The one thing that is missing: ECC RAM, otherwise, particularly in combination with an eGPU, this is a killer machine.
MacPro feature.
Even the cheapest of the cheapest AMD processors (which are both faster and use less power than intel processors in their respective use-cases they have been designed for, while being offered at a lower price) support ECC.
The only thing wrong with the old Mac Mini was it was 4 year old technology and present day prices. I love the Mini and was running one of the 2012? Versions when the i7 option was still an option up until a few months ago. This new Mini is exactly what I’ve been hoping for and ordered one immediately. Yeah a better gpu would have been nice but with egpu support my Mini is now upgradable, for those who don’t need a better gpu they don’t have to pay for it.
This is a hostile, lopsided article that fails to understand users needs.
I am no Mac Mini enthusiast or buyer, but I can relate to the user’s arguments of a reasonably cost effective Mac for those who aren’t seeking portability and who already own a monitor, keyboard etc. For Apple to slap them with such high prices is not going to go well. There should’ve been a well configured option for $499, then charge whatever for the pro. They sure know how to pull off such options for the iPad.
Apple charging high prices won’t go well for them? Do you hear yourself? That’s exactly what Apple does! And they’ve been quite successful.
Also, $799 is not a bad base price in 2018. $599 was the base price from 2005 through 2012 (it went up to $699 briefly in 2010). The only Mac mini ever with a base price of $499 was the 2014 edition. So basically in 2014 they did what Bloggerblog suggests and it failed.
All the announcements were pretty meh to be honest. Wasn’t anything anyone really needed. The only thing I took away from the event is that only affluent people are wanted as the Apple customer. They completely ignored the entry level market with the Mac mini. Won’t be able to recommend Apple products at all to the average individual anymore considering all that most people do is check email and watch cat videos.
I do swift and web-technologies development. I have been through the wringer (literally) with the 2016 and now the 2018 MBP 15". I am going to hand my 2018 MBP back to Apple and will instead opt for an iPad / Mac mini setup. Since I have a 2014 MBP as a backup, this setup is starting to make sense. I am not sure what complaints people can truly have... but for me... honestly... I have none.
How and what are you developing with Swift on an iPad?
I don't think they're developing on the iPad itself. Right now it sounds like what they have is a MacBook Pro that they're doing everything on, both development and non-development work. So now they're going to probably use the iPad for non-development work and the Mac mini for development work.
The Mac mini is not a bad machine. But if I wanted to make a pro machine I would have added a better GPU option. Anything in the 1050 or 560 range would be fine. Apple even shows one benchmark with an external GPU. So Apple is aware that people might want more GPU power.
Not all Mac minis would need a faster GPU, but this will in no way make Pro users that looking for a new desktop happy. Especially with no new iMacs.
MacPro feature.
Or they can get an eGPU enclosure if the Mac Pro is too much for their needs.
I think the days of the hackintosh are numbered now that apple seems to be adding the T2 chip to each new mac release. It's only a matter of time before it becomes a requirement to run OSX.
Yesterday, as soon as the keynote was over, my colleague and I were already putting together our pitch to management to buy a bunch of these for our render farm to replace our aging RenderBoxx. If the next MacPro is released too late next year for our budgetary cycle, we may well go with Minis coupled with BlackMagic eGPUs.
If this Mac Mini would have been announced 18 months ago, I would have bought 3 machines for my software development company. Now the window of opportunity is gone and it probably remain closed for the next 2 years
As a professional my main complaint about Apple is lack of transparency and roadmap. If I need to take a business decision that has a >$100K impact I cannot wait 4 years until Tim Cook decides that a new machine will be announced. I need a roadmap that I can rely upon.
I do understand that for the consumer market Apple cannot disclose new product announcement, but for a professional market this is different. So if this machine is targeted at a professional market, the attitude of Apple about secrecy must change.
The Mac Mini was launched and intended as an affordable Mac option for migrating PC users to the macOS world. The basic version was less than 500$. It seems that everybody forgets that.
