
Apple Is Planning a New Low-Cost MacBook, Pro-Focused Mac Mini - minimaxir
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-20/apple-is-said-to-plan-revamped-low-cost-macs-to-reignite-sales
======
gxespino
Too little, too late. I bought an X1 Carbon earlier this summer and have been
pleasantly surprised by Ubuntu.

I don't think I'll be in the market again for another 2-3 years and by then I
may be fully sold on Linux.

I was a hardcore mac enthusiast from 2006-2018... But the past few years have
resulted in a lot of disdain for the company.

~~~
kjsthree
Same here. At least for the moment I’m happily running Arch on an X1. Not that
there aren’t tradeoffs but man, Apple has been killing me the last few years.
I can’t do the dongle life.

~~~
chrisseaton
What do you plug in that means you need dongles?

Your screen can go into the USB-C, so can power. What else are you plugging
into a laptop that can't be done over WiFi or Bluetooth?

~~~
kjsthree
Yes, a screen’s HDMI can go to USB-C… with a dongle. Am I guaranteed the
upstairs conference room will have one? Nope, better pack the dongle. USB
drives, USB headphone/mic adapter, the list goes on and on. I’m not saying it
has to bother you but it does me.

~~~
closetohome
And when the MacBook had HDMI I had to carry dongles for VGA and DisplayPort.
One person's native format is another's required adapter.

~~~
mclehman
Sure, but HDMI and mini-DisplayPort covered my needs pretty well without
adapters. Was it perfect? No. Was it usually enough? Yes.

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eberkund
I really hope the lower cost MacBook is actually just the MacBook Pro without
the touchbar.

~~~
flyrain
And with TouchId

~~~
faitswulff
Why not FaceID? I'd appreciate that in a laptop.

~~~
drcode
If they can also get a snazzy notch into the laptop, like on the iPhoneX,
they'll earn another customer!

/s

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pwthornton
I'm kind of intrigued by what a pro-focused Mac Mini could be.

I agree on the top level that a desktop computer in 2018 is actually probably
more niche and pro focused than laptops, which have become the default
computers for people.

But Apple has the iMac Pro and the upcoming Mac Pro update. So, what would a
pro-focused Mac Mini be? It would need the reliability of a desktop machine,
something the laptops have struggled with.

I guess I could see this being useful for someone who wants external displays,
but doesn't need that much power.

~~~
smacktoward
Apple does have one fairly unusual pro-level use case, which is that you need
to have a macOS machine if you want to develop iOS applications. Having a
relatively low-cost (i.e. under $1,000) macOS machine you can plug into an
existing monitor and keyboard makes iOS development easier to get into for
people and companies who aren't already 100% Apple-focused. A reasonably
spec'ed updated Mac Mini would fill that niche nicely.

~~~
slivym
Just a different form factor for the new macbook without a display, maybe
$700?

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mpg33
I just wanted an updated mac mini...not a "pro" model. Whenever Apple attaches
the word 'pro' on a product it usually means "a fuck ton more expensive".

~~~
fermienrico
I feel like no matter what Apple does, people will never be happy.

If it was a “consumer” Mac Mini, you’d complain “Apple has given up on Pro
users”.

I recommend waiting until they come out with pricing and the details before
writing it off glibly.

~~~
overcast
You know what would have made developers happy? Regular refreshes on the
cheese grater tower. THAT IS ALL ANYONE HAS EVER WANTED. Nope, we get a
trashcan that is over priced, can't be upgraded, and also still gets zero
updates.

~~~
weaksauce
The cheese grater mac was really incredibly designed. it's a shame they
decided to limit things with the trashcan one. apple if you are listening
please let people upgrade or at least replace parts when something goes bad in
the desktop line. don't make the desktop a huge ipad.

~~~
fermienrico
Agree - Looks like Apple has listened and they are working on a new modular
Mac Pro machine : [https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/05/apples-2019-imac-pro-
will-...](https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/05/apples-2019-imac-pro-will-be-
shaped-by-workflows/)

~~~
saagarjha
“Modular” might mean “you can plug in a bunch of things with Thunderbolt”,
mind you.

~~~
coldtea
They already did that with the "can" pro design and they said this will be
different and more upgradable.

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halfmatthalfcat
I still have a Late 2012 Mac Mini i7 and it runs great. Upgraded the RAM to
16GB and put in an SSD, runs like a dream. Would definitely look at upgrading
if the newer ones were compelling enough.

~~~
CodeWriter23
Are you developing for iOS 11 with it?

~~~
halfmatthalfcat
It handles everything I throw at it (Scala/Akka/Node, Docker, Discord, Slack,
Million Chrome Tabs, ect etc etc)

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minimaxir
Note that this has been rumored for awhile, but since this post is by Mark
Gurman, it has much more weight.

