RIP: Mac Mini (2005 - 2008)

Subject: RIP: Mac Mini (2005 - 2008) October 22nd 2008, 12:26 am

The Mac mini may be pronounced dead as soon as today's Apple earnings conference call, as two major retailers in Europe have confirmed to me that they can't order any more of the little computers. While this could signal an updated model coming in, they have been told by Apple to expect no more of it. Their impression is that—once again—the Mac Mini may be dead dead DEAD for real, even while you can still order it at the Apple Store.

It would be weird to see it go in this time of crisis, but being their worst-selling computer, I'm not surprised.

The Mac mini was first introduced in January 2005 at the Macworld Conference & Expo. Labeled by Steve Jobs as the "most affordable Mac ever" it was well received by the critic and public. Apple positioned it as a cheap alternative to the Mac Pro for every PC user who wanted to switch to the Mac without having to buy new peripherals.

However, the son of the Apple Cube failed to grab traction, just like its predecessor. As the iMac and MacBooks kept being the number one sellers for the Cupertino company, the Mac mini kept receding into the background, even while receiving six hardware updates since its introduction. The last one was in November 2007, and it's quite outdated compared to the current hardware: Unlike the rest of the Mac hardware, it lacks 802.11n support, uses the older 667 MHz front side bus and 945GM chipset, which is two generations behind everything else.

If the termination of the Mac mini is finally confirmed, it will be sad to see it go. Hopefully, this may mean that a new update is in the works or that it will get replaced by something else, but seeing how most people don't seem to give a damn about the Apple Tax, judging from the MacBooks selling like hot cakes at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, I won't count on it.

Kid Sister From : NYC OS : Mac OS X

who wrote this? source link please? wink

Subject: Re: RIP: Mac Mini (2005 - 2008) October 22nd 2008, 8:25 pm

"Before Apple's quarterly earnings call, which took place 2 p.m. PDT Tuesday, some were speculating that the company would kill off its Mac mini. However, Apple made no mention of its long-neglected portable desktop during the call.

Gizmodo received the tip this morning from European Apple retailers who said they were told to cease ordering the mini computers. Because Apple didn't announce discontinuing the product, this might indicate the company plans to roll out an upgrade for the device soon.

It's certainly understandable why some would suspect Apple was killing off the Mac mini: The device hasn't seen an upgrade in 441 days; before the stagnation, Apple refreshed the computer after 188 days, according to MacRumors. Many have been predicting the Mac mini's impending doom for months.

We'll look into this further Wednesday and provide an update. Meanwhile, check out Wired.com's coverage of Apple's quarterly earnings call, where Steve Jobs made a rare appearance to announce that Apple has become the third largest handset maker in the world thanks to the iPhone."

Gizmodo

Veteran Member

Maybe not RIP, just yet. Hot off the MacRumors press.

"MacMiniColo.net, an internet hosting company that has a vested interest in Apple's Mac mini computers, has published a "State of the Mac mini" report in which they claim that they have heard that a new Mac mini is on the way. Specifically, they believe (with some certainty) that it will gain the following specs:

- A new Mini DisplayPort
- Increase in max RAM to 4GB
- SATA Optical drive (instead of ATA/IDE)

MacMiniColo.net certainly has a financial interest in the continuation of the Mac mini and, as a result, may be in the position to have heard about its fate. The hosting company also dispels the notion that the Mac mini is selling poorly and believes that the mini is still a very popular model both for businesses and consumers."

Regular Visitor OS : Vista and OSx

huh i could see it happening its not selling much but it is odd that it would go out so quickly

Subject: Re: RIP: Mac Mini (2005 - 2008) December 11th 2008, 10:28 pm

it's time they update the mac mini. still too expensive for it's hardware.

Veteran Member

If the Mini isn't updated in January or at least announced by Apple, then I'd say its probably dead. I guess we'll have to wait and see.