Well, we're getting closer to another Stevenote and the Apple rumor mill is at full tilt, so take this one with a huge grain of salt, but the team over at AppleInsider says they "sincerely believe" that the Mac Mini is about to be discontinued. Citing sources for whom they have the "utmost respect," AI says that Apple management was only bending to shareholder demands for a sub-$800 Mac when it developed the Mini, and that the recent release of the Apple TV all but spells the end of significant updates to the lil' bugger. We can see what they're getting at, we suppose: the Mini has never gotten a lot of attention, but the similarly-discontinued products AI compares it to -- the Cube, the PowerBook 2400, and the 12-inch PowerBook G4 -- were all higher-end machines, while the Mini sits at the very bottom of Apple's product line. On top of that, the description of the Apple TV as the "next-generation Mac Mini" strikes us as a little odd, since the Mini was never sold as a media extender (even though you can
use it that way) and the Apple TV was never sold as a general-purpose computer (even though you can
use it that way). AI does seem pretty confident in the case it's laid out -- but as with all things Apple, only time will tell.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
humpty @ May 24th 2007 8:27PM
The mini never made any sense.. you could always get a comparable or better laptop for less money. Without the freaking apple premium.
Phred @ May 24th 2007 9:19PM
1.66 GHz Core Duo
DVD+/-RW
80GB hard drive
S/P-DIF in/out audio
Firewire
USB 2
Runs OS X and/or Windows
Comes with truely useful software
Viruses unknow in the wild
Nice small form factor that tucks away on my desk.
Equivalent laptop? Doesn't exist at any price, let alone the low price of the Mac Mini.
And get over the "Apple premium" nonsense. That hasn't existed for a couple of years now if you compare Apple products with similar quality PC products.
BandB @ May 25th 2007 8:35PM
I always though it was just a platform to attract switchers with there own accessories.
BiG� @ May 24th 2007 8:30PM
I can actually see them killing off the Mini as a brand line, either by beefing up the AppleTV line, or spinning off a whole new brand line. The rumour mill has been buzzing for years about a Apple branded MCE, and while AppleTV is a nice product, it just isn't as complete a media hub as has been talked about.
Bobo @ May 24th 2007 8:32PM
If they do go, I hope they're at Costco (like the G5 iMac was when it was discontinued).. I'd get one and pop in a Core 2 Duo in there.
But I hope the Mini sticks around.. Great little machine
paloooz @ May 24th 2007 8:45PM
They had G5 Mac Minis at Costco???? WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY TELL ME!!!!
Matt @ May 24th 2007 8:56PM
There wasn't a G5 Mini. I'm hoping you where being sarcastic.
paloooz @ May 24th 2007 9:48PM
I'm still waiting on my G5 Powerbook. ;-)
kylindell @ May 24th 2007 11:09PM
He was talking about the iMac G5s. Well I'm assuming because I remember seeing them. But I've seen the mini at costco before. It was bundled with an Apple keyboard and mouse.
Steve D. @ May 24th 2007 9:05PM
I am not surprised if they decided to kill off the Minis.
At least it's something affordable from Apple. The Mini is my first Mac actually, if it wasn't for such an attractive price I might not even be step in the Apple field right now.
I have to admit, the Apple high end systems reall kicks butt, but the entry level (such as Minis) will get some job done very well too.
If making revenue from budget market isn't really Apple's goal, then Mini really is something... well, a pretty "smart box". I assume Apple know that the price is the major block that prevented them from getting into the budget market.
Oh well, I still love my Mini though, regardless what Apple decided to do.
Clayj @ May 24th 2007 9:11PM
If this is true, it sucks. My first Mac was the very first Mac mini, and I have two Intel Mac minis now (in addition to a MBP). The best thing about the Mac mini is its small size and the fact that it's "headless"... I use a switcher box to pop back and forth between my PCs and my Mac minis, using the same keyboard and mouse and monitor for all of them. The iMac has a built-in screen (boo), a laptop is too expensive for stationary use, the Mac Pro is overkill for my Mac needs, and the Apple TV is not really a computer but a hackable media streaming device.
If Apple cans the Mac mini, that'll be unfortunate... they really don't have anything that replaces it in that spot on the lineup.
Robert Hoffer @ May 25th 2007 12:03PM
Wow. That dates me. My first Mac was actually a Lisa. Um ... since my first Apple was the Apple II (not the Plus). It had 48 of RAM! (Wow again!) Luckily - by adding a Videx 80 column card I was able to make my Apple II's Amdek Amber Monitor show a full 80 columns of text across the screen - instead of the out of the box 40. You had to use a jumper cable on the motherboard to make that sucker work. It would have been cool if the Apple II had a disk drive - it didn't. I used cassette tape to load programs onto it - loading up Sargon II - the chess program I was product managing for Hayden Publishing at the time (we were the number one selling software application on the market outselling even Visicalc in 81) took over 20 minutes and I had to do it at lunch when there wasn't any noise around to screw it up.
