Mac mini and MacBook Air rumors

Mark Gurman is reporting that we’ll see an updated Mac mini and a new Mac laptop that’s the successor to the MacBook Air.

Apple is also planning the first upgrade to the Mac mini in about four years. It’s a Mac desktop that doesn’t include a screen, keyboard, or mouse in the box and costs $500. The computer has been favored because of its lower price, and it’s popular with app developers, those running home media centers, and server farm managers. For this year’s model, Apple is focusing primarily on these pro users, and new storage and processor options are likely to make it more expensive than previous versions, the people said.

I’ve been waiting for an update to the mini for a while now, so I’d probably be happy with just about anything. The direction that Gurman says Apple is taking this in interests me even more. My current mini lives on my desk at work and gets used as a general purpose desktop. I don’t use it for anything truly taxing, but I could definitely use something with a bit more grunt than past entry-level configurations.

Gurman also describes a new 13" laptop that seems to be the successor to the MacBook Air:

The new laptop will look similar to the current MacBook Air, but will include thinner bezels around the screen. The display, which will remain about 13-inches, will be a higher-resolution “Retina” version that Apple uses on other products, the people said.

This isn’t really a product for me (I’m much more interested in the rumored thin-bezel iPad Pro with FaceID), but I’m sure a lot of people will be excited that we’ll finally have a low-cost, general-purpose Retina Mac laptop.

3 Likes

I really, really hope the part about a Mini refresh is true. I’m about to move for a job soon and what better way to start my own home server than an updated Mac Mini?

3 Likes

I have 2 MacBook Pro’s. One for work - 2015 - that I use heavily. The other - 2011 - won’t run Mojave and so is not long for this world.

The 2011 one is relegated to iPhone / iPad occasional encrypted backups and Photos. (From the dates you can tell I bought it well before my employer offered me a MBP.)

My intention would be to buy a new Mini and expect that to last me until it can’t support the then-current Mac OS (or whatever the OS will be called then). :slight_smile:

As I have a work MBP I don’t need/want a personal one so Mac Mini would be the ideal form factor. (I already have 3-way switching Logitech Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, plus a screen, so Mini is just 1 box to buy.)

But I won’t buy until/unless the Mini gets updated.

If rumors about an updated Mac mini holds true, I think my heart will stop :blush:

1 Like

also hoping for a refresh on both
apple seems to realize (now that the numbers back it up) the current macbook line isn’t working

team - refresh the air!!!

I’ve got a Mac Mini downstairs that was my main machine for a while and it’s now a media server. No need to replace it, but if the spec bump is decent on a new Mini, then that will likely be my new desktop. I’ll give my 13” Air to my wife to replace the 2010 MBP she has now that I gave to her a few years ago.

I’m running a early 2011 Mac Mini i5. I’ve updated as much as I can with16 Gb RAM and a 500Gb SSD but it is on its last update of software with High Sierra. It has done me well but it is time to upgrade, not least to better screens. I have been waiting for an announcement and this autumn I am likely to either get a new Mac Mini (if one is announced) or swap to an iMac. There is still life in my current Mac Mini but it owes me nothing having had it nearly 8 years…

1 Like

How realistic do folk think this is? I’d be interested in a Mini…