When will Apple TV, Mac Mini, and Cinema Display get updated?

[GWestphal]

My guess is the new thunderbolt 2 thinner displays will be out with the Mac Pro next month?

Maybe they will to a "and one more thing..." And update the Mac mini and Apple TV or make it a silent upgrade?

Hopefully an update to support apps on Apple TV or perhaps mirroring makes that unnecessary?

 

[Rottie]

Next year 2014 I guess. Apple have so many thing to do for 2014.

 

[dagamer34]

I'm kinda surprised the Mac Mini didn't get an update this year. The fact Apple often neglects updates for a company their size concerns me.

Thunderbolt Display - likely 2014.
Apple TV - 2014/2015 with 4K/HDMI 2.0 support

 

[Kaido]

I don't know if the AppleTV will get an update for a long time. I think their next move would be a gaming AppleTV @ 1080p because the market proliferation for 4K just isn't there, especially for readily-available source material that can be quickly downloaded or streamed over the Internet at good quality.

There was a 5K wallpaper in Mavericks or Mountain Lion iirc, so maybe a Cinema update down the road...

 

[TheStu]

I'm kinda surprised the Mac Mini didn't get an update this year. The fact Apple often neglects updates for a company their size concerns me.

Thunderbolt Display - likely 2014.
Apple TV - 2014/2015 with 4K/HDMI 2.0 support

Apple has always sort of neglected the Mac Mini though.

 

[GWestphal]

So you don't think they will have the 4K displays available with the Mac Pro? That just seems weird to me. They will offer their flagship desktop and have you buy a premium display from someone besides themselves? That will mean a loss of sales of a 4K screen from all the people who first buy because they won't buy the 4K TBD afterwards if they already bought a 4K display somewhere else.

 

[scannall]

The Mac Mini will likely get a silent upgrade in the next month or two. As far as the Apple TV goes, it's anyone's guess.

As complete speculation I am guessing in March or April, as they could use a 3rd 'event' each year.

 

[Koing]

So you don't think they will have the 4K displays available with the Mac Pro? That just seems weird to me. They will offer their flagship desktop and have you buy a premium display from someone besides themselves? That will mean a loss of sales of a 4K screen from all the people who first buy because they won't buy the 4K TBD afterwards if they already bought a 4K display somewhere else.

4K monitors are NOT cheap.

30Hz cheap 4K screens do not count.

Koing

 

[mmntech]

Apple has always sort of neglected the Mac Mini though.

I wonder how well the Mac Mini actually sells. Something tells me it's probably the lowest performer. Which would explain why Apple tends to neglect them. Folks don't really want stand alone desktops anymore.

I think the same applies for the Cinema Display. I'm a little surprised Apple still makes stand alone monitors given that most of their business is focused on all-in-one systems. I don't see a lot of creative professionals using them anymore. They all have iMacs or MacBooks.

As for the Apple TV, I don't think it will get upgraded until 4K starts going mainstream. It already does everything most people need it to. It just wouldn't benefit from any speed bumps at this time. Unless Apple does want to make it along the same vein as the Ouya. I don't really see them doing that though. I would like to see one with an app store that lets you add different media services.

 

[boomhower]

I can see the Apple TV getting an update sooner than later with an eye towards gaming so a faster chip is needed. Silent update for the mini makes sense as well. I am rather surprised with no 4K monitors. It's not like most of the folks who will be buying the MP couldn't afford them as I imagine the average sale with be north of $4k.

 

[Tegeril]

The 24" 4K Dell monitor leak speaks strongly to an impending 24" Retina Cinema Display. At least, I hope it does

I doubt the Mini will see an update before the Mac Pro does because they don't want to put something out that might eat away at the entry point of the Mac Pro (I know the pricing tiers are totally different, but an HD5000 Mini with PCI-E SSD would have some solid power for certain tasks).

AppleTV will likely get an update in the same time period that the iPad 2 and original iPad Mini go away. Right now they make A5-class hardware for all those devices. Once one goes, they will probably all go. I don't expect this to change for a little while yet...

 

[TheStu]

The 24" 4K Dell monitor leak speaks strongly to an impending 24" Retina Cinema Display. At least, I hope it does

I doubt the Mini will see an update before the Mac Pro does because they don't want to put something out that might eat away at the entry point of the Mac Pro (I know the pricing tiers are totally different, but an HD5000 Mini with PCI-E SSD would have some solid power for certain tasks).

