Comments on: Wither Mac Mini?

The Mac Mini, the cheapest Mac in Apple's lineup, could be headed for the exits after years of playing third fiddle to the MacBook and iMac.

[the Otter]

The mini has always been a nice idea, but it?s just too underpowered for most users. I?d much rather fork out a little more and get the power and simplicity of an iMac, which has the added benefit of not being BYOKDM.

[Kev_Orng]

Yes, I once tried to customize a Mac Mini on the Apple online store, but in the end I got it within $100 of the lowest iMac and I still wasn't happy with it.

In the end I chose to wait for the October Macbook event and then buy the previous-gen MacBook Pro for an $800 discount, and everybody is happy.

[ddesy]

Originally it wasn't really that underpowered for the price, especially with dedicated video. The problem is that Apple took away the dedicated video and decided to not do enough refreshes to keep up with the rest of the Mac lineup.

Also - BYODKM is, in some cases, an advantage. For those of us who want to use it in addition to other computers or for specialized tasks, being forced to take a computer with a built-in display is actually a drawback.

[stefanvolos]

If the Mini is indeed dead, Apple should consider dropping the price points on the iMac. In reality, the last upgrade to the iMac line-up wasn't all that significant, and didn't really justify the steep premium Apple still charges for these all-in-ones.

[Astinsan]

I never thought apple really embraced this product like they did any other product. I think Jobbs just wanted to prove to naysayers that the mini wasn't ever going to go anywhere. People buying Apple products want the best. After all they have the premium price on everything.

[Galaxy5]

Oh, come on. For years, computer industry journalists and analysts have been chiding Apple to make a cheap machine. Apple obliged, even though they showed internally that the Mac Mini wouldn't be a big seller and that it would mostly sell to existing Mac users.

I don't blame them for not spending a huge wad of cash promoting a computer that doesn't make them much money. Maybe Apple knows best here, hunh? Or would you run a business by spending all your money promoting your lowest end products? Sounds like a Web 1.0 strategy to me: "Sure, we only make five bucks on each unit while spending six dollars on ads, but we'll make it up in volume!"

[gopnick]

The Mac Mini is a perfectly entry point for consumers into the Mac market. Grandma consumers cannot afford iMacs or MacBooks. Instead, they'll choose a bargain PC in place of the Mac Mini if it goes.

[ddesy]

If Apple were to refresh the Mac mini with a newer Core 2 Duo processor and upgrade from the lowly Intel integrated video to the nVidia GeForce 9400GM, it would probably see sales increase.

The choice to go from a Radeon 9200 with dedicated memory for graphics in the G4 variants to an Intel GMA 950 with shared memory in the x86 variants was the big mistake. It was like taking two steps forward and one back, and plenty of people noticed.

If the Mac mini is discontinued, it leaves Mac users with no way to choose their display without either hooking an external monitor to a laptop or choosing to buy the high end Mac Pro. Considering the fact that I already have good monitors and don't have the money for a Mac Pro, where does that leave me?

[jture]

I agree: Apple really doesn't have anything to offer the customer who wants the Mac OS in a "conventional" package but doesn't have the cash for a Mac Pro and isn't willing to take a risk on a dubiously legal clone. Sure, I could hook my external monitor to my MacBook - but I'd much rather have a tower unit with USB and multimedia ports than connecting a bunch of peripherals to the MacBook.

[Canberra-photographer]

Buy a Macbook and connect it to your displays. I beleive laptops are far better value than cheap desktops and even the old White Macbook beat the Mac Mini by a fair margin in performance.

[ddesy]

I already have a Macbook. The problem is that when you hook a laptop up to a monitor, you are using more space than you do with the Mac mini.

[kyle_74]

I feel like Apple never did the mini justice. Never was quite fast enough compared to Imacs and Macbooks. Apple needs a headless consumer Mac, IMHO.

[Galaxy5]

These articles about the fate of the mini always make my blood boil.

