is not fair.
You see this a lot with set top box (Roku) reviews too.
possible reason for haswell:
possible reason for haswell: there is some rumblings that yields of brodwell are lower than expected. It’s all just hearsay tho.
Your first instinct was
Your first instinct was correct: you should not have reported on this because you have no interest in it (beyond mud slinging) and no clue.
Why exactly did you pick the most insignificant product annoucement?
Did the Retina 5K iMac not fit into your preconceptions about Apple?
Mac mini is an entry level computer for people with simple needs and a small budget.
Nobody in your audience fits that description.
PCPer tries to help you with
PCPer tries to help you with a heads up about a new product announcement for a PC with an old CPU and your first knee jerk reaction is to defend Apple? Who’s really doing the mudslinging?
Talk about an unresearched
Talk about an unresearched clickbait article if I’ve ever seen one. I thought you were better than this PCPer, guess I was wrong.
The mini has been languishing
The mini has been languishing for two years. The performance of the new low end model would be completely disappointing if it didn’t get a price cut and Thunderbolt 1.2. Compare the top mini with the fastest CPU option and a Thunderbolt display to the 5K iMac:
3 GHz dual core and integrated graphics for $2200 versus a 4 GHz quad core and R9 M290X for $2500. Their fake market segmentation has driven me crazy since the G4 mini. It’s the best iMac hardware they’ve ever made anchored to a LCD my eyes are too old to appreciate.
Soldered RAM is not a big
Soldered RAM is not a big deal for me. I’d just order 16GB up front. The PCie SSD and dual thunderbolt 2 are excellent upgrades, but not having a quad option sucks.
TBH Apple are getting as bad
TBH Apple are getting as bad as Microsoft with updating software every five minutes…both companies claim to be ‘Green’, yet are continually deprecating perfectly useful hardware by offering OS and software updates for newer systems; most folks do not need quad cores etc just to surf the web and look at pictures of cats and grandchildren.
As for the mac mini, I think they dropped the ball with not releasing a new quad-core, as folks have said, many people replace their screen much less often than their desktop, I can’t see many new Apple converts with the latest releases, overly expensive ‘Retina’ iMacs and lacklustre underpowered minis aren’t going to attract too many new punters; Apple took a good bit of business when Windows 8/8.1 became mandated on new systems by major vendors…missed opportunities…