Photo may show next-gen Mac mini retail box

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 92
    fraklincfraklinc Posts: 244member
    This has to be real, am calling real cause otherwise that guy sure is going throw a lot a trouble to try to convince people.
  • Reply 22 of 92
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NPrtmn4evr View Post


    I honestly can't imagine why the BACK of the mini would be featured on the box. Apple is about keeping things simple and clean, and the back of the mini while possibly eye candy for uber-geeks (ZOMG, its got teh 5 USB), is not consumer friendly at all. In fact, it can look very scary and intimidating, not what you want for the lowest cost-of-entry mac on the market. It looks great for those of us who will use it as a media center hooked up to their TV (like me ), but it just doesn't fit Apple's style.



    When you go to any Apple Store you never see the box anyway, until you decide to buy it.

    Most computer stores don't keep stacks of Mac mini boxes in full view.
  • Reply 23 of 92
    Not that I've been following the mac mini threads all that closely, but a thought just struck me, how likely is it that the 5th USB port is USB3 ??



    unlikely?



    as I say, just a thought
  • Reply 24 of 92
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    When you go to any Apple Store you never see the box anyway, until you decide to buy it.

    Most computer stores don't keep stacks of Mac mini boxes in full view.





    But that doesn't mean the box shouldn't look pretty for it's ride home.



    I have yet to see a mac product that has shipped in an unappealing box. It's part of the process that makes opening it that much more exciting.
  • Reply 25 of 92
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iextreme View Post


    "The outer design is the same as the old mini"

    Well, while this is only SPECULATION on my part, reasons for this could be:



    (1) IF Apple reduces the price, in order to keep costs down, they may want to avoid R&D costs and thus keep the overall outer design the same or similar.



    (2) Apple just doesn't wan to update the design. Mind you, it has been roughly 1.5 years since the last update to the mini which clearly illustrates that it's not a priority (unfortunately) for Apple.



    The design of the current Mac Pro is essentially unchanged from that of the first PowerMac G5 introduced in June of 2003. Five and a half years and the tower looks the same on the outside.
  • Reply 26 of 92
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NPrtmn4evr


    Just for comparison, here is the box of previous Mac minis

    Front:





    And here's the actual back of that box:







    Now compare it to the spy shot of the new Mac mini's box:





    You guys need to face the hard truth that Apple has no real incentive to make the Mac mini any more aesthetically enticing that it already is.
  • Reply 27 of 92
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wobegon View Post


    And here's the actual back of that box:







    That picture was from the back of the mac mini I have(which is 2.5 years old). I guess I hadn't seen the new back.



    I feel like my whole life is in question now
  • Reply 28 of 92
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NPrtmn4evr View Post






    That picture was from the back of the mac mini I have(which is 2.5 years old). I guess I hadn't seen the new back.



    I feel like my whole life is in question now



    I know, it's hard when you want something to not be the case. Same way I initially felt about the "fatty" nano and then the 4th gen nano.
  • Reply 29 of 92
    virgil-tb2virgil-tb2 Posts: 1,416member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wobegon View Post






    You guys need to face the hard truth that Apple has no real incentive to make the Mac mini any more aesthetically enticing that it already is.



    I think it's still very debatable whether this thing is real or not. Previous fakes have seemed even more certain and were more believable than this one. Not to say that it definitely *is* fake, just that it still could be.



    I'm not sure what the point of that Wifi icon is for example. WiFi is in all Apple products and is ubiquitous. I'm not sure why even if they upgraded it to the "n" spec, they would need to put a giant icon on the box to indicate that.



    And what's that middle icon? an intel ad? If it's supposed to be nVidia then it might make sense, but the original intel icon on the original mini was put there to indicate that it was one of the new ones and not PPC anymore. There is no need to keep doing the advertising if there are no PPC versions to sell anymore.



    There are other things that I find suspicious also, but mostly I just wanted to point out that it's far from certain this is real or fake so your conclusion is a bit mean and a bit off the mark.
  • Reply 30 of 92
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Why is there one less exhaust fin in the back? Less exhaust would be a bad thing, unless I'm missing something here.
  • Reply 31 of 92
    utisnum1utisnum1 Posts: 138member
    It could be real but i would really like to see some what of a re-design.
  • Reply 32 of 92
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    I think it's still very debatable whether this thing is real or not. Previous fakes have seemed even more certain and were more believable than this one. Not to say that it definitely *is* fake, just that it still could be.



    I'm not sure what the point of that Wifi icon is for example. WiFi is in all Apple products and is ubiquitous. I'm not sure why even if they upgraded it to the "n" spec, they would need to put a giant icon on the box to indicate that.



    And what's that middle icon? an intel ad? If it's supposed to be nVidia then it might make sense, but the original intel icon on the original mini was put there to indicate that it was one of the new ones and not PPC anymore. There is no need to keep doing the advertising if there are no PPC versions to sell anymore.



    There are other things that I find suspicious also, but mostly I just wanted to point out that it's far from certain this is real or fake so your conclusion is a bit mean and a bit off the mark.