By the time I went to the Mac Roll-Out in 84 (my first visit to the Bay Area) I had been selling Lisas for nearly 2 years. (let's not mention the Apple III and it's 5 megabyte profile disk drive...) and of course I had the 128k Mac. But then again - my family owned one of the first computer retailers in New Jersey and so all of my computers were free at that age!
It's always nice to hear from children of the Mac community. Keep the faith kids.
Kevin @ May 24th 2007 9:15PM
They're "sure" Mac Mini is going to be canceled?
Just like you were sure that the email Apple had sent out claiming iPhone and Leopard were going to be delayed was true?
I think you're the last blog to "quote" someone, all things considered...
wraith808 @ May 25th 2007 8:16AM
What part of 'take this one with a huge grain of salt' do you not understand?
Bobby @ May 25th 2007 12:32AM
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DNCWEA1&s=dhs
I think that's better.
Tom @ May 25th 2007 9:07AM
Rubbish. The only thing the Mac Mini has is the ability to use OSX, and most users in the low-end market couldn't give two hoots about that.
Bobo @ May 24th 2007 9:55PM
Gee Sammy..I'm surprised you were even able to get online with all those bluescreen errors and viruses. Whos computer were you using?
:-)
BobTurbo @ May 24th 2007 10:08PM
Mac mini is the only Apple product I have ever considered buying. If they don't replace it with something similar, that would be really stupid. I don't want a giant notebook computer or a really beefy tower. And I certainly don't want a iMac with a built-in screen. I hate white for starters, and want more flexibility with which screen type/configuration I use.
humpty @ May 24th 2007 10:11PM
This is how it works on engadet.. all the mac fanboys rank the anti-mac comments low and the mac propaganda high. Never fails.
paloooz @ May 24th 2007 10:28PM
Yep. That's because in every article about Apple, all the Microsoft fanboys post their anti-Apple spam. Stop posting it, and we'll stop ranking you low.
When will you people realize that Apple makes good products? Their market share doesn't reflect the quality of their products.
The only reason everyone uses Windows is because everyone uses Windows. There is nothing good about Windows that can't be attributed to the fact that it is the most popular operating system in the world.
Compatibility: Any and all hardware works for it, and 99.999999% of commercial software works on it. Hardware companies make their hardware work with Windows, because it is the most popular operating system in the world. Software companies write software for Windows because it is the most popular operating system in the world. Game developers write games for Windows because it is the most popular operating system in the world, and all the gaming hardware is for Windows. All the gaming hardware is for Windows because all the games are for Windows because it's the most popular operating system in the world.
Easy to use: Windows is easy to use, because it's the most popular operating system in the world. Not the other way around. Everyone knows how to use it because everyone knows how to use it. They all learn how to use it, because all hardware and software is for it because it's the most popular operating system in the world. It's not easy to use for someone who has used Linux their whole life (my nephew) or someone who has used a Mac all their life. It's a jumbled up GUI with weird quirks that everyone knows because everyone uses it.
If you think Linux is hard, that's just because you don't know how to use it because it's not the most popular operating system in the world.
I know this sounds redundant, but it's the truth.
The only reason Windows is so popular is BECAUSE IT'S SO POPULAR!
Don't ask me how it got this way, because I really have no idea. Probably has something to do with Microsoft's marketing...
Davo @ May 24th 2007 10:24PM
What are people talking about with the so called "Apple Premium", Macbooks specs wise are far far cheaper than any pc based laptop!
Any rumours of new iPods?
Geoffrey Sperl @ May 24th 2007 10:41PM
It's not the marketing, palooz, it's the licensing. Windows became popular because DOS was popular because IBM machines were cloned in the early 1980s and MS allowed those clones to run DOS.
Apple did not want to license the Mac OS. For good or bad, that's the case. MS just used that to their advantage.
Chris @ May 24th 2007 10:40PM
With a student discount, there still is a little bit of the "Apple Premium", at least on the mac mini's current prices/spec.
Mac mini - $692.00 (or $792)
1.66ghz Core Duo
1gb 667 DDR2
DVD RW
80gb HD
Intel graphics
+ $100 if you don't already have a monitor
ZT Notebook - $699
1.86ghz Core Duo
1gb 667 DDR2
DVD RW
100gb HD
ATI Radeon X200
14" WXGA
nikster @ May 25th 2007 12:18AM
G Sperl - good point. It's kind of funny to think that if Apple had licensed it's Mac OS to the world in 1984 and had not wanted to control the whole widget, then Apple would be the big bad monopolist now.