AppleTV will likely get an update in the same time period that the iPad 2 and original iPad Mini go away. Right now they make A5-class hardware for all those devices. Once one goes, they will probably all go. I don't expect this to change for a little while yet...

From what I've been reading, unless you're doing work that is actually going to tap into ALL the cores that the Mac Pro has, AND the GPUs, then there's not much point in getting the Mac Pro. The iMac and rMBP are basically just as fast for 90% of tasks.

As for the 4K monitor... a 32" 4K already costs about $3500, I would figure that a 24" or 27" one would run something like $4000, at least. Miniaturization costs money.

Then again, maybe they are charging that much because they can. The 32" is the same panel density as a 15.6" 1080p display, and a 24" model would basically just be 4x11-12" 1080p panels. No need to re-invent the wheel here.

 

[Tegeril]

Looks like the Dell is gonna be $1400 for the 4K 24". Definitely a retina coming in my mind

 

[TheStu]

Looks like the Dell is gonna be $1400 for the 4K 24". Definitely a retina coming in my mind

Man, it did not take long at all to be proven completely wrong in my price estimate...

If only I had $2100 laying around for that monitor... $1400 for the monitor, and $700 for the 780Ti to drive the damn thing.

 

[Essence_of_War]

The 24'' and 32'' 4k displays from Dell are supposed to be pro-quality monitors, right?

I'm very interested to see how the price point shakes down for their 28'' 4k display, and similarly interested in which of those 4k panels apple is sourcing for their next gen cinema displays.

 

[manly]

I wonder how well the Mac Mini actually sells. Something tells me it's probably the lowest performer. Which would explain why Apple tends to neglect them. Folks don't really want stand alone desktops anymore.

I think the same applies for the Cinema Display. I'm a little surprised Apple still makes stand alone monitors given that most of their business is focused on all-in-one systems. I don't see a lot of creative professionals using them anymore. They all have iMacs or MacBooks.

As for the Apple TV, I don't think it will get upgraded until 4K starts going mainstream. It already does everything most people need it to. It just wouldn't benefit from any speed bumps at this time. Unless Apple does want to make it along the same vein as the Ouya. I don't really see them doing that though. I would like to see one with an app store that lets you add different media services.

I vaguely recall the Mac mini was at one time Apple's best selling desktop computer by units. That may not be saying all that much, but it's a viable product when they actually put some effort into it.

The displays they haven't really cared about in forever, but that isn't because people don't need displays. Margins are generally thin (everybody just buys uncalibrated TN panels) and Apple hasn't figured out how to sell enough units at their typical 30%+ gross profits.

If they wait for 4K displays to go mainstream to upgrade the Apple TV, then that's another relevant product declining through sheer neglect.

 

[dagamer34]

The 24" 4K Dell monitor leak speaks strongly to an impending 24" Retina Cinema Display. At least, I hope it does

I doubt the Mini will see an update before the Mac Pro does because they don't want to put something out that might eat away at the entry point of the Mac Pro (I know the pricing tiers are totally different, but an HD5000 Mini with PCI-E SSD would have some solid power for certain tasks).

AppleTV will likely get an update in the same time period that the iPad 2 and original iPad Mini go away. Right now they make A5-class hardware for all those devices. Once one goes, they will probably all go. I don't expect this to change for a little while yet...

The A5 in the Apple TV is not the same as the iPad 2 or iPad mini. It only has a single CPU core.

 

[boomhower]

The A5 in the Apple TV is not the same as the iPad 2 or iPad mini. It only has a single CPU core.

So it's reject A5's that have a defective core they can't use in the other devices or is genuinely a different process?

 

[TheStu]

So it's reject A5's that have a defective core they can't use in the other devices or is genuinely a different process?

They can't all be rejects. I think there are some of those, but the rest of are just core disabled. Like the old AMD tri-core CPUs, where you could enable Core 4.

 

[Tegeril]

The A5 in the Apple TV is not the same as the iPad 2 or iPad mini. It only has a single CPU core.

I suppose there are details that make differences apparent, but there is likely still some shared development and production involved.

 

[mmntech]

So it's reject A5's that have a defective core they can't use in the other devices or is genuinely a different process?

Probably a bit of both. The ATV is a good way to use up defective cores since they don't really need both.

I wouldn't be shocked if they come out with a new one next year with an A7X processor supporting 4K. The GPU already handles 2K video.