Apple offers two base models: a $699 lower-storage-capacity model (256GB SSD), and an $899 higher-capacity one (512GB SSD). The loadout of the new Mac mini is easy to understand. The amount of memory you opt for at purchase time, as well as the internal storage amount, are what you'll have to live with for the life of the system. As a result, inside the shell, you won’t find any SO-DIMM slots for upgrades as before. Unlike the 2018 Mac mini, the M1-based version incorporates the main system memory into the SoC’s module. There’s no point in prying inside, anyway.

But if you want a compact, macOS-based system that’s not a laptop to attach to a TV, a spare monitor, or even just a public informational display, the Mac mini has long been the Apple alpha and omega. Sure, you can still select between 21- and 27-inch iMac models (which we’d expect to gain the M1 CPU before too long, as well). The Mac mini remains the only true “small” Mac desktop. It easily earns our Editors' Choice nod.ĭesign: A Familiar Face, an Amped-Up Core Apple’s own highly integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC), the M1 brings the Mac mini to new performance highs, and while a few fundamentals have changed, the peppy performance, the reasonable mix of connectivity, and a new lower $699 starting price combine to make it one of the best values in compact computers, period. The real update of this iconic little desktop is this one, and it's a big-band extravaganza. A slight variation on the same sheet music, played with little fanfare earlier this year, pumped up the two base models’ SSD capacity.

The 2018 Mac mini was a PCMag Editors’ Choice pick for its pep, connectivity, build quality, and limited upgradability. The Mac mini doesn’t get upgraded often, but when it does, it makes an impact well out of proportion to its trim dimensions. How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.

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Photos of back of 2017 mac mini