Apple’s trio of Mac Minis released way back in 2011 are loosing Cupertino’s support, consigning them to the annals of vintage devices.
The rather long-in-the-tooth Mac machines were added to a list Apple uses to keep track of the devices it no longer supports and considers to be vintage and obsolete.
For anyone still using Mac Minis from 2011, this means that come 2019 you’ll no longer be qualified for Apple repairs or services for the palm-sized computers. So you’ll either have to go to an independent computer store or get familiar with the innards of a Mac Mini if something goes wrong on the hardware side.
The end of the Mac Mini range looks to be nigh as well, given it hasn’t seen a refresh since 2014, which is an age in the world of Apple products.
That being said, Apple chief executive Tim Cook recently said that the Mac Mini will form an “important part of our product line going forward”. But Cupertino has shown no sign that it’s putting much effort into creating a modernised Mac Mini.
Of course, Apple keeps all its upcoming products under wraps for as long as possible, so there’s still a change that in 2018 we could see a redesigned Mac Mini with features that make it a compelling macOS machine to buy over say a Macbook or iMac.
With the work Nvidia has been doing on making laptop GPUs competitive with their desktop variants, and the new wave of Intel and AMD processors, the hardware is certainly on offer for Apple to do something interesting with the Mac Mini.
Related: Best desktop PCs 2017
Should Apple just let the Mac Mini fade away or would you like to see a refresh? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
