Tim Cook Says Mac Mini Will Remain In Apple's Future Product Lineup
Apple has done very well with its Mac computers in recent years, even if it tends to focus more on the MacBook line often to the detriment of its desktop products. Apple let the Mac Pro, iMac, and Mac Mini fall by the wayside as it focused on smartphones and notebooks over the last few years. It has been three years since the Mac Mini was updated, leaving it using significatively older hardware than similarly-priced Windows products.
Some Mac faithful simply don't want a notebook and prefer a desktop form-factor. There are other who aren't interested in the iMac all-in-one or the super expensive Mac Pro, leaving the Mac Mini as the only interesting product in the Mac line. A person called Krar took it upon himself to email Apple CEO Tim Cook and ask exactly what was going on with the Mac Mini.
Surprisingly, Cook answered the email. Cook's response noted that while it wasn't time to share details on a new model, the Mac Mini would be part of the Apple product line moving forward. That implies that at least the Mini isn't being discontinued. Some fans feared that such a long span sans update was a way for Apple to simply sell off existing stock and eliminate the product. When Apple unveiled the new Mac Pro, Phil Schiller mentioned the Mac Mini stating, "The Mac mini is an important product in our lineup and we weren't bringing it up because it's more of a mix of consumer with some pro use."
If you aren't a Mac user and aren't familiar with the Mac mini, it's a small form factor machine that comes with no accessories at all. You need to bring your own keyboard, mouse and monitor to the mix. The upside to the machine is that it starts at only $499. For the money you are certainly getting specs of a machine from three years ago. It has a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 4GB of RAM, 500GB of storage, and Intel HD Graphics 5000.
At $699, you get a faster dual-core 2.6GHz Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and Intel Iris Graphics. On the high-end you get a 2.8GHz dual-core Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 1TB Fusion drive, and Intel Iris Graphics for $999.