    That middle icon is the same one they use for the NVIDIA chip:







    I don't know why the Airport icon would be so prominent on the back unless it was integral to some feature like Time Capsule backup integration.
  • Reply 33 of 92
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    Why is there one less exhaust fin in the back? Less exhaust would be a bad thing, unless I'm missing something here.



    Jonathan Ive likes odd numbers.
  • Reply 34 of 92
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    I hope it is real and the low end is $499. I have some real cash and will take one in a heart beat.



    As opposed to "fake" cash?
  • Reply 35 of 92
    virgil-tb2virgil-tb2 Posts: 1,416member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    That middle icon is the same one they use for the NVIDIA chip:







    I don't know why the Airport icon would be so prominent on the back unless it was integral to some feature like Time Capsule backup integration.



    So considering the third icon on the original was an Apple remote, (basically a filler icon), then this new line-up is possibly real again, because the WiFi icon could similarly be a placeholder of sorts or perhaps they have upgraded to "n" as well.



    I keep returning to my very first thought about this thing when the rumoured pictures first starting to appear. *If* it's real, it's possibly the most boring upgrade of any Apple product in recent memory.



    I really hope they don't have any special event to announce the new products if this and the upgraded iMacs and Mac Pros is all they have. It will only engender a round of news coverage along the lines of how boring things are now that Steve is "gone" and so forth. If this truly is the mini, I don't know why they wouldn't just sneak it out onto the page at the Apple site instead of waiting for some "event."
  • Reply 36 of 92
    user_23user_23 Posts: 46member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    I keep returning to my very first thought about this thing when the rumoured pictures first starting to appear. *If* it's real, it's possibly the most boring upgrade of any Apple product in recent memory.





    it would also be the most boring & unApple-like packaging in recent memory.



    That package is amateurish & boring in every way.



    The photo of the package has some very curious lighting (lower right hand corner, light where I believe there should be shadow) which leads me to believe that's a picture not of an entire box, but just a single side. Perhaps it's a "real" photo of mock-up packaging. Additionally, things just don't look proper in the upper-right hand corner of the package - seems like there should be much more depth to the box than what the photo indicates.



    ok, ok. Given that the package actually very much resembles real mac mini packaging....I have to admit, it's probably real...But, ugh.
  • Reply 37 of 92
    mrtotesmrtotes Posts: 760member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    Why is there one less exhaust fin in the back? Less exhaust would be a bad thing, unless I'm missing something here.



    Good spot. Removing a vent is not the kind of think you'd spend time doing on a fake.
  • Reply 38 of 92
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    I think it's still very debatable whether this thing is real or not. Previous fakes have seemed even more certain and were more believable than this one.



    Really? Examples?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    I'm not sure what the point of that Wifi icon is for example. WiFi is in all Apple products and is ubiquitous. I'm not sure why even if they upgraded it to the "n" spec, they would need to put a giant icon on the box to indicate that.



    Think about it this way. If these spy shots are to be believed and the Mac mini isn't undergoing any major aesthetic changes, Apple is going to promote every under-the-hood change they can. Moving from G to N Wireless would be both major and something they otherwise couldn't illustrate (unlike the new video ports, the extra USB port, and the new FW800 port).



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    And what's that middle icon? an intel ad? If it's supposed to be nVidia then it might make sense, but the original intel icon on the original mini was put there to indicate that it was one of the new ones and not PPC anymore. There is no need to keep doing the advertising if there are no PPC versions to sell anymore.



    That's another example of a major change that would otherwise be invisible to the customer.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    There are other things that I find suspicious also, but mostly I just wanted to point out that it's far from certain this is real or fake so your conclusion is a bit mean and a bit off the mark.



    How am I being mean? I didn't even say "this is real, get over it." I said Apple has no incentive to change the Mac mini aesthetically and that is true. They don't want to spur growth in their least profitable Mac, especially during this economic downturn.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    So considering the third icon on the original was an Apple remote, (basically a filler icon), then this new line-up is possibly real again, because the WiFi icon could similarly be a placeholder of sorts or perhaps they have upgraded to "n" as well.



    What!? The original Mac mini's Apple remote icon was not "filler" or a "placeholder," there was an Apple remote packaged inside!



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    I keep returning to my very first thought about this thing when the rumoured pictures first starting to appear. *If* it's real, it's possibly the most boring upgrade of any Apple product in recent memory.



    About as "boring" as the iPod shuffle color change last Fall?
  • Reply 39 of 92
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,357member
    It appears to have a border or shadow around the upper and right sides of the icon.



    Either the border is there to delineate the icon or it's a shadow of a poorly pasted graphic with the corner slightly lifting up.



    Shrinkwrap or plastic over a box that normally isn't shrinkwrapped would help disguise pasted on graphics.
  • Reply 40 of 92
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    I'd love to see 5 USB ports and FW800. I'd forgo upgrading my mini and get a new one.



    If those pictures are real, they better be making a whole lot of them right now b/c those things will fly off the shelves.
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