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They crippled the Mac Mini (which was quad-core, 2 drive bays and upgradeable memory) to try and drive people onto the Mac Pro, when the Mini was a perfect mach

by gaius 8y ago

They crippled the Mac Mini (which was quad-core, 2 drive bays and upgradeable memory) to try and drive people onto the Mac Pro, when the Mini was a perfect machine for many workloads. Then of course they abandoned the Pro. So I wouldn’t hold your breath. Meanwhile see https://press.ext.hp.com/us/en/press-releases/2016/hp-unveils-industrys-first-ever-mini-workstation.html https://press.ext.hp.com/us/en/press-releases/2016/hp-unveil... for what others were doing in that form factor 2 years ago...

strictnein 8y ago
And what Intel will sell you starting at $799: https://www.anandtech.com/show/12226/intels-hades-canyon-nucs-with-radeon-graphics-are-official-799999-shipping-in-spring-2018 https://www.anandtech.com/show/12226/intels-hades-canyon-nuc... The number of ports on that thing is crazy. Two displayport 1.3 and two thunderbolt 3 ports, to start with. https://images.anandtech.com/doci/12226/front_back_575px.png https://images.anandtech.com/doci/12226/front_back_575px.png
michrassena 8y ago
It's been a number of years (the Intel NUC was a new product) since our office bought its first Mac mini. At that time, it was the only product that fit the requirements of size, performance and cooling, and even then was cheaper than many alternatives which weren't as good a fit. Today, there are quite a number of products, including gamer or workstation-class machines, in this form factor. What was once exotic for its compactness is a commodity. All-the-while, Apple has kept this product at a near-standstill. Almost certainly they're worried about cannibalizing their iMac line, or even the Mac Pro line. Given the level of innovation that has take place over the last five years, the remarkable thinness of laptops which Apple helped pioneer beginning with the Air, why aren't they putting out a Mac mini the size and thickness of a slice of bread?
- gaius 8y ago
  That kind of thinking boggles my mind “we know people want X, which we make, so we’ll avoid making it so they’ll buy Y instead”.
  - remir 8y ago
    Yep. The 13" Air was a really popular machine that people loved. Apple could have simply updated it with a better display, specs and USB C and they would have made a killing. Instead, they decided to make the 12" Macbook and keep the crap display on the Air... A lot of people are saying that Apple doesn't make a better Mac Mini because they're worried it would cannibalize their iMac/Mac Pro sales. But if your entry level machine is providing more value for $ than your pricier models, then perhaps there's a problem with those model. Just looking at the iMac lineup in Canada and the prices are insane for what you get. Just for example, the basic 21.5" iMac, when upgraded to a SSD, costs $1700 CAD.
    - Tempest1981 8y ago
      Loved the Air, esp. the keyboard.
    - giancarlostoro 8y ago
      I still hold the belief they should of renamed the Air to "MacBook" and not done that ugly MacBook, or released the ugly one as a MacBook Air. Just swap the names, I'll buy the MacBook if it's the MacBook Air model, otherwise I'd rather go for the Pro. The Air is really nice, doesn't get in your way. I wouldn't use it for programming, but for what I use it for it's perfect.
jonhendry18 8y ago
"They crippled the Mac Mini (which was quad-core, 2 drive bays and upgradeable memory) to try and drive people onto the Mac Pro" Ummmm, no. That's implausible. There's no plausible way to "drive people" from a $700 computer to a $3000 computer. They're entirely different classes of buyer.
- gaius 8y ago
  There's no plausible way to "drive people" from a $700 computer to a $3000 computer. They're entirely different classes of buyer. You’re thinking consumers, not businesses. Businesses or professionals will buy the tool they need to fulfill their use cases. The Mac Mini was an ideal developer workstation. So your choice was, buy the more expensive model or find some other business to be in.
  - jonhendry18 8y ago
    The point is they'd be more likely to shift to a $1200 low-end iMac or low-end Macbook, not the $3000 Mac Pro.

by gaius 8y ago

strictnein 8y ago

And what Intel will sell you starting at $799: https://www.anandtech.com/show/12226/intels-hades-canyon-nucs-with-radeon-graphics-are-official-799999-shipping-in-spring-2018 https://www.anandtech.com/show/12226/intels-hades-canyon-nuc... The number of ports on that thing is crazy. Two displayport 1.3 and two thunderbolt 3 ports, to start with. https://images.anandtech.com/doci/12226/front_back_575px.png https://images.anandtech.com/doci/12226/front_back_575px.png

michrassena 8y ago

It's been a number of years (the Intel NUC was a new product) since our office bought its first Mac mini. At that time, it was the only product that fit the requirements of size, performance and cooling, and even then was cheaper than many alternatives which weren't as good a fit. Today, there are quite a number of products, including gamer or workstation-class machines, in this form factor. What was once exotic for its compactness is a commodity. All-the-while, Apple has kept this product at a near-standstill. Almost certainly they're worried about cannibalizing their iMac line, or even the Mac Pro line. Given the level of innovation that has take place over the last five years, the remarkable thinness of laptops which Apple helped pioneer beginning with the Air, why aren't they putting out a Mac mini the size and thickness of a slice of bread?

gaius 8y ago
That kind of thinking boggles my mind “we know people want X, which we make, so we’ll avoid making it so they’ll buy Y instead”.
- remir 8y ago
  Yep. The 13" Air was a really popular machine that people loved. Apple could have simply updated it with a better display, specs and USB C and they would have made a killing. Instead, they decided to make the 12" Macbook and keep the crap display on the Air... A lot of people are saying that Apple doesn't make a better Mac Mini because they're worried it would cannibalize their iMac/Mac Pro sales. But if your entry level machine is providing more value for $ than your pricier models, then perhaps there's a problem with those model. Just looking at the iMac lineup in Canada and the prices are insane for what you get. Just for example, the basic 21.5" iMac, when upgraded to a SSD, costs $1700 CAD.
  - Tempest1981 8y ago
    Loved the Air, esp. the keyboard.
  - giancarlostoro 8y ago
    I still hold the belief they should of renamed the Air to "MacBook" and not done that ugly MacBook, or released the ugly one as a MacBook Air. Just swap the names, I'll buy the MacBook if it's the MacBook Air model, otherwise I'd rather go for the Pro. The Air is really nice, doesn't get in your way. I wouldn't use it for programming, but for what I use it for it's perfect.

jonhendry18 8y ago

"They crippled the Mac Mini (which was quad-core, 2 drive bays and upgradeable memory) to try and drive people onto the Mac Pro" Ummmm, no. That's implausible. There's no plausible way to "drive people" from a $700 computer to a $3000 computer. They're entirely different classes of buyer.

gaius 8y ago
There's no plausible way to "drive people" from a $700 computer to a $3000 computer. They're entirely different classes of buyer. You’re thinking consumers, not businesses. Businesses or professionals will buy the tool they need to fulfill their use cases. The Mac Mini was an ideal developer workstation. So your choice was, buy the more expensive model or find some other business to be in.
- jonhendry18 8y ago
  The point is they'd be more likely to shift to a $1200 low-end iMac or low-end Macbook, not the $3000 Mac Pro.