For years, clueless computer industry journalists and opinion-makers (looking at you, Reisinger) and brain-dead analysts have been chiding Apple to make a cheap machine. Apple did that, even though they knew that the Mac Mini wouldn't be a big seller and that it would mostly sell to existing Mac users.

I don't blame Apple for not spending a huge wad of cash promoting a computer that doesn't make them much money. Maybe Apple knows best here, hunh? Or would you run a business by spending all your money promoting your lowest end products? Sounds like a Web 1.0 strategy to me: "Sure, we only make five bucks on each unit while spending six dollars on ads, but we'll make it up in volume!"

[ddesy]

I still think you would see Apple sales even better if they actually made the Mac mini comparable to similarly priced systems from other companies. The current Mac mini is about as good as a $300-$400 dollar eMachines brand system as far as the hardware goes.

The Mac mini has a pretty good niche to fill. It makes a great lower powered computer to handle home media tasks without taking up much room or making much noise. Apple does not have another computer that can take this role.

[Mick Ayling]

I bought a Mac Mini about a month ago to replace a cacky Windows laptop which took about 20 minutes to boot up, crashed constantly and never shut down properly. Even though it was a laptop I still had USB mouse and keyboard and a 20" monitor plugged in to it, so moving to a Mac Mini was the perfect solution. Plus at the price point it was a great introduction to the Macs.

My Mac Mini starts in under a minute, can see my home network drives and I vpn in work far better than could with my Windows PC.

I never touch my main Windows PC now as I can finally see that it is just as bad as my old laptop even though its only 18 months old. After Christmas I intend to replace that machine too with, guess what...a Mac! If the Mac Mini served no other purpose it has been to finally show me how awful Windows can be to live with compared to other OS's.

[YankeePoodle]

Good for you, my windows PC lasted 5 years, probably its the owner who needs to be changed.

[hafenbrack]

My current Windows machine takes less than 1 minutes to boot up (less then 30 secnods more like it) and it's over year old now. It stays on ALL the time, BTW I run Vista Business, and never crash. It also serves as a media server. My Vista laptop, XP laptop, and PS3 have no problem pairing with it. I have another PC (running TinyXP) that is nearing 10 years old and it's just keeps on tickin' (actually it out-lasted my Timex without a doubt).

[ddesy]

Come on people! Mick isn't really off base. I support PCs for a living, and I can honestly say that in many cases a Mac will outperform a Windows machine.

When you have to support a decent number of Windows machines, you can understand why some people have problems with them.

[tappy727]

I have the opposite problem. I have older HP PC's at work that last forever. Unfortunately, that means I am stuck with a slower computer. That darn PC just keeps going.

[sanenazok]

Funny how the story has a link to a back-up reference for just about everything except the statement that Mac Mini's were ever a "hit." Even when they were introduced in 2005 people were saying "uhm what now" and "for how much!?"

[ddesy]

Back in 2005, there were also plenty of people who saw that this was the nice little computer that could handle tasks that didn't need a large powerhouse system. It was reasonably priced for the time, too.

[sanenazok]

Even if *some* people liked it, that doesn't mean it was ever a hit like the article says. It was met with a giant yawn and is now withering as the article says. Here's a story about how it was never anywhere near sold out:

http://news.cnet.com/Mac-Mini-makes-its-retail-debut/2100-1041_3-5546353.html?tag=txt

In fact people were lining up to buy the iPod shuffles...just shows that people will line up to buy anything, but the Mini! I'm looking at it now and for $600 I can have a three year old processor and 80 GB hard drive. No thanks! For $450 I can get an Acer laptop with a Core 2 Duo processor, more expandability and it's a freakin' laptop and not a headless desktop. Even Apple fanatics can't like something this gawd awful.

[ddesy]

sanenazok,

Sure, it's outdated, but could you point me to another retail PC that is the same size? I have yet to see anything you can buy in a store that is even similar.

It wasn't really a yawn it was met with, either. It was back ordered at the get go. I know. I ordered one.

