Apple Mac Mini review: Value Apple products do tend to fall down in terms of value for money when compared to Windows- or Linux-based PCs. The small form factor of the Mini is one of its selling points, but other small computers are available. The 2018 Mac mini has been overhauled. It is much more powerful, and as a result, it is no longer all that cheap. In fact, Apple’s cheapest Mac has moved from a sub-$500 purchase to a $799 one.
It’s been a few weeks since the new M1 Macs were unveiled by Apple, and we now have early reviews and stats in on the performance offered by these machines.
The Mac mini doesn’t get upgraded often, but when it does, it makes an impact well out of proportion to its trim dimensions. The 2018 Mac mini was a PCMag Editors’ Choice pick for its pep. Review: M1 Mac mini shows a bright future for Apple Silicon Short on flaws and big on promise, the entry-level Mac mini just became a great system to get things done on a budget. The 2014 Mac Mini's connections (bottom) versus the 2018 model's (top). Gone are the SD card slot, two of the USB-A connections and audio input. In exchange we gain more Thunderbolt capacity.
While most reviewers and users are flocking to the new MacBooks, a smaller subset of buyers is looking to the updated Mac mini. And those users have also noticed that, unlike the new MacBooks, an Intel Mac mini is still available for purchase that looks as if it might be a competitor to its newly-released ancestor. Battlefront apple tv.
Mac Mini V6 Reviews
In this post, we’ll compare the new M1 Mac mini against the 2018 Intel Mac mini on everything different – and everything that’s the same.
Contents
- 2 The 2018 Mac mini vs the 2020 Mac mini: What’s the difference?
- 4 Which should you buy?
What makes the Mac mini unique?
Apple noted during its One More Thing keynote that the majority of Mac buyers are first-time buyers. This means that there’s a good chance you’ve never owned a Mac mini before. As such, it might seem like an odd product at first glance.
Who is the Mac mini for?
Unlike the vast majority of Macs, the Mac mini isn’t an all-in-one product. Purchasers will need to supply their own screen, keyboard, and mouse. This lowers the price and also makes it more modular.
The Mac mini has also been upgradeable after purchase in the past (more on that in a moment), which is another unique quality when compared to the rest of the Mac lineup.
These factors make the Mac mini the closest thing Apple has to a flexible, low-end device. It’s still plenty powerful and you can couple it with Apple peripherals if you like, but you have plenty of other options as well.
So, with this niche in mind, let’s look at the differences between the newest Mac mini and the previous generation.
The 2018 Mac mini vs the 2020 Mac mini: What’s the difference?
The chips. Considering how much fuss Apple has made about its new M1 chip, you probably already know that these Macs are running on very different processors. In case you don’t know, however, you can read all about the new M1 chip here.
In short, the 2020 Mac mini now comes with the M1 chip, which is made by Apple instead of Intel. This has lots of implications, but primarily it makes this device much faster.
Additionally, some of the other 2020 internals have been updated, the price is lower, and the port situation is a bit different. This means that the 2020 M1 Mac mini will probably be best for most people, but some users might find that they are better off sticking with the more upgradeable 2018 Mac mini.
Here’s a deeper breakdown of these differences.
Intel vs. the M1 chip
As mentioned, the biggest difference between these Macs is the chip, or processor. Apple announced earlier this year that it would be shifting away from Intel chips to make its own, so this new Mac mini represents a big moment in Apple’s history.
The new M1 chip has an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU. The Intel Mac mini, on the other hand, only has a 6-core chip and is three years older than the current chip. As you might expect, this means that the new Mac mini far outperforms the old one.
- 2018 Mac mini Geekbench Scores:
- Single-core: 999
- Multi-core: 4661
- 2020 Mac mini Geekbench Scores:
- Single-core: 1702
- Multi-core: 7372
The 2018 Mac mini is still powerful enough for the average user’s needs; you won’t have any trouble writing, browsing, or streaming with it. However, anything more than that and the difference will start to show. So if power is important to you, then the 2020 edition is the better option.
RAM limits (and upgradeable internals)
For many users, RAM (a.k.a. memory) can be more important than the processor in a Mac. After all, Apple has always been great at squeezing performance from older chips. RAM, however, plays a big role in your Mac’s lifespan.
Both the 2020 Mac mini and the 2018 Mac mini start with 8GB of RAM. And to be honest, this is just the minimum amount in 2020; most users will notice a significant leap in performance by upgrading to 16GB of RAM.
Unfortunately, the new M1 Mac mini is only upgradeable to 16GB, while the older Mac mini can be configured up to 32GB and 64GB. This could make the Intel Mac mini a better option for users who perform heavy-data tasks like video editing.
Another important update to the Mac mini’s RAM is that it is no longer user-upgradeable in the 2020 Mac mini. This is because RAM is now built into the M1 chip. You can’t unscrew the bottom of the device and replace the RAM with a third-party option anymore. If this is something that matters to you, then the older Mac mini will be the better option.
Ports
Oddly, Apple downgraded the port situation on the Mac mini as well. The 2020 Mac mini comes with two USB C ports, which is two fewer than the 2018 Mac mini. Additionally, it’s no longer possible to upgrade the ethernet port. This means your wired internet speeds are capped at purchase.
There are still plenty of ports on the Mac mini, so I don’t see this being a sticking point for too many users. It’s still something to keep in mind, though, especially if you use lots of peripherals.
Two vs. three connected displays
The last odd choice Apple made with the new M1 Mac mini is that it reduced the number of displays you can connect to your Mac mini at once. The new Mac mini now only supports two displays. The older Intel Mac mini, on the other hand, can support three external displays at once.
It’s not all bad news, though. The 2020 Mac mini can support a pair of 4K monitors or a single 4K monitor and a single 6K monitor. This makes among the first Macs able to support 6K resolution. The 2018 Mac mini, on the other hand, only supports 4K.