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chronstruct
Dated Mac Minis were the thing that pushed me over the edge with Apple, and
back to Windows. Then multiple reasons lead me back to Linux, and finally back
to Mac :P.

Much too late to save me from trying every other OS again, but I'll still be
happy to finally have a modern Mini.

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AdamCraven
Back in around 2012, when I was working at at consultancy, they had slowly
started replacing MacBook Pros for Mac Minis.

The case was simple: greatly reduced cost for IT and the same, if not better,
performance than the MacBook Pros.

I think Apple saw this pattern. If they'd carried on matching the laptop chips
in core counts and with eGPUs on the horizon, you would have been able to
build a desktop computer, with a faster graphics card than the Mac Pro with
and a great monitor with spare change left over.

On benchmarks it would beat the Mac Pro in single core performance and have a
better GPU.

It makes sense they crippled it until now.

They've realigned it into their line up with an expected very powerful Mac
Pro, which if this is anything to go by may indicate they are not worried
about GPU performance being close to the Mac Pro. Expect it to be priced
similar to a MacBook Pro, minus screen, with similar performance.

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wilsonnb3
There is an almost 100% chance of me buying one of those when they come out.

I already have a Windows desktop and I'd love a small Mac desktop for iOS
development and Unix stuff to keep on my desk too.

If the laptop is cheap and fast enough, I might instead replace my Thinkpad
x220 running Fedora because I do occasionally want to do some computing away
from my desk.

Either way, good on Apple for expanding the product line. That's what
everyone's been asking for, but I'm sure that because it's Apple were talking
about a vocal minority will be out in force to tell us why this decision
sucks.

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j45
Owning a unicorn 2012 quad-core i7 Mac mini for use as a server.. (more
horsepower than the current i7 dual-core Mac mini) ..

The Mac mini love might be a little late:

\- Intel NUC is a compelling option especially the high end ones with GPU.
Ubuntu is excellent on this. So is docker. And on and on.

\- Mac minis were the Original NUCs in a lot of ways in terms of
performance/watt. If current Mac minis hit $1200, a $2000 touch point wouldn't
be out of the question.

\- Still it would be interesting might be the ability to stack and connect
multiple Mac mini pros to create a new Xserve...?

One can hope, I suppose.

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raverbashing
I'm strongly suspecting this new "low cost" MacBook will be the first to have
an Arm chip

~~~
freehunter
I think if the options are a Macbook running ARM or an iPad being used like a
Mac, I'd prefer the iPad used as a Mac. If we had mouse support and a way to
set up a new sandbox to run arbitrary code temporarily (but still securely)
like spinning up a Docker instance, we'd be there already. Meanwhile a Macbook
running on ARM needs all new software and will necessarily have things it
can't run, with the extra negative of not having 10 years of apps built
specifically for the platform.

Basically, use the platform they already have to its full potential, rather
than creating a new platform in a slowing niche.

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abridgett
For about 2 years and then it'll abandon it again.

Witness: \- mac mini (for most of it's life) \- mac pro (G5, dustbin variant)
\- both low and high end laptops at different times

Basically you can't buy Apple and expect to stay up to date by the looks of
things.

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Cyph0n
Any predictions on the price of the rumored "low-cost" MacBook?

~~~
snowwrestler
Sounds like it is replacing the Macbook Air, so I'd guess it will start around
$999.

~~~
Isamu
The previous low cost entry was the MacBook Air 11", I think the base model
was $899. I would like to see them start around there. Small is nice.

~~~
robin_reala
Still soldiering on with my 2012 Macbook Air 11″. A bit more horsepower would
be nice as would 16Gb rather than 8Gb, but I don’t want the extra weight or
size (or Touchbar) of the Pro. An i5 MacBook with 16Gb memory is over £1500
and feels like only a moderate upgrade over my current laptop. Hoping that
whatever Apple release is 11″ or 12″, although I’m pretty certain it won’t be.

~~~
emp
It's still my favourite machine ever. Mine has dual core i7, the MacBooks
don't look like an upgrade in any way.

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aczerepinski
Depending on specs this might work for me. I'm on a 2013 iMac but I don't want
to replace it with another iMac because I need (and already have) a second
monitor to connect my work laptop to. I'd love something with the power of a
current (non-pro) iMac. Don't know if that means a top of line mac mini or a
bottom of line mac pro.

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ckluis
Just posted this, but what if the Mac Mini could be paired with an iPad for
screen/keyboard and portable use?

[https://ckluis.com/rumored-mac-mini-
pro-7feed0cc38b2](https://ckluis.com/rumored-mac-mini-pro-7feed0cc38b2)

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walterbell
Will the new Mini have a T2 processor for secure boot and disk encryption?

