I currently use my Mac mini along with my HDTV as a monitor although I'm moving soon and being that I have to share with a roommate,
Just go out and buy another HDTV! I've turned to such screens for a couple of my computer installations and frankly they are a bargain. Often the screens are cheaper than computer monitors at the discounters. Plus you get the TV for "Free". Generally they work out good for uses where you don't sit directly in front of the monitor for long stretches.
I can't use the computer if he is using the TV so I may just settle for an iMac.
Then you have to seriously consider a laptop as an alternative to a monitor / computer box combo. Who knows maybe Apple will address the iMacs in ways that reduce my resistance to the platform but right now there are better alternatives to the iMac.
In any event WWDC isn't far away, maybe we will see new hardware there or shortly after.
Is it out of the realm of possibility to at least get options for 16 GB of RAM and a 256 GB PCIe SSD in the low cost iMac?
It depends upon what low cost means to Apple. If they seriously intend to replace the Mini with a low cost iMac you are talking something in the $600 range for the entry level model. I doubt that 16GB would come in the base machine. If it doesn't come with 256GB of SSD then frankly I wouldn't be interested. The machine would need to support TB too.
It would be tough to hit that $600 mark but they really have no choice. An entry level iMac starting at $800 would get a Luke warm reception by the buying public in my mind. Mainly because most Mini buyers are there either due to the price or the form factor (headless).
I sit here thinking that Apple is really going to screw up the desktop lineup even more instead of keeping the line up balanced.
Which is why multi-core benchmarks single-core benchmarks are both available. The numbers posted are all 64 bit multi-core benchmarks.
In any case single core performance is still key to how snappy a machine feels since some things cannot be parallelized effectively.
True for some apps and some operating system functions. However multithreaded apps are very common these days and if the balance of your app usage revolves around those types of apps cores count.
No it wouldn't make for a passible iMac or even passable Mini.
That depends upon what you call passable and what advantage a desktop memory system would give them. As it is A7 is faster than many of Intels Atoms which have gone into a number of notebooks and low cost platforms. This in a chip running at a low clock rate with a narrow path to memory. We really don't know what the max clock rate is on this chip. So you can't dismiss passable, especially if it knocks 2-300 dollars off the price of a Mini. The A7 is effectively Core 2 Dou performance which is nothing to sneeze at right now in a cell phone.
Of course it can't compete with top of the line Intel hardware, but Apple doesn't stick top of the line Intel hardware in its low cost machines anyways.
The performance delta between the Core i5 and the A7 is large whether on a processor or core basis. The Core i3 edu iMac is nothing to write home about and an ARM based Mac even slower.
In an iMac I wouldn't expect A7 to be running at cell phone clock rates. For the desktop they could double the clock rate and widen memory to effectively double performance. They could also throw more cores at the SoC all while remaining power competitive.
If a desktop A7 or A8 was to show up in a Mini at half the cost of the current machine I'd go for it. Sometimes cost is an overwhelming factor in a purchase though you still want good performance. Frankly the whole point of the Mini is low cost headless. So when I consider the Mini cost is a significant factor. I suspect this is a common consideration considering how many Minis are sold for HTPCs and similar "embedded" uses.
Honestly though a souped up AppleTV with an App Store, has a certain appeal to it. It would certainly be an alternative to the Mini for many of these "embedded" uses. This would only work if Apple pulled head from ass and smartened up as to how apps can handle files. I could find numerous uses for an AppleTV with at least two USB ports and one TB port and the ability to install apps.
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Then you have to seriously consider a laptop as an alternative to a monitor / computer box combo. Who knows maybe Apple will address the iMacs in ways that reduce my resistance to the platform but right now there are better alternatives to the iMac.
In any event WWDC isn't far away, maybe we will see new hardware there or shortly after.
It depends upon what low cost means to Apple. If they seriously intend to replace the Mini with a low cost iMac you are talking something in the $600 range for the entry level model. I doubt that 16GB would come in the base machine. If it doesn't come with 256GB of SSD then frankly I wouldn't be interested. The machine would need to support TB too.
It would be tough to hit that $600 mark but they really have no choice. An entry level iMac starting at $800 would get a Luke warm reception by the buying public in my mind. Mainly because most Mini buyers are there either due to the price or the form factor (headless).
I sit here thinking that Apple is really going to screw up the desktop lineup even more instead of keeping the line up balanced.
Of course it can't compete with top of the line Intel hardware, but Apple doesn't stick top of the line Intel hardware in its low cost machines anyways. In an iMac I wouldn't expect A7 to be running at cell phone clock rates. For the desktop they could double the clock rate and widen memory to effectively double performance. They could also throw more cores at the SoC all while remaining power competitive.
If a desktop A7 or A8 was to show up in a Mini at half the cost of the current machine I'd go for it. Sometimes cost is an overwhelming factor in a purchase though you still want good performance. Frankly the whole point of the Mini is low cost headless. So when I consider the Mini cost is a significant factor. I suspect this is a common consideration considering how many Minis are sold for HTPCs and similar "embedded" uses.
Honestly though a souped up AppleTV with an App Store, has a certain appeal to it. It would certainly be an alternative to the Mini for many of these "embedded" uses. This would only work if Apple pulled head from ass and smartened up as to how apps can handle files. I could find numerous uses for an AppleTV with at least two USB ports and one TB port and the ability to install apps.