[ppartekim]

I love my Mac Mini and would hate to see Apple kill it off. I use mine as the House computer (left on 24/7) controlling the home automation and media library. I can keep it on while powering off the unneeded monitor and such. I am also thinking about one or two more for dedicated projects in mine. Highpowered systems are not needed as much a small compact headless forms.

[Cheese McBeese]

I also use Mac Minis for point functions in my home. I use one of them for a central media and data server, phone system controller, and back-up controller. I use the other one as an internet media player for my main flat screen. Neither AppleTV or XBOX 360 support browsers and the Sony PS3 doesn't support flash video (flash video support was first released last week but it's a disaster - most flash video sites do not work).

[Tommyr2006]

My Mini is 4+ years old and also runs 24/7. It NEVER let's me down!

KEEP THE MINI APPLE!

[tcampb01]

The "mini" has two advantages.

One advantage is it's price point. Especially with our current economic conditions, Apple really needs to have a model available at that price point... EVEN if they seldom sell one. It wouldn't be the first time a company was able to get the attention of a consumer by having a model at the price point a consumer wanted to spend, but then showed them how they'd get more value from a better model. Even if consumers don't buy the mini, just having the price point will help drive sales of other Macs. BTW, the Mac mini only *seems* to be much cheaper than an iMac. But if you check the specs (processor speed, memory, hard drive space, etc.) of a basic iMac, and then try to build up a Mac mini to similar specs you'll find that the iMac is a pretty good deal.

The other advantage is the mini's ability to be integrated into a "home entertainment / theater system". I have one specifically for this purpose. I'm not going to slide a laptop or desktop iMac into my rack with my TV, DVD, cable box, etc. but I _will_slide in a Mac mini. I realize Apple markets the Apple TV for this purpose, but the Apple TV doesn't have a DVD player and it's hard drive space is limited.

Sales may be in a slump for it, but probably only because they haven't refreshed this model in far too long.

[Galaxy5]

"Even if consumers don't buy the mini, just having the price point will help drive sales of other Macs."

Again with the loss-leader cheerleading.

Apple doesn't succeed by racing to the bottom - especially if it is to, as you suggest, make their other machines look better. Apple has to order and carry inventory in order to offer a product - and that costs the company and shareholders money if the products made from those parts don't sell. It makes no sense to have a "price point" product to make other, more expensive products look better.

[bdaughtry]

No, what Apple really needs to do is introduce a 'McNetbook' with 8.9" screen and Atom dual-core processor at $499.......well okay, $699......we are talking about Apple after all.

[mikemundt_dotmac]

I have had a MacMini for years....
it is a PowerPC G4 version...
it serves as the center of my home network. It is hooked up to a 32" Samsung HDTV, it has a 500 GB external firewire HD, wireless keyboard and mouse. It is the server. It is everything Apple TV is. It is sharing its printer. It is small out of the way but it does it all. And it did it for the house here in Florida and now is doing it for the apartment in Prague. And when my wife's PC Laptop had a HD failure, it became her computer to do her Internet work. It fits nicely between the Apple TV and the iMac/MacBook in Apples line up.

[ddesy]

One question that I must ask is this:

How well has your Mac mini G4 handled playing back HD video? Mine struggles, but I can't help but think an upgrade to a faster hard drive and 1 GB of RAM might help. I'm only talking 720p here...

[Paodi]

I would like to see a Mac Mini / Apple TV device that could serve both as a media center as seamlessly as the Apple TV, and have the ability to use a wireless keyboard and mouse to surf the web on my HDTV. There was some talk of this a while back. Any chance of this actually happening?

[Ellusian]

Exactly. The Mini is Apple's only viable HTPC solution.

That's the niche that the Mac Mini was perfect for...and if it disappears, a great number of folks who've been waiting for an update are simply going to jump ship to a PC solution. Which sucks.

[Mr. Dee]

If Apple considers the Notebook to be their future in computing, then I guess the iMac, Mac Pro and 17inch MacBook Pro are dead too.