Now the Mini is clearly something else. It is not the "most affordable Mac desktop" anymore. Period.
The price, the specs, everything indicates their strategy for this product has radically changed.
You want an "affordable" Mac? get an iOS iPad/iPhone.
macOS for the "masses"? None for you.
It certainly is the "most affordable Mac desktop". Which iMac is cheaper? None.
I think the days of the hackintosh are numbered now that apple seems to be adding the T2 chip to each new mac release. It's only a matter of time before it becomes a requirement to run OSX.
the 2017 iMac 5K doesn't have a T-anything. So, it won't be until this drops off. I think a more imminent "threat" is a migration to ARM processors.
I think the HEVC decoder on the T2 is so they can stream 4K iTunes to the Mac in the future without worrying about people pirating it.
Because newer Intel CPUs and AMD GPUs already have HEVC decoders so why duplicate it? The reason is piracy prevention. I suspect when 4K iTunes eventually comes to the Mac it will be "T2 Macs only."
Mac Mini processing minimum four threads in parallel is what many people need (I do) and Pro is for those who need powerful processing of media with large or multiple large projects. If you do not know difference that means you spent too much time on your mobile device moving between screens and not understanding that work on desktop is not on swiching tabs ior screens, but processing many tasks while seeing all the progress within multiple applications or projects. Work as professional and you will learn those basics. That is also why we use multpile large screens (not for fancy picture, but for amount of information our brain digests from different sources in parelle and not in sequential fashion). If you do not do this then do not bother, but then do not ask questions because you will never understand. If you worked on 4-10 projects at the same time you are that professional. Mac Mini is just powerful for fun and minor work. I finally see that Apple brought nice computer I need. However pros that we run in the shop need something better than this so Mac Pro is stilll needed for that work.
Mac Mini processing minimum four threads in parallel is what many people need (I do) and Pro is for those who need powerful processing of media with large or multiple large projects. If you do not know difference that means you spent too much time on your mobile device moving between screens and not understanding that work on desktop is not on swiching tabs ior screens, but processing many tasks while seeing all the progress within multiple applications or projects. Work as professional and you will learn those basics. That is also why we use multpile large screens (not for fancy picture, but for amount of information our brain digests from different sources in parelle and not in sequential fashion). If you do not do this then do not bother, but then do not ask questions because you will never understand. If you worked on 4-10 projects at the same time you are that professional. Mac Mini is just powerful for fun and minor work. I finally see that Apple brought nice computer I need. However pros that we run in the shop need something better than this so Mac Pro is stilll needed for that work.
Your gatekeeping of the "pro" title continues to be ludicrous. It's great that you understand what you need, but applying it to an entire class of users is pretty insulting, and not warranted.
Clearly aimed at the pro market (and there's nothing wrong with that), this new Mac mini is not an entry-level offering at $799. An i5 would have been defensible; an i3 is almost laughable at that price point.
You're a pro user if you need or want a fast machine to make money with, and are willing to pay for it.
...
I agree with your definition. I also agree that the line between pro and consumer is easily crossed.
But, I would suggest that a term I haven't heard used for years would be better.
Instead of "Pro" we should be using "Power User".
There are many consumers who want and need the power and are willing to pay for it.
Likewise there are many pros who don't need the power and are not willing to waste resources paying for something that they don't use.
As an IT pro I saw that misconception play out often and in multiple ways.
One of them was a company policy to give the high powered machines to the high powered executives -- most of whom had little or no use for them.
Similarly, when I distributed some PC upgrades I gave the high powered machines to analysts doing complex, demanding tasks but got pushback from those who didn't need the power but none the less felt slighted.
The needs and wants of "Pros" are varied and, at least in well run organizations, cost plays as a big a role as does performance. But, the same can be said about consumers as well.
I was waiting for the newest Mac Mini to see if that nasty, inefficient case-design had been fixed. It wasn’t, so I bought the most expensive, 27” Retina iMac (not the Pro).