How would this world look like:
Microsoft would perhaps still have the Office monopoly but it would be a much smaller company. Steve Jobs would be the world's richest man. Apple OS would run on almost all machines that aren't running Linux. DOS and Windows would be nowhere to be seen.
Mac OS, lacking any competition, might not nearly be as good as it's today. No need to innovate. Apple would not be making beautiful hardware at all - no need to as they are raking in the billions from OS sales. No iPods, we'd all have to use fulgy Creative DAPs.
I think the world would be worse off if Apple had licensed its OS back then. We have to thank Microsoft for black MacBooks, iPods, NeXT, and Mac OS X.
zargon @ May 24th 2007 11:08PM
Gee, those specs sure look very familiar to the laptop I bought my wife this past xmas and it was only $550 to boot. On top of that, it was not the only laptop with those similar specs for around the same price that I have seen.
No idea where you are getting your information or what you are talking about, because you can easily get a equivalent laptop for that price.
zargon @ May 25th 2007 10:14AM
Oh, I forgot to mention that the laptop also came with a built-in LCD screen, keyboard and mouse, silly me. Three less things to buy and actually make it portable
Homeboy @ May 24th 2007 11:10PM
Hopefully it will be discontinued. Sure it's cute and all that but it's way over priced for computer. Nonetheless it lacks the upgrading capabilities of a normal tower PS.
Mike @ May 24th 2007 11:42PM
Given the cost advantages of going Intel, I think it would be slick if they released a mini tower with a couple PCIe slots. 3.5" drives are a little cheaper and they could use a more standard mobo without all the integrated components. Using a standard sized DVDRW drive also helps cut down on cost.
zoara @ May 25th 2007 8:21AM
nikster, if Apple had licensed their OS, they would be dead. Witness what happened in the period that they *did* license it. They make their money on hardware, the OS is just the USP for the hardware.
craig @ May 25th 2007 12:51AM
The mini never made any sense. Its main quality, diminuitive size, costs extra and offers virtually no one an advantage despite what fanboys say. If Apple replaced the mini with a larger desktop box it would be a great improvement. If they discontinue it without replacement then Apple's line becomes even weaker.
mannyv @ May 25th 2007 1:05AM
If you got a refurb mini, the price couldn't be beat. I picked up a core duo mini (1.66ghz, bluetooth, GigE, 802.11a/b/g, 80gb, combo) at $519. It's really a handy little box to have around. I plugged it into my TV and it's a media center style box.
Abu Fayyaz @ May 25th 2007 2:09AM
I don't believe that the Mac Mini is about to be discontinued. I heard from my local dealer that Mac Mini Core 2 Duo has arrived. If that is true, I think Mac Mini will be 'live' at least until end of this year.
Larry @ May 25th 2007 2:15AM
Windows is the most popular because its cheaper. Because it is cheaper, that means less quality. Macs/OS X costs more, because it IS WORTH MORE.
OS X is more vesatile, you can run Tiger perfectly on a G4 processor.
Yet you can't seem to run Vista on a Pentium 3 chip.
Vista is the most overrated and bloated peice-of-shit OS I have ever seen.
They say security is better than its ever been. Its the same "Are you sure?" OK or Cancel thing, except it asks you twice.
This is going to make Vista users even more insecure because whenevevr they see the security box saying Continue or cancel, they will automatically press Continue. OS X is so much better for security. You have to put in your password to install programs. This makes users think again.
Also, in Vista you need 1GB of ram to run it normally (It would work on 512, but it would run slooow.
In other words, if you don't have a highend PC, buy a new computer with Vista pre-installed. This is why the Dell, Toshiba computers have all got atleast 1GB of ram. Sure, you could say this is alot better than 512MB, but running Vista with 1GB of ram is the same speed as running XP at 512MB.
I'm typing this on a G4 PowerBook Aluminum 15-inch:
512MB RAM
1.25Ghz PowerPC processor
80GB hard drive
64MB Graphics Memory
and Tiger is running PERFECTLY.
You try to run Vista on a Toshiba notebook with:
512MB RAM
1.25Ghz Pentium 3 processor
80GB hard drive
64MB ram graphics memory...
exactly, IMPOSSIBLE.
treetrunk @ May 25th 2007 4:21AM
@Larry-
So which is it? There's no "Mac premium" or there is?" Costs more" doesn't equal "worth more".
