Rumor: Is Apple's 'Brick' A Mac Mini Redesign?

Sources have indicated Apple's "one more thing", code named 'Brick' rumored to be announced around October 14th along with a MacBook refresh, will actually be a re-design of the Mac Mini super-sized to reveal a Mac Mini Pro of sorts. A wild idea that sounds like a stretch of the imagination from sources that we were unable to confirm as completely reliable.

The mock-up design we found to use as a stand-in definitely adds design sex appeal to a Mac that already closely resembles a brick. Which does lend some credibility to claims. At this point anything is possible with Apple. The current fully loaded Mac Mini comes with a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of memory and a 120GB hard drive for $799. Can a redesign with more bells and whistles still keep the Mac Mini affordable?

It's widely speculated that Apple will unveil a significant refresh to their MacBook Pro line around October 14th. Apple is long over due for a true refresh on its design of the MacBook Pro which was unveiled at MacWorld in 2003. Apple's 'Brick' mystery product is also rumored to be the fabled Tablet Mac by 9 to 5 Mac, a fantasy product that's proven as real as Bigfoot for the past few years now. It's been roughly 14 months since the last minor refresh to the Mac Mini. Stop! Mini time!

[Mac Mini]    [concept art Erwan Hesry at Deviant Art]

Comments

[jay]

A Mac Mini Pro with the ability to run dual monitors and cost under $1000 would be a big seller. I still run a G4 Power Mac because I don't need a Mac Pro (and can't afford one), I have 2 22" LCD monitors so why buy an iMac when I don't need the monitor. I think many are like in that they need a consumer level Mac better than the Mini but with out a built in Monitor.

[Andy]

what about that?
http://flickr.com/photos/superfrunny/2862211309/

[Patrick]

My take on the "brick" is this... possibly a brick form factor like the Mac Mini, but definitely low cost and designed to grab market share. After all what do you use to smash Windows? A "brick" of course!

[Blue Buzzard]

If the "Brick" sports a discrete GPU, a decent upgradeable processor, easy to access ram, and hard drive, lots of USB 2 and firewire ports, and a decent mobo. We may have MacPro Lite. Faster than a Mini, but, slower than a top of the line iMac. Sort of what folks on the forums have been asking for. Not a lot of Pci-X slots but expandable and not too expensive.

[Steveo]

Mac Pro Lite. Blue Blizzard... you rule bra! the idea fills my brain with happy juice.

[RicK URTEL]

I have been thinking about the Oct 14 announcement and the possibility of Apple competing with EEEPC and Dell with a SoC Mac mini, very small at 399 or 499, with no fan.

I pray for a 999 black aluminum dual processor, multiple bay Mac Midi
with glowing lit white apples on each side......

Or it could be LCD Apple TV's run on a SoC OSX "BricK" with a good video card and pathways to good outboard storage. Or it's audio time.....

[Bradley Dichter]

Maybe the brick refers to a building block, for a personal computing cluster for rendering or perhaps web servers. Think of the Mac mini just a bit bigger to allow a normal size HD. If it borrowed more of a MacBook Pro motherboard instead of a MacBook motherboard, or in other words adds a real GPU, that would be an acceptable bump.

[Barbarossa]

Looking at that picture mock-up, if the "handles" were flared out to the sides by just one-half inch the Brick could be set on its side just like the old "pizza box" configurations.

What I'd really like to see in this configuration is 'The Mac.'

Not the iMac or Mac Mini or Mac Pro or MacBook, but the Mac.

An small upgradeable tower with:

One CPU slot, not Two;
Two Hard Drives, not Four;
Three PCI slots, not Six;
Four RAM slots, not Eight.

I suspect Apple has many cogent reasons for not making a mid-size tower like this, but it’s hard to believe that “Profits” or “Market Share” are among them.

[Dave]

My small business owns two Mac Mini Intel Duos and one Mac Mini Intel... these are nice workhorses for few $$$. I would immediately upgrade the oldest one and donate it to a PC user who can't afford a new system.

[Bill Gates]

Did you ever fart so hard you ended up in another zip code?

[wha]

So, it's a desktop, a super-sized Mac mini. Oh wait, it's also a tablet, thus a laptop. A lapdesk. Wha!

[Mukei]

I would buy this if it offers a PCI slot making Video Card usable !

[John Lockwood]

See

http://hanabusa1.blog29.fc2.com/blog-entry-93.html

Part of a collection to be seen on

http://hanabusa1.blog29.fc2.com/blog-entry-13.html

[burncreek]

This is probably what I would've bought if it was on the market, but since Apple just doesn't get that users CAN have more that just decent monitors they really want to continue to use with their new machine, BUT are not wealthy enough for a Mac Pro... The current Mini is insanely high priced; slow AND expensive!
I went for a custom-built, whisper-quiet and really good-looking Vista machine instead. I don't regret it, but I feel a little sad since I really wanted a Mac again. :(

[Erwan Hesry]

thanks a lot for posting my concept from my account on DeviantArt (http://lebreton.deviantart.com ) on your website : http://lebreton.deviantart.com/art/Mac-Pro-Mini-90850329

[BigMetal]

PCI slots? Meh! Video card? Get an XBOX!

All I want is a few damn screws so I can open the bastard without a razor, a business card, a credit card, a greeting card, a putty knife and sextant!

[GRANTIFER]

I don't think it will be mac mini redesign only because i cant imagine how apple could make it look good. A brick shape isn't necessarily that appealing. Also, how would a disk be able to fit into it unless it was still the same width which means it would have to be much bigger to be a brick shape. Maybe apple could do the same thing they did with the macbook air and make it wireless but i think that would be a horrible idea because 1, it had a very negative response with the air; and 2, the mini is suppose to be a suppose a main computer, only compact, not a sub type computer that people are going to use for travel or something. Now of course, if the brick wasn't actually going to look like a brick, just a codename of some sort, then i think there is a high possibility that it could be a new mac mini.

[Matt Warren]

I suspect that they code named it the brick because it actually looks like one. In my mind that leaves two options. Either it's similar to the existing Mini except minus the dvd drive and squished even smaller, or it's a bit bigger.. slightly bigger than the old apple cube and more like a cinder block in shape.

If it's smaller then it might end up also replacing the Apple TV. Leaving them with one multi-use computer/TV device.

[Porcupine Bob]

Since the AIR notebook uses external CD/DVD and adapters, how about a BRICK that has those features, but connects to your existing monitors and keyboard ? Makes sense as it utilizes new MacBook AIR products and adds to that line, in a way... the thought of BRICK sure sounds like something to destroy a Window !!

de Bob

[doctorSpoc]

i have read that it's called "the brick" because some portion of the component will be in "the brick"... i.e. the brick that plugs into the wall.. meaning that the actual box can be tiny... maybe even just a cable with connectors....

[Woody Dewar]

My new Mac Mini will be here tomorrow. I got the Intel Core 2 Duo 1.83ghz processor with 2gb of RAM. That should be able to run Snow Leopard when it comes out next year. I'm sick of Windows Vista, so I'm switching to Mac. I like the low cost Mac Mini. I considered an iMac, but the price tag was just too high. Sorry Apple.