Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0
No kidding. That's kinda been the approach all this time. It's either been $499 or starting at $699. User upgradeable, or welded shut. Silver or space grey (nd back to silver). Neglected for years, or included in the opening round of a new chip transition. 
I don't think they have the first idea of what to do with the thing either. It kinda shows. It's like this little side project/toy they keep around to amuse themselves. When they're tired of watch or iPad and notebook stuff, they screw around with the Mac mini for run and relaxation. |
Yuuuup.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0
A shame, because at $499 it would be the end-all/be-all "get 'em in the door" Mac (and/or a ~$800 Air). While Apple will never go "bargain basement blowout" and "cheap", they can't/shouldn't offer all "premium" either.
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For the Mac mini, I think that time has passed.
In 2005, the scenario of "you have a Windows XP machine with a cheap monitor, keyboard, mouse, and tower, and it does most of what you need but is kinda eh, and now you simply replace that fat tower with the tiny Mac mini desktop and plug d/k/m in" wasn't that uncommon.
But in 2021, it might be. People overwhelmingly have laptops instead, and so they might not even have a monitor at all. Maybe not a keyboard and mouse either, if the laptop's built-in inputs don't suck. Really, the new scenario is "you have a
Chromebook, and it does most of what you need but is kinda eh".
Like you said, a $800 Air is far more likely to have that spot. And that just might happen: have the M2 Air roll around and, Tim Cook-style, keep the existing M1 Air around for a few years, discounted by $200. (MacBook Air SE?
)
Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0
*The iPhone, a decade from now, will be something so different that we probably can't even imagine it (a folding piece of transparent glass...real Star Trek shit, I'm betting),
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Yup.
The answer to many "why is Apple doing it this way?" questions is:
this is their agenda
Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0
but the Mac will still be there too. More than ever, IMO. I think we've just seen the tip of the iceberg on this transition.
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I'm excited!