Tiger is a minor 10.x upgrade to OS X, which was designed to run on G4 processors, so it's hardly surprising that it works. G4's were still in use only 2 years ago in the Powerbooks, while the last P3 was released in 2002. You're not comparing like with like at all.
Yeah, you could buy a new computer, or you could buy a stick of RAM. RAM is cheap and very easy to install.
Aaron @ May 26th 2007 6:36AM
Why the hell would you buy a brand new OS and use it on a computer that's several years old?
If you're a casual user and still have the same machine from 6 years ago, then guess what: YOU WON'T CARE ABOUT VISTA ANYWAY. If you're more of an enthusiast, or use your PC for games, then you have the necessary hardware already. In fact, you probably did 3 years ago.
The whole spec thing is a non-issue. I'm even willing to bet you COULD run Vista on the hardware you suggested. Nonetheless, the people who are still using old-ass hardware won't even know Vista exists and won't be disappointed if they can't run it. Everyone else is in the clear. And don't compare it to Tiger. That's the equivalent of a service pack. Of course it works with the same machines.
One last thing. OSX makes you enter a password to install something? Are you fucking kidding me? Like, every time? No matter what? Can you turn it off, like you can with Vista's User Account Control that you seem to hate? Mac users don't like to face this simple fact, but if you're not a complete moron then things end up just fine on those incredibly "insecure" PCs.
karterius @ May 25th 2007 2:23AM
I really hope they don't discontinue this product. It is a darn good product that just needs a specs boost. Plus if the rumors are true and they discontinue both the 17' imac and mini, that leaves you with...
20' imac $1499
24' imac $1999
Mac Pro $2499
If I am a consumer who want to get my first apple product in the desktop market I wouldn't see anything that appeals to me.
The apple TV is a media extender product, to the non hacker it only serves that purpose.
They need to throw a core2 or santa rosa in the mini, get rid of the darn combo drive, drop the price back to $499 at entry, and you have yourself a hot contender.
crescentdavid @ May 25th 2007 2:24AM
@Palooz- Keep drinking the inconsistent mix of dimwitted fanboyism which cannot even encompass the obvious. By your logic (The only reason Windows is so popular is BECAUSE IT'S SO POPULAR!), the only reason the iPod is popular is BECAUSE IT'S SO POPULAR!
Knucklehead. The iPod is so damn popular because it happens to best of breed.
Sign me a PC user who believes in consensual reality.
paloooz @ May 25th 2007 2:46AM
You're joking right? Oh, you're one of those fanboys who thinks "If he doesn't like Windows, that means he's on a Mac!"
WRONG
I agree with your iPod thing, as they are good players. But iPods and operating systems can hardly be compared at all.
Nice attempt at using big words to make yourself look smart, though. It really made you look like the winner here. Oh wait ...
treetrunk @ May 25th 2007 4:34AM
@paloooz
Nice. You accuse someone else of "using big words to make yourself look smart", while your argument in response is the brilliantly constructed:
"WRONG".
Well, that settles it for me. Don't bother wasting time explaining why, we know you're right because you're special.
"iPods and operating systems can hardly be compared at all"? Why not? The comparison of iPod (the "standard" in mp3 players) and Windows (the "standard" in operating systems) is quite obvious.
The reason Windows is popular is the same reason the iPod is- they're both actually pretty good. Being popular doesn't mean they remain popluar- if either company stopped making new versions, or made a bad one, people would stop buying it. Remember Windows ME? I thought not. It was pretty "popular".
keese @ May 25th 2007 2:55AM
I think it is a bad idea to discontinue the Mac Mini for multiple reasons.
Upgrade cycles for displays are considerably longer than for the main Unit.
Laptops are too brittle.
If you want a big box for internal add-ons, buy a Mac Pro.
The Mini is the entry. If it is perceived to be too expensive, make a slightly cheaper one, a Mac Micro. Moore's Law is your friend.
Improve the existing Mini slightly. Santa Rosa, a bit of RAM and FW800 are your friends.
IMHO killing the Mac Mini without replacement will trigger a negative network effect. No come on drug, no upgrade.
MR @ May 25th 2007 3:53AM
They better not discontinue the mac mini unless they have a good replacement (not the apple tv). The mac mini is my first and only mac and I love it. I may even get another one if they upgrade it with the same form factor. The rest of the macs are, however, not attractive to me:
Mac Pro - Sure the spec looks impressive but the configurations are not flexible. You end up paying tons for the bundle even though the component prices are reasonable if you compare them one by one.
iMac - Integrating a computer with the bulky monitor is a joke to me. Might as well get a laptop instead.
