Mac Mini Remains an Important Product says Apple Executive; Company Planning a Reboot?

Apple executive Phil Schiller, during a recent roundtable discussion, announced that the Mac Mini is still an important product in Apple's line-up. Schiller's statement could mean that Apple is finally planning an update or a reboot for the Mac Mini. Either way, this is good news for the Mac Mini.

According to Daring Fireball, Apple gathered a number of tech pundits in its headquarters in Cupertino, California for a roundtable discussion. Apple isn't big on sharing information when it comes to product development but it turns that the tech giant has news to share. The discussion mostly focused on Apple's future projects concerning the Mac Pro and iMac, but it did touch on the Mac Mini.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP of worldwide marketing, reassures the consumers that the Mac Mini remains an integral part of Apple's product line-up. The Mac Mini is widely known as Apple's much-neglected brainchild. Not that the Mac Mini line is a failure or that it has bombed out in the market. It's just a situation of, as Schiller himself stated: "more of a mix of the consumer with some pro use."

According to Apple Insider, Schiller's comments regarding the Mac Mini could mean that Apple is finally going to turn its eye on the neglected one, albeit not necessarily immediately. Without a built-in display, the Mac Mini has been widely used as a server or a media set-top. As for upgrading the next generation Mac Mini, Apple Insider is suggesting that the tech giant will presumably focus on upgrading its processor, Ram, and storage, while also possibly adding an SSD option, a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3.

That said, Schiller's reassurance that the Mac Mini is still alive, albeit still being pushed aside in favor of other Apple projects, means that it is still in the fold. It could also mean that the Mac Mini will soon be subjected to future re-development (read: reboot) just like what Apple claims to be doing with the Mac Pro.

Whether the Mac Mini will be redesigned, retooled, or completely rebooted, consumers won't find out until the actual reveal of the product comes. However, with Apple breaking from tradition as evidenced by this recent roundtable discussion, Apple's patrons could finally get the information right from the used-to-be-tight-lipped mouths of Apple executives.

One thing is certain though, the Mac Mini has endured years of neglect and it still lives. That alone is a testament of how good the Mac Mini is, and it also gives hope that next generation Mac Mini will be even better.