It’s rare that Apple would release a device to disappointed reactions, especially a more major one like a new Mac Mini. And yet, the 2014 model of the mini desktop computer is quickly turning into one of the least successful the company has seen, even though its original announcement was met with a lot of enthusiasm from the crowds. People were, for the most part, just happy to see an update to the Mac Mini line – but once the actual new features were unveiled, that happiness quickly turned to major indifference.
Most of the new goodies that Mac Mini owners will see were already featured in other Macs for quite some time now, and they’re nothing new under the sun. The 802.11ac Wi-Fi support, flash storage and other similar features didn’t manage to impress users, even when Apple revealed that the new Mac Mini would cost $100 less than before.
The bad news didn’t stop there, however, as it was soon revealed that Apple have actually taken a step back in some aspects of the device’s design. The RAM is no longer upgradable, something Apple have been criticized for a long time for, and which they managed to fix recently – according to critics, the company’s decision to revert to soldered RAM makes practically no sense, at least from a MARKETING point of view. Yes, they will likely see some extra profits from the added sales for more expensive models with more RAM – but when this comes at the cost of a serious blow to their reputation, the benefit of such a move has been put to question.
And last but not least, comparisons in the machine’s specifications against previous models have revealed that the performance of the Mac Mini has actually regressed compared to some models, even though it’s still an improvement over the 2012 model in the single-core department.
Mac Mini 2014
Apple were in a tricky situation – if they had delayed the release of the Mac Mini any longer, fans would have expected something even more out of the device, and then there would be even more of a burden on Apple to deliver something extraordinary. On the other hand, most experts are of the opinion that the Mac Mini 2014 could have done a lot better with just a few extra months of work behind the scenes. It’s hard to say how things could have gone differently, now that the device is actually on the MARKET, but Apple now have a serious responsibility to improve their offer with the next release of the Mac Mini, whenever they decide to put out a new version of the computer.
Most of the new goodies that Mac Mini owners will see were already featured in other Macs for quite some time now, and they’re nothing new under the sun. The 802.11ac Wi-Fi support, flash storage and other similar features didn’t manage to impress users, even when Apple revealed that the new Mac Mini would cost $100 less than before.
The bad news didn’t stop there, however, as it was soon revealed that Apple have actually taken a step back in some aspects of the device’s design. The RAM is no longer upgradable, something Apple have been criticized for a long time for, and which they managed to fix recently – according to critics, the company’s decision to revert to soldered RAM makes practically no sense, at least from a MARKETING point of view. Yes, they will likely see some extra profits from the added sales for more expensive models with more RAM – but when this comes at the cost of a serious blow to their reputation, the benefit of such a move has been put to question.
And last but not least, comparisons in the machine’s specifications against previous models have revealed that the performance of the Mac Mini has actually regressed compared to some models, even though it’s still an improvement over the 2012 model in the single-core department.
Mac Mini 2014
Apple were in a tricky situation – if they had delayed the release of the Mac Mini any longer, fans would have expected something even more out of the device, and then there would be even more of a burden on Apple to deliver something extraordinary. On the other hand, most experts are of the opinion that the Mac Mini 2014 could have done a lot better with just a few extra months of work behind the scenes. It’s hard to say how things could have gone differently, now that the device is actually on the MARKET, but Apple now have a serious responsibility to improve their offer with the next release of the Mac Mini, whenever they decide to put out a new version of the computer.
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