MacBook/MacBookPro - If I want to go mobile, I want TWO (2) mouse buttons built in. It's tough to use a touch pad. Don't make my life tougher with only a single button! Besides, don't stick with that decade-old survey saying 2 buttons confuse people. Two buttons *might* be confusing to some people back then. But one button definitely frustrates me a whole lot now.
ericlaw02 @ May 25th 2007 4:15AM
Ok, here goes the Mac Mini and...where's our Mac Nano and Mac Shuffle? 2(nd)G(eneration) (Mac) Nano(s) in color, anyone?
wslcrew @ May 25th 2007 4:24AM
I bought one a couple months ago... popped in C2D 2.0Ghz and 2Gb RAM and overall cost was about ~900 dollars. I have a HDTV with PC monitor capability so it works out well for me.
The thing is, Intel processors won't dramatically change much for a while. Yes, Santa Rosa is coming but it's still gonna be around 2Ghz with 64bit dual core setup (and average consumer won't know the difference). Obviously iMacs will eventually move on to Santa Rosa, but how about mini? They won't put a C2D because it will hurt their iMac sales. At the same time, if they leave minis as is, it aint gonna sell because same model has been on sale since last September.
I hope that they continue mac minis... I really do hope that they put a C2D with a proper GPU. My mini has been just fantastic and I will definitely buy another (if it comes out).
JT @ May 25th 2007 4:31AM
OK maybe it's on the higher end of the spectrum, but I got a mini to replace my aging DVD player, and connected it to a NAS. Thanks to Perian and other goodness, I'm not limited (like Apple TV), and can stream all my content directly into front row. Pretty decent performances in my humble opinion. And upgradeable (CPU and HDD...).
zoara @ May 25th 2007 8:27AM
treetrunk; there's an obvious difference between MP3 players and operating systems, and that's lock-in. Once you have bought (sic) thirty Windows applications, it's become very expensive to move to another platform. However, even if you have ten thousand MP3s you can very easily ditch your current player and move to another one.
If it was as easy to move operating systems as it was to move players, I think we'd see more movement to MacOS. If the iPod were as much of a pain in the arse as Windows, surely we'd see more people moving away (as it's so easy to do)?
Just a thought.
humpty @ May 25th 2007 6:44AM
Apple fanbois can bitch all they want... they will forever be an anomaly in the computer and OS world.. in the real world people dont to pay for an os with fewer applications to run, ZERO games, and the said apple tax.
Apple is like the smart car.. cute, but, dont make no sense and are bit players.
StoxBitch @ May 25th 2007 8:55AM
Have you noticed the stock market? dell stocks climbing? how about other PC makers? Here's a clue to the answer:
Dell, the once darling PC seller has to resort to selling crap boxes at Wal Mart. That is admitting defeat right there.
On the other hand? A year ago, Apple stocks were trading @ $50-60 a share. This week? Between $110 -115. Dell? About $25.
They choose quatity over quality. And with that, they get the quantity of quality-less people.
Apple is the only company that makes both hardware & software for their computers, hence less problems.
MS only has to worry about the software end of it, and even with that they lack innovation, originality & reliability.
Probably much like yourself.
Now get back to work, don't you know people hate it when their pizza is overcooked?
zoara @ May 25th 2007 8:18AM
2.2% of lots of money is still lots of money.
Galley @ May 25th 2007 8:34AM
Perhaps Apple is gonna bust out an "Apple TV Pro".
Mike Shaffer @ May 25th 2007 9:27AM
I own 4 Mac mini's (one for each member of the family)...they're great. My daughter uses hers to edit her vids with Final Cut Express HD...just using her 1GB Ram Core Duo box (added a couple of external FW drives but they're cheap! Other than a little slow on the render, it works great. The rest of us just use 'em as general purpose home computers and I bang away as a Java developer in Eclipse and jump into Parallels (yes, it works great on my 2GB machine) when I have to hit my companies VPN, plus I can do some IE testing... So I don't want to hear about the Mini being incapable...not true! All of these machines would have been Dells if Apple didn't have something like the Mini available.
Look at it logically: Apple won't abandon the low end market...they need it for switching. The new Airport Extreme is the same size as the current mini, the AppleTV is a bit bigger (have them both). So there's two scenarios: a new "mini" comes out in the same foot print (6 something inches square), maybe a little taller so they can put in a 3.5" drive? but not much more. Or they make the new mini in the 7.7in square packaga ala Apple TV, it's a little taller (to fit the Superdrive naturally) than the AppleTV, maybe has most of the features but is focused on being the home computer and not for under the TV. Just don't see them getting rid of the segment and making their entry into desktop computers be the 20" iMac (as much as I covet one of those, it's not going to happen...)