I could have gotten the iMac Pro, but it’s rather more than I need, as I drift into retirement.
My complaint about the Mac Mini (after owning five of them, all generations) is that they overheat. The one on my desk is sitting on a wire rack in the open air, with a USB-powered fan underneath it.
Even so, it gets hot periodically, according to SMC Fan Control. Even with the fan manually cranked as fast as it goes.
My office and my desk are NOT hot, nor poorly ventilated. I like my A/C, too. The Mac Mini just does not have a good design that allows for good enough airflow, and the chips age quickly as a direct result.
I’ve bought my last Mac Mini. The current one is crashing horribly, and I have to power it down and restart if I want to get any work done.
I have been a professional Mac consultant since 1985, by the way. I’ve seen Mac Minis with similar heating issues with dozens of clients. I want a computer that will last me ten years. My Mac Minis tend to last maybe three or four.
2x increased airflow.
My oldest Core2Duo mini still works if I cared to boot it up. But then I didn't use it as a render farm.
Given that a six core i7 mini setup with an eGPU and monitor spreads the heat across three components I suspect it'll kick the ass of the 27" Retina iMac for tasks once both heat up. And why would you want to buy the most expensive non-pro 2017 Kaby Lake iMac in late 2018?
I want a computer that will last me ten years. My Mac Minis tend to last maybe three or four.
If you want a computer that lasts 10 years, you need to buy at the high end. The only computers which have lasted me 10 years (or close to it) are the cheese grater Mac Pro that I paid $4k for back in 2008 (still using it for audio work) and a maxed-out mid-2010 17" MacBook Pro that I paid nearly the same for (just passed it on to my mother-in-law). Anything cheaper/lower end tends to only last 5 years max.
That said, I am sitting in front of a maxed-out late 2012 27" iMac which is still a great workhorse. I did have to replace the power supply in it recently, and the fan tends to rattle a bit, so we'll see if it gets to the 10 year mark.
All the announcements were pretty meh to be honest. Wasn’t anything anyone really needed. The only thing I took away from the event is that only affluent people are wanted as the Apple customer. They completely ignored the entry level market with the Mac mini. Won’t be able to recommend Apple products at all to the average individual anymore considering all that most people do is check email and watch cat videos.
You are confused. This event was for "creators". Sorry you're in the business of recommending products to cat video watchers.
Comments
MacPro feature my ass.
This is machine is a win.
Your comment is demonstrably wrong.
Because newer Intel CPUs and AMD GPUs already have HEVC decoders so why duplicate it? The reason is piracy prevention. I suspect when 4K iTunes eventually comes to the Mac it will be "T2 Macs only."
2x increased airflow.
My oldest Core2Duo mini still works if I cared to boot it up. But then I didn't use it as a render farm.
Given that a six core i7 mini setup with an eGPU and monitor spreads the heat across three components I suspect it'll kick the ass of the 27" Retina iMac for tasks once both heat up. And why would you want to buy the most expensive non-pro 2017 Kaby Lake iMac in late 2018?
$2699 27" iMac: 4.2 GHz Quad Core i7 (4.5GHz Boost), 8GB RAM (upgrade later), 512GB SSD, Radeon Pro 580 w/8GB video
$1499 Mac Mini: 3.2 GHz Hexa Core i7 (4.6 GHz Boost), 8GB RAM (upgrade later), 512GB SSD
$699 Blackmagic Radeon Pro 580
$390 LG 27" 4K IPS monitor
$110 Keyboard and Mouse
$2698
4K and 6 core mini vs 5K and 4 core iMac.
I'm actually curious who runs the iMac 5K at full resolution. I use a 43" 4K TV and I dial it down a notch (3200x1800) for eye comfort.
That said, I am sitting in front of a maxed-out late 2012 27" iMac which is still a great workhorse. I did have to replace the power supply in it recently, and the fan tends to rattle a bit, so we'll see if it gets to the 10 year mark.
You are confused. This event was for "creators". Sorry you're in the business of recommending products to cat video watchers.