New Mac Mini in August???

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
So I'm slowly converting everyone I know to Mac with help from the little Mac Mini, and the next curious party is my finacee's parents. I got an old 733 MHz P3 running for them at Christmas, but it crapped out ast week and they need something that will last. They asked me about a Mac and I gladly told them about the Mini. They're on a tight budget, so nothing else would really work for them. With the $899 education iMac that was just released, does anyone forsee Mini revisions coming in August at WWDC? I know Apple is unlikely to drop prices, but I'd hate for them to drop close to $700 on a new computer, only to find out a few weeks later that it's been "revised."



The $899 iMac makes the $799 and $599 Mini look a bit overpriced ... think we'll see spec bumps for those models and the reintroduction of the $499 Mini?



I'm just curous and any speculation is welcome, but any money they can save is good. I'm trying to get them to drop AOL Dial-UP (at $25.90 / month) for some DSL/Cable service, but they seem unwilling to do that, which of course means they have to drop more money on a USB modem.



Anyway, thanks for any advice!!!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    I think a mini refresh is going to be due soon enough. I'd like see the highend model move to an ICD 1.8GHz with Superdive and based model ICD 1.6Ghz with Combo drive.



    From the next revision on all Macs should be Dual Core
  • Reply 2 of 18
    jtblqjtblq Posts: 86member
    i broke 2 GB of RAM to get to this post....

    phew...

    i hope they refresh the mini soon. All Dual Core processors and all Superdrives. Every model. Who buys a new computer with a combo nowadays?
  • Reply 3 of 18
    I'm hoping for bluray ROM drives for HDDVD. I already have my mini driving my plasma. Superb! with a few tweaks it would be great!
  • Reply 4 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally posted by spliff monkey

    I'm hoping for bluray ROM drives for HDDVD. I already have my mini driving my plasma. Superb! with a few tweaks it would be perfect!



  • Reply 5 of 18
    agnuke1707agnuke1707 Posts: 487member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JTBLQ

    i broke 2 GB of RAM to get to this post....

    phew...

    i hope they refresh the mini soon. All Dual Core processors and all Superdrives. Every model. Who buys a new computer with a combo nowadays?




    Well they offer a superdrive as a BTO on the $599 Mini, which is fine to me, because how many people buying a low-end computer are going to be burning double-layered DVD's anyway?



    I want to think they'll get bumped in August at WWDC, but with Leopard and the Mac Pro supposedly coming too, I dunno if it'd be the right time for them to update it. I don't think the prices ont he two current models would drop, but I would expect to see their specs come more in-line with the e/iMac. I think Apple maybe even needs the $799 Mini to surpass the $899 iMac on the Spec sheet to give justification for it being a headless and having no keyboard or mouse.



    I thought offering 3 PPC Mini models was confusing ... too much of ALMOST the same thing. I also don't think we'll be seeing dedicated graphics on the Mini, maybe just a bumb in the integrated chipset.



    Oh well, I might just look in thge refurb store for a better deal. Anyone had experience with Apple Refurbished?
  • Reply 6 of 18
    gargar Posts: 1,201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    I think a mini refresh is going to be due soon enough. I'd like see the highend model move to an ICD 1.8GHz with Superdive and based model ICD 1.6Ghz with Combo drive.



    From the next revision on all Macs should be Dual Core




    Your probally right.

    Maybe also a $100 price reduction.



    Combo drive is here to stay to make users to buy the more profitable top off the line mac mini or (cheapest) iMac.



    [edit]

    as soon as the iMac is updated the Mac mini will follow.

    [/edit]
  • Reply 7 of 18
    areseearesee Posts: 776member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AgNuke1707

    I want to think they'll get bumped in August at WWDC, but with Leopard and the Mac Pro supposedly coming too...



    Leopard is not being released in August. It will be publicly demonstrated for the first time and the developers will be given advance beta copies to update/test their their programs with. It will be several more months before we the consumers will be given the chance to update to Leopard. Apple took ten months to release Tiger after it was first demonstrated at WWDC 2004. Thus I do not expect Leopard to be released to the public until second quarter 2007.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AgNuke1707

    The $899 iMac makes the $799 and $599 Mini look a bit overpriced ... think we'll see spec bumps for those models and the reintroduction of the $499 Mini?



    Yes, but you have to remember that the $899 iMac is edu-only.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    agnuke1707agnuke1707 Posts: 487member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by aresee

    Leopard is not being released in August. It will be publicly demonstrated for the first time and the developers will be given advance beta copies to update/test their their programs with. It will be several more months before we the consumers will be given the chance to update to Leopard. Apple took ten months to release Tiger after it was first demonstrated at WWDC 2004. Thus I do not expect Leopard to be released to the public until second quarter 2007.



    I wasn't saying Leopard would be released in August. We'll see it in August, Apple will spend a great deal of time touting its new features. It will be a big deal at WWDC. What I was saying is that with all th epublicity geared toward demonstrating Leopard, I didn't know whether or not it would tke away from something like a Mini spec bump.



    My finacee is in college. I'll more than likely use her discount to save her parents some money on a new computer, but 20 bucks? Come on Apple, it was 50 less than a year ago. The $499 PPC Mini sold once at an education price of $449.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    still waiting for the much overdue Mini update . . .

    when the Mini will match or exceed the MacBook's specs.



    tap, tap, tap . . .



