Apple is expected to release new desktops in the coming months. They are expected to refresh their entire desktop line (iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro). Let’s discuss each of the computers in detail and how they will refresh in the coming months. Let’s start with the Mac mini.

Mac mini

The Mac mini is one of Apple’s best selling computers, mostly due to its small size, great specs and its also the cheapest computer they sell ($599 base price). It is one of Apple’s greatest selling computers to date. The 2011 model (current generation) is very thin (because there is no disc drive), it is light because of not having a disc drive, and it is small. It has either a 2.3 or 2.5GHz processor that is very fast. It has the second generation processors (Sandy Bridge) with a possible configuration of more RAM than the standard 2 GB. They come with a spacious 500 GB, plenty for many. And if it isn’t then you can configure it to more space. It truly is a great machine for such a small price. But of course there is always room for improvements. Let’s cover the improvements that the new Mac mini is sure to have.

2012 Mac mini

I predict that the new Mac mini will come in either the fiscal Q4 2012 or the fiscal Q1 2013 years, both of which are interestingly in the actual year of 2012. It will have internal changes and may or may not have external changes.

Price and availability

I believe that the price of the Mac mini will not change. The prices will stay the same at $599 and $799 for lower and higher ends respectively. As for availability, I think that Apple will refresh all of their desktops by the end of the year, most likely at the end of this year, or beginning of next year.

Ivy Bridge

Apple’s next move for its computers is to switch to the third generation Intel Ivy Bridge processors. The new Mac minis will with certainty have the new Ivy Bridge processors. Apple will apply it to both models of the Mac mini.

I/O

I predict that even with all the ports the Mac mini has now, it will certainly have another thunderbolt port. It will be changed from USB 2.0 to 3.0 and they will have 4 of those ports. I believe that they might not keep the Gigabit port nor the Firewire port. Other than that, the ports do not change.

Apple TV size

The Mac mini design now is a piece of art, really. It really has a lot of power to it even though it is very small. It may become even smaller and still pack an even more powerful punch. The Mac mini can go down to the size of the Apple TV. For those of you who own an Apple TV or at least seen one, you know how small it is. It truly is very small. The exact size is as follows: .9 inches high, 3.9 inches wide, 3.9 inches depth, and it is not even a pound. This compares favorably to the current Mac mini which is as follows: 1.4 inches high, 7.7 inches wide, 7.7 inches depth and it is just under 3 pounds. If Apple can get it down to the Apple TV size, that would be remarkable, a true technological and design breakthrough, something Sir Jony Ive is very good at doing. The probability of it happening now may not be that high, but there will be a day where it will happen. Of course, that cant happen unless Apple starts using…

SSD

Thats right, you read it. I predict Apple will be using SSD in its coming computers. I believe that the space that the computers will come with will go down, but I rather have less storage than have a HDD that dies in 5 years. You see, HDD or Hard Drives are something Apple uses in most of their computers now and HDDs are an older technology that can get noisy, it can break easily because of moving parts and its not as fast as SSD. I predict that if Apple does this the amount of storage will go down to 256 GB SSD standard with an option to put 500 GB SSD but trust me, it is definitely worth it to have SSD over HDD. And if it isn’t enough space for you, you can always get an external drive.

RAM and Graphics

I predict that Apple will stop the ludicrous 2 GB of RAM and update it to 4 GB of RAM standard, upgradable to hopefully 16 GB of RAM. Just as they did to the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display and the MacBook Airs, they probably will solder the RAM to the board which will anger some people. The graphics will be upgraded to the standard Intel 4000 graphics they put into the new notebooks. Both of these upgrades are expected and anticipated in the next model.

The Mac mini is a great machine which is expected to have a great update. I can’t wait to see what Apple is going to do with the new Mac mini. It will be an exciting update! Let me know what you want to see in the new Mac minis coming soon in the comments.

Thanks for reading,

Joe