[MacVaultDweller]

There is just one product that I believe could truly shake up the current product line. A redesigned Mac Mini that is able to accept a full sized graphics card. With an integrated NVIDIA graphics chip but an included expansion slot capable of accepting a full sized graphics card or expansion card of choice. This product would surely fill a missing gap in the Mac lineup and provide what many in the Windows world are looking for.
What could such a machine be used for?
Perhaps a business computer replacement that is simple inexpensive small and clean with an expansion card slot if needed capable of running any operating system of choice.
A home entertainment extension for itunes music, video, web browsing, pictures, and if you want hardcore gaming by just purchasing and installing your own graphics card of choice. Perhaps video card creators might now consider it lucrative to port some of there products to a high volume and upgradeable devise and will in turn lead the way for game companies as well.
And If not a graphics card maybe a cable card would fit your needs
Now if you visualize such a Mac it may look very much like an elongated Mac Mini or a brick.
If such a Mac existed I think it may help sell some of those new 24" monitors with the integrated power usb and graphics cables and camera.
Such a product would surly cut into iMac sales and may even shave a hair from the Mac Pro numbers.
But in turn it would also most definitely cut into Dell and HP business machines along with some gaming pc's
and maybe even a gaming console or two.

[sanenazok]

What you're pining after is a full sized Mac Mini, which is an Apple desktop. They already have those.

[ddesy]

Add a full size expansion slot and you loose the thing that makes the Mac mini so appealing to people: the form factor.

[SpiritWater]

The Mac Mini is definitely under powered and long-in-the-tooth on looks. It could stand to use the NVIDIA chipset just released and used in the Macbooks and take cues from Time Capsule on updated looks. Updated processors and DDR3 memory would be nice as well. Drop the lower and uppoer models by $100 and you've got a real value-packed offering.

[Joshxy]

No future mini would leave us out to lunch for a desktop Mac upgrade.
We now have both a G4 and Intel Mini, plus a G4 MDD in daily use.

We need the flexibility of moving displays between Macs as we update our Macs more frequently than our displays as we move our Macs between different users in our house.

It isn't my desire to use OS X on a Win PC, but I may be forced to.

[LunaticSX]

The real reason the Mac Mini is going away: Apple is doing a deal with Psystar to handle low-end Mac machines! :)

Nah, really, Apple just doesn't play to the low-end. 31% of the money spent on computers in the U.S. is going to Apple. **31%!** How much of that do you think comes from the Mac Mini? 0.25%?

Not that I wouldn't love to see an updated Mac Mini with the new Nvidia chipset and a faster bus. With processor speeds reaching practical manufacturing limits, and Grand Central coming out in Snow Leopard next year it'd be a nice final bow to the machine to give it one final update that could carry it for years. If they could do that, *and* have it support more than one display (like dual DisplayPort ports) it'd be just the thing to finally replace my aging G4 towers with their multiple displays.

I can understand why it may not make the best business sense for Apple, though. I know that as a person who does upgrades to existing hardware and swap out only pieces at a time (video, drives, main processor, etc.) that I'm in a niche off to the side of their primary market.

[sanenazok]

I would like to know where you got the 31%, something I never saw before.

[theunclesam]

So if I owned a mac now and wanted a bigger screen, I'd have to buy a whole new computer?

Do any of you mac fans have brains? Or do you just like to donate to Steve Jobs?

$500 in hardware, a free OS (Ubuntu), and I get the best of both worlds (Mac and PC), with all the stability and security of Linux.

[ddesy]

Hello pot, this is the kettle.

You ask if any of us Mac fans have brains? Have you read the comments?

We are complaining about that very problem of Apple moving towards not having any machines without integrated screens in their regular consumer line-up!

I love Linux as much as the next guy, but quite frankly I have grown tired of the lack of support from certain software companies (Hello Adobe! Flash on Linux is still not good!). That doesn't mean I cannot use it, but that it still doesn't cover all bases. It is getting pretty close, though.