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Quad-Core 2012 Mac Mini Mysteriously Reappears on Apple's U.S. Online Store [Updated]

Tuesday January 27, 2015 7:58 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today has mysteriously added back a 2012 model Mac mini to the Apple Online Store for $699. The over two-year-old machine still has the same hardware specifications as it did in 2012, including a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM and Intel HD Graphics 4000. The listing also shows that the computer ships with OS X Mavericks installed.

2012 Mac Mini Apple Online Store
It is unknown if the outdated Mac mini has mistakenly resurfaced on the Apple Online Store, or if Apple intentionally reintroduced the model on its website. One plausible reason that Apple may be making this older Mac mini available for purchase again is to provide customers with a quad-core option, as the existing 2014 models are each powered by dual-core Intel Core i5 processors.

The entry-level Mac is listed as out of stock in the United States, and MacRumors could not find the model listed for sale elsewhere after spot checks of the Apple Online Store in Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and several other countries. Apple still offers a refurbished version of the same 2012 Mac mini for $589 on its website, although that model is also currently out of stock.

Update 11:30 PM PT: The 2012 quad-core Mac mini appears to have disappeared from the Apple Online Store for the time being. It is unclear if it will officially return or if its appearance was a bug.

Related Roundup: Mac mini
Buyer's Guide: Mac Mini (Don't Buy)
[ 152 comments ]


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aaronvan
44 months ago

It's out of stock.


Maybe they only had one.
Rating: 74 Votes
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moxin
44 months ago
Half-Life 3 Confirmed
Rating: 24 Votes
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nsfw
44 months ago
OOS.

I was luckily enough to grab this model refurb a few days after the new 2014 models came out. Man am I happy with this machine. Quad cores with hyperthreading is a beast when you run vmware and docker all day.
I don't plan on giving this thing up for a long time.
Rating: 23 Votes
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coolspot18
44 months ago
Still needs a processor refresh and a new GPU.
Rating: 18 Votes
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Traverse
44 months ago
Selling with Mavericks? Obviously an error that will disapper soon.

______
It's a shame really, the 2014 Minis have much better graphics. Too bad Apple couldn't keep a high end quad core model.
Rating: 18 Votes
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Consultant
44 months ago
Jony Ive must have partied too hard today.
Rating: 16 Votes
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farewelwilliams
44 months ago
x-files reboot is really happening.
Rating: 12 Votes
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iObama
44 months ago

Nope. Newer chips perform higher.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks


On single core 32-bit processing. Multi-core 64-bit and the 2012 SMOKES the new stuff.
Rating: 12 Votes
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AndyJapan
44 months ago
Does this mean that Apple was reading the rants posted in this forum? :cool:
If so, I still have some hope that we might see a Mac Mini with quad core Broadwell CPU and user-upgradeable RAM or RAM upgrade options at reasonable prices. Wishful thinking... :p
Rating: 11 Votes
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0x100
44 months ago

I don't understand this obsession with the 2012 model , the gpu is outdated , the new model has much faster pcie - hardware and most normal software doesn't even use multi cores anyway , not more than 2 certainly.

Well then you haven't used modern software.
Rating: 9 Votes

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