    I need to replace this G4 400 Mhz tower NOW!
  • Reply 11 of 18
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Much overdue??? It's been less than 5 months. That is not much overdue.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    gargar Posts: 1,201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by code mechanic

    still waiting for the much overdue Mini update . . .

    when the Mini will match or exceed the MacBook's specs.



    tap, tap, tap . . .



    I need to replace this G4 400 Mhz tower NOW!




    Dream on...



    Never ever will it get better specs than a MacBook.

    probably a speedbump to 1,67Ghz and 1,83Ghz Core Duos and maybe a price hike south.



    first things first: an iMac update.

    After that, maybe later, in august, the Mac mini.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    jcgjcg Posts: 777member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gar

    Dream on...



    Never ever will it get better specs than a MacBook.

    probably a speedbump to 1,67Ghz and 1,83Ghz Core Duos and maybe a price hike south.



    first things first: an iMac update.

    After that, maybe later, in august, the Mac mini.




    I don't think the Mini will be updated till late September or early October. Conroe will be out first which leads into an August update for the iMac. Morem in August for a MacBook Pro release in September, MacMini and MacBook (if not released with the pro's a month earlier) in October. Give or take a few weeks and that is realistic. And in case your wondering why I left it out MacPro's are at WWDC.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    benroethigbenroethig Posts: 2,782member
    All a merom update to the mini would require is changing the CPU and a firmware update. Every other part would be the same. August makes a lot of sense.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gar

    Dream on...



    Never ever will it get better specs than a MacBook.

    probably a speedbump to 1,67Ghz and 1,83Ghz Core Duos and maybe a price hike south.



    first things first: an iMac update.

    After that, maybe later, in august, the Mac mini.




    gar,

    why do you say that?

    I see the mini as Apple's consumer desktop. Most people already have monitors that work great and don't need an iMac. So that's why I say that the consumer desktop should either match or beat the processor,HD,RAM,etc. in the consumer portable (MacBook). Does Apple see the mini as something different? If so, I think they are out of touch with their customers, especially the new ones coming over from the PC side, who are used to computers without monitors.
  • Reply 16 of 18
    dcqdcq Posts: 349member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by code mechanic

    gar,

    why do you say that?

    I see the mini as Apple's consumer desktop. Most people already have monitors that work great and don't need an iMac. So that's why I say that the consumer desktop should either match or beat the processor,HD,RAM,etc. in the consumer portable (MacBook). Does Apple see the mini as something different? If so, I think they are out of touch with their customers, especially the new ones coming over from the PC side, who are used to computers without monitors.




    Unfortunately, I do think they see the mini as something different, something less than a full computer. I think the philosophy is stuck somewhere between "Let's make an elegant, affordable, full-featured computer," and "let's cripple the f*&$ out of it and raise the price so they'll buy an iMac instead." There are elements of both philosophies in the mini; they just haven't figured out which one it is yet.



    Right now, the mini is not a good value. A macbook attached to a monitor is a much better value proposition.



    Having said that, I think anyone buying now is silly, since the new broadwater (much better integrated graphics) chipsets will be coming out along with merom and conroe, not to mention the Mac Pros, in a few short weeks. Add to that the BR and HDDVD drives coming out, and I'd be shocked if, in eight weeks, every single Mac isn't completely different.



    I think Apple is going to have to get used to ramping up the bump schedules of their computers, considering how aggressive Intel is getting. The Mac Pros will hardly be out a few months before Intel releases their Core Quadros. (People have been drooling about Octomacs for years, and they're finally going to get it). Eight months on a 1.5 Ghz Core solo is not going to cut it.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    jcgjcg Posts: 777member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DCQ

    Unfortunately, I do think they see the mini as something different, something less than a full computer. I think the philosophy is stuck somewhere between "Let's make an elegant, affordable, full-featured computer," and "let's cripple the f*&$ out of it and raise the price so they'll buy an iMac instead." There are elements of both philosophies in the mini; they just haven't figured out which one it is yet.



    I agree with your assessment, but I also think that Apple's hands were tied in regard to a price increase when the Intel Mini was released. The single core was not significantly lower priced than the dual core so it couldn't have a significantly lower price. The low end price for a dual core Yonah when the Mini was released was about $899, so a price of $599 for a single core Mini really wasn't that bad. Going foreword I think that the Mini will continue to use the Yonah for at least the next revision and if it is available the next two. This will allow Apple to get the entry price back down to $499.



    As far as Apple's philosophy behind the Mini, it's a low end consumer product intended to get people to look at a Mac. It's more competitive price brings people in and hopefully they can be talked into an iMac. On the PC side that is what the low end computers are. I think I read that most people who go in to a computer store to buy a $399 computer without monitor end up leaving with a total cost up closer to $1000 with a new monitor. The Mini is this computer for Apple. Sure there are people who will buy it anyway, and that's OK because the model still has to pay for it's production and development cost with sales.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    gargar Posts: 1,201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by code mechanic

    gar,

    why do you say that?




    Both DCQs and JCGs posts answered that question already.
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