We approach all Apple-related rumors with skepticism, but sometimes we get a certain feeling about them, and today's from Mac OS Rumors gives us that tingle of plausibility. Word from one of that site's "oldest and most reliable sources in Cupertino" is that the Mac Mini is going to be replaced before the end of the year by what they refer to as the "Mac Nano."
"Overall volume will be shrunk almost 25 percent, weight by about 20 percent, and an all-new enclosure will be strikingly different from the design that has been the Mini's defining feature since its introduction," according to the report.
Overdue for an update
(Credit: CNET Networks)We buy this rumor because it's been two years since the Mac Mini's debut, and since then, it's received no significant revisions (which lends credence to this other Mac Mini rumor). Apple quietly updated it with new CPUs in August, alongside the more prominent new iMacs. But in order to truly keep its budget Mac alive, Apple has to do more than just throw a new chip inside, especially with growing competition from HP's and Dell's smaller PCs. Besides the fact that it's due, both the iPod and the iMac received significant makeovers this year, so it seems reasonable to us that Apple might extend that reinvigoration across more of its brands.
Thanks to an uncommon Q&A session after the iMac and iLife '08 announcements today, we also learned that the Mac Mini has received an update as well. The previous models came with Intel Core Duo chips. The new models get Core 2 Duos; a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5600 chip in the $599 model and a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200 on the $799 unit.
The Mac Mini gets a minor update today, too.
(Credit: CNET)In addition to the faster clock speeds, adding Core 2 Duo also means 4MB of L2 cache on the $799 Mac Mini, an upgrade over the 2MB on the new $599 system and both older Core Duo-based units. That extra cache should translate to better performance on the $799 model, beyond its faster CPU clock speed. Apple also added iLife '08 to both new Mac Minis, as well.
While both of today's Mac Mini updates are nice, our question from earlier remains: if you purchase a new Mac today, what happens when Apple's Leopard OS X update comes out in two months? Given that the Mac Mini is ostensibly Apple's budget system, potentially tacking on $129 or so for an upgrade down the road is an even bigger concern for potential purchasers of this system, who are likely more price conscious.
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