If you believe the word on the street, Apple has a new Mac Pro and Mac mini just chilling by the pool on the Cupertino campus, waiting to be unleashed shortly after Mac OS X Lion gets uncaged in July. That got us thinking: What would we like to see from a new Mac mini, anyway?
Make no mistake, the current Mac mini model is a pretty slick piece of hardware, particularly if you want to integrate a computer into your home theatre setup. Jack an HDMI cable between a Mac mini and your HDTV (or A/V receiver), use one of the many iOS remote apps to control it and you’re in living room heaven.
Of course, the Mac mini also makes a great computer for folks moving from Windows, which was Apple’s initial intention -- as well as anyone who wants something small and powerful, with the ability to bring your own monitor, keyboard and mouse/trackpad. But there’s always room for improvement, so here are a few ways Apple could get us really excited to buy the next Mac mini.
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purplemaizenjm
June 24, 2011 at 9:36pm
That would be and improvement on the mac mini and I would love to see and upgrade on that. I hope Apple does it. Then I can connect the 10.6 to the 10.7 and have 2 mac mini's and will not lose any data programing on my harddrive since my time machine is in frozen state and will not recall anything that has been deleted in the past 24 hours.
ijergreen
June 24, 2011 at 1:25pm
I don't think Lion is going to include support for Front Row though, in which case it won't really support the Apple Remote (the physical aluminium remote, not the iOS app) easily either. That seems to me the easiest way to use this as an HTPC, so for most people I think Apple TV will be better, especially if Apple starts selling a full on physical television set. The new Mac Mini will be best for enthusiasts who want to use internet subscription services like Hulu or Amazon to get their content, or want to use XMBC as their interface, and don't mind controlling their TV with a keyboard and mouse on their coffee table. If Apple TV gets an App Store, that has things like Hulu and Amazon Instant Video, then the Mac Mini will probably become obsolete, or for people who want to watch their own content, or ripped all their DVDs, or for whatever (probably illegal) reason have a large collection of DRM-free TV shows and movies.
Engelsstaub
June 24, 2011 at 3:07am
Number 8:
"Built-to-order/optional AMD Radeon HD 6750M/1GB GDDR5 GPU." :D
I'd happily pay extra for the switchable-graphics muscle. THAT (along with Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt) would make the Mac Mini the ultimate compact desktop!
...well thought out list, though.
J Uribe
June 23, 2011 at 1:49pm
A kensington lock slot is desperately needed. In an open office, the mac mini is so small that it is pretty easy to snatch and place even in a handbag.
Kevind90521
June 23, 2011 at 12:03pm
Never thought about combining the ATV2 with the Mini. Great idea. But for those of us interested in a small form desktop, it would be nice if Apple offered a model without that option. What I really want in this upgrade is Quad Core i5. Unfortunately, Apple may base the new Mini on 13" MBP's which are Dual Core only.