~~~
wmf
All future Macs will have T chips; why wouldn't they?

~~~
walterbell
The Mini doesn't include a touch bar that requires a T2.

~~~
ghostly_s
Neither does the iMac Pro; the T2 is a security device first, touch input
controller second.

~~~
lispm
It does all kinds of stuff. It is also the SSD/Flash controller running
Apple's own software for it.

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cutler
No mention of the Macbook Pro then. My eyesight can't cope with the 13/12"
models and the only alternative right now is a Macbook Pro which can't handle
the heat generated by its processor. I thought Mac Mini and Pro were opposite
ends of the spectrum? Sounds like a bit of "creative" marketing to me.

~~~
willio58
The MacBook Pro overheating problem was completely fixed with a software
update a month or so back if I remember correctly.

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twerpy_d
I have a 2013 Air. I wish the ram was extendable :/

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duxup
Chromebook competitor?

~~~
wilsonnb3
I doubt it would be cheap enough to compete with most Chromebooks, and the
depending on how you spec it the 12" MacBook and the 13" MacBook pro without
touchbar already compete with the high end Chromebooks like the Pixelbook

~~~
duxup
You might be right about the first part.... but I don't think if Apple were
worried about Chromebooks that they'd be concerned with the Pixelbook... more
so the educational market eating up the low cost Chromebooks.

~~~
wilsonnb3
Apple is hugely concerned about low cost Chromebooks eating the educational
market, but it's because they want them to be using iPads not Macs.

Releasing the $329 dollar 2017 iPad was a direct response to Chromebooks in
the educational market. It was actually a rather unusual product for Apple. It
replaced the iPad Air 2 and did have a newer processor, but saved on cost by
being thicker than the Air 2 and lacking a laminated screen. For reference,
the Air 2 was the first iPad to have a laminated screen and the current iPad
Pro models still do.

~~~
duxup
Makes sense thanks

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OKWhatNow
Normally I would be excited, but now when I hear about Apple updating any Mac
hardware I get worried about what will be removed or broken next.

It will be very disappointing to me if yet another laptop comes out of Apple
with no useful ports, an unreliable keyboard, and the goofy Touch Bar.

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desireco42
First: Apple, take my money.

Second: Honestly until you show me real things, I am not seriously counting on
such news reports. Apple failed to show interest in laptop and desktop
machines and is fully focused on phones. I am looking for Intel's Canyon Hades
Nuc as a replacement for my old iMac.

~~~
DonaldPShimoda
> Apple failed to show interest in laptop and desktop machines and is fully
> focused on phones.

Well they overhauled the laptops not too long ago, and the Mac Pro is
receiving a complete overhaul and is due out sometime next year, I think.
(They're also working on a new pro display, they mentioned.)

I'm not saying all their updates have been phenomenal, but they are definitely
spending some non-zero time on these things.

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newswriter99
I've been hunting around for a new netbook that would bridge the gap between
portable and durable. This isn't it.

It really burns that most reporters turn to Apple products, a brand for which
I have SEVERAL criticisms. My main complaint being that people purchase their
products as fashion statements/status symbols first, and as tools second.

The situation is compounded by the fact that journalism schools like Columbia
swear by Apple stuff, and only mention Android/Windows as an afterthought.

[https://journalism.columbia.edu/technology-
guide-2016-2017](https://journalism.columbia.edu/technology-guide-2016-2017)

~~~
PascLeRasc
Your main criticism of Apple products is other users' motivation for buying
them?

~~~
macintux
Seeing other people happy for seemingly inexplicable reasons is maddening.

~~~
freehunter
The only time you should worry about someone's happiness is when they're
unhappy. Their reasons for being happy are their own and no one else's.

~~~
macintux
I didn’t say it was rational, but who hasn’t complained at some point that the
music their (kids/parents/neighbors) love is garbage?

(And to be clear, I value what Apple brings to the table, but I see too much
of this sort of complaint not to recognize its origin.)

~~~
freehunter
In reality, it's just gatekeeping. _Those_ people can't _possibly_ appreciate
the thing they have, so they don't deserve to have it. I see the same thing
with so many other things: that "soccer mom" doesn't use that Jeep for off-
roading, so she's not a real Jeep owner. That old man can't drive his Corvette
the way it _should_ be driven so it's a waste. That amateur guitarist doesn't
deserve that Gibson Les Paul, he should have the Epiphone Les Paul Jr.

Some people have such a need to be unhappy or offended constantly. It's really
not healthy.

~~~
macintux
I was trying to be generous, but yes. As a card-carrying member of the Jeep
and IT communities, yes.

