Rumor: Mac Mini R.I.P. ? Maybe, Maybe Not…

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Apple Insider feels very strongly that the Mac Mini is dead.  After another long winded article explaining the entire history and origin of the Mac Mini, including quite a bit of bashing of the little Mac that could, Apple Insider states the following:

Therefore, it comes as little surprise that sources, for whom AppleInsider holds the utmost respect, are now pointing towards the mini’s impending demise. For it’s according to those people that the miniature Mac will soon follow in the wake of its similarly-proportioned counterparts of years past: the PowerBook 2400, the PowerMac G4 Cube, and, most recently, the 12-inch PowerBook.

Whether Apple will squeeze another revision from the mini, and how long it plans to allow existing models to linger, are both unclear. But as the extended Memorial Day break dawns upon us, the point being driven should be clear:

Ladies and gentlemen, AppleInsider believes in all sincerity that the Mac mini is dead.

There is one line in that that I find particularly interesting: Whether Apple will squeeze another revision from the mini, and how long it plans to allow existing models to linger, are both unclear.

So Apple Insider has announced the death of the Mac Mini…at some point in the future.

They even go so far as to say that we might get another revision out of the product line.  So, while it’s a slow news day, and we all need something to post about…and it is entirely possible that the Mac Mini is not long for this world, I don’t think this one article is quite enough to call the Mac Mini line dead just yet…

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Kossi Adzo

Kossi Adzo is a technology enthusiast and digital strategist with a fervent passion for Apple products and the innovative technologies that orbit them. With a background in computer science and a decade of experience in app development and digital marketing, Kossi brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the Apple Gazette team.

11 thoughts on “Rumor: Mac Mini R.I.P. ? Maybe, Maybe Not…

  1. Actually, I just read a rumor: “A confirmed source has given us this exclusive news about a 16 Core Mac Mini no later than Fourth Quarter 2007”

    I read it on this site, so it must be true.

  2. Yea…just sounds to me like someone wanted to jump on the “i bet we can cause Apple’s stock to fall too” bandwagon. Change will come, and they just wanted to be the first Chicken Littles to say: “SEEEEEE! I TOLD YOU IT WOULD DIE BACK IN 2007!”

    I can’t find an eyerolling icon BIG enough to show how I feel. 😛

  3. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Apple stock did fall, actually, but probably not as a result of this (I hope not). I can imagine that the current configuration of the Mac Mini will not be around much longer after Macworld..after all, they were vague in their wording so as to have an “out.”

  4. I have used a Mac Mini since the week they were introduced. For my business, it works better than any other mac. I simply require web browsing, email and a few other apps to run my business. I have invested in a large LCD, as that is far more important to me than the speed or expandability of my mac. So, they stop making the Mac Mini, great, what options do I have? Purchase a 24″ iMac? Not likely, I already have a sweet 24″ LCD. Buy a Mac Pro? Hardly, that is complete overkill, and it starts at about 5 times the cost of a new Mac Mini. I have sold just about everone I know that uses a PC into buying a Mac Mini, they all love them, they can just chuck their tower and plug all their existing items in, and it works.

    If Apple does decide to do this, they better offer a decent alternative, a headless iMac or a stripped Mac Pro.

  5. Mmm. I’m not so sure that we’ll see the form factor disappear completely.l Why then would they have mad the Apple TV and Airport with the same footprint and basic shape, to stack neatly with the Mac mini? If anything, maybe the Mac mini will merge into the Apple TV?

  6. I couldn’t agree with you more Michael. I think that the mini is a magnificent system. after all it’s what had introduced me for Apple in the first place. I mean, the mac is expensive and this is scaring away switchers like me and once of a sudden, BOOM, Mac mini $500. So I went like everyone else and grabbed myself one. Now, I am a mac user thanks to the mini. You take the mini away. You will scare all switchers away too because, we are computer users and we need a computer not a toy called Apple TV. What do you think?

  7. Perfect point Adam. I also noticed that they made the new Airport Extreme and Apple TV exactly like the Mac mini in terms of the foot print and shape. So this muct be having some significance unless…

    They are either a complement or a replacement !! Who knows?!

  8. Remember the cube, the nice little machine all the fans wooed when they saw it, then they didn’t buy. Same things happening for the MacMini. Why? I know the reason from myself. Because of the huge power supply. Like me, many people don’t like these external power supplies. Even the Steve Jobs himself. When he launches a new product without the external power supply, he especially points out that. Also the restricted size of 2.5 inch hard disk is a problem.
    Some third party manufacturers produced external hard disk and hub combo boxes, but they added another external power supply to the combination. Actually the solution is in the hands of hard disk enclosure makers like NewerTech, LaCie, iOmega. They should squeeze room for a 3.5 inch hard drive, POWER SUPPLY of enclosure and MAC MINI and USB, Firewire ports into a MacMini size of box. I don’t mean the original MacMini power supply but the power circuit for the Mini. Also a short cable set for setting the box under the mac mini and another long cable set. Wouldn’t it be nice.

  9. This mac mini might die, just as the cube did. However when the cube died, there was a sucessor, I don’t think its the last of a small cheap mac we will see if it does bite the dust. However I really wish they would keep it around. I like the little guy, a real nice server/media center. It would be a shame to shelf it, but on the same note, I doubt they sell many.

  10. It would be silly to drop it. It is too perfect for switchers. I know many people who decided to give Macs a try with it, and they loved it. It’s a Mac that’s cheap enough for people to buy just to try. Most people have an extra monitor already, so it’s not a huge cost to get a “semi-up-to-date” computer.

    It’s still much better than an appleTV as a Media server too. (I’m not very excited about the appleTV, it seems like an expensive toy)

    I do wish they would get the price back down to $499 though. A price under $500 is much more appealing.

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