If you’re someone who likes to have as much screen real estate as possible, then you should opt for the 2018 Mac mini. On the other hand, users who don’t need as much screen real estate or who want a 6K monitor will be better suited by the 2020 Mac mini.
The price
With those downgrades out of the way, it’s time to get back to the good stuff. A crowd-pleasing move from Apple was that they lowered the starting price of the Mac mini by $100, bringing the price to $699.
That said, the Intel Mac mini that Apple left in its store was the “pro” version of the Mac mini, so it started much higher than the base-level Mac mini anyway. Its starting price is still $1,099. In all honesty, this price is too high. The $699 Mac mini easily outperforms this 2018 mini, so it would have made sense for Apple to drop the price of the older Mac slightly after launching the update.
Regardless, the prices for upgrades remain the same; you’re going to pay an arm and a leg for RAM and storage upgrades no matter which model you choose. If the price is the most important factor for you, then go with the 2020 M1 Mac mini.
Finishes
Lastly and leastly, we have the finishes of the 2018 and 2020 Mac minis. There isn’t much to say here: The 2018 Mac mini comes exclusively in Space Grey while the 2020 Mac mini comes exclusively in Silver. Do with this information what you will!
What isn’t different?
Everything else. Which isn’t much. The physical footprint and design of the Mac mini is completely unchanged; if you already have a Mac mini at home, you’ll want to break out a Sharpie just so you can tell the difference between the two devices.
The storage options are also identical. The SSDs aren’t any faster than before, and you can still choose from 256GB up to 2TB.
Which should you buy?
In my opinion, the vast majority of users should purchase the 2020 M1 Mac mini. It’s faster, cheaper, and more future-proof. However, if you find yourself in need of extra ports, displays, or RAM, then you might prefer to pick the 2018 Intel Mac mini.
I hope this comparison has helped you pick the option that’s right for you! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any other questions about which Mac mini to get, and click here for a full review of the new M1 Mac mini.
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I recently revealed that I was switching from a 16” MacBook Pro to an M1 Mac mini.
Now, if we head back a few years, this sounds absolutely daft.
No, really. My 16” MacBook Pro cost over £3,500 and was specced up to the hilt. It packs 32GB RAM, an 8-core processor, the best graphics card you could buy at the time, and 1TB of internal storage (I know you can go higher).
I’ve said it before: it’s a beast.
The M1 Mac mini, by comparison, is anything but. An 8-core processor with a publicly-hidden clock speed, integrated graphics and ‘just’ 16GB of RAM. Why on earth would you ditch the aforementioned laptop for something like that?
Only, the M1 Mac mini is a better computer than the 16” MacBook Pro (and I’ve only had it two weeks).
Here’s why, if your finger is hovering over the ‘checkout’ button on an M1 Mac mini, you should go ahead and spend that money.
It’s effortless
I can barely distinguish the performance of the M1 Mac mini from that of the 16” MacBook Pro.
In day-to-day use, the mini is arguably ‘snappier’, as many have pointed out when describing these M1 machines. There’s just barely any waiting for anything to happen, and even non-native, Rosetta 2 apps simply breeze through any task you throw at them.
But, for me, where the M1 Mac mini really shines, is video editing. This is a task for which I specced up my 16” MacBook Pro, and it has served me handsomely in that regard. But along comes a computer that’s over £2,000 cheaper – and it feels identical during a 4K video edit.
I still cannot get my head around this. Very occasionally, I’ll experience a couple of dropped frames while editing, but it’s not enough to slow me down or frustrate. I’m also yet to properly test the rendering or export times between the two computers, but the M1 Mac mini doesn’t feel sluggish with either task.
Regardless, my previous test between the 16” MacBook Pro and M1 MacBook Air tells its own story in that regard.
I have lots more testing to do with the mini, but the word ‘effortless’ really is the most appropriate when describing the way it performs on a day-to-day basis.
If your workload includes some form of heavy duty, processor-intensive task, this computer will impress you. What’s more, if you run a business, it’ll offer a measurable return on your investment incredibly quickly.
I’m glad I went for the 16GB version
I’ve already provided my thoughts on the M1 RAM debate. It genuinely fascinates me, but I’m also realistic, and can’t quite prise myself away from the old way of thinking just yet.
Sure, 8GB vs 16GB is now a very different topic of conversant in M1 Land, but there’s still an awful lot to be said for buying as much RAM as you can afford.
I chose the 16GB version of the M1 Mac mini because I wanted a machine with plenty of headroom. And it has that in spades.
iStat Menus tells me I have comfortably 50% RAM or more in reserve on a daily basis, and that’s while running pretty much every app I use, from Final Cut Pro to Photoshop, Word, Slack, Teams and Discord (plus several others).
I don’t know what the M1 is doing behind-the-scenes with memory management, but it works – big time.
This is illustrated by the fact that I no longer worry about leaving apps open. In fact, it has become second nature not to close them. It’s the same story on my M1 MacBook Air which ‘only’ has 8GB RAM; I find myself simply leaving stuff running on that machine, too, because it has never so much as wagged a finger at me disapprovingly.
My advice therefore remains: if you can spec your M1 machine up to 16GB RAM, do it. But don’t sweat it if you can’t afford to; the RAM situation is very different indeed.
Mac Mini V6 Review
The problems
There are some issues, I’m afraid, and they absolutely need to be covered before you make your final decision.
Firstly, Bluetooth. It’s a big problem on this M1 Mac mini – at least at the moment.
The internet is awash with reports of dodgy Bluetooth connections on the mini, and they have caused me significant headaches.
The best way to describe it is that Bluetooth performance on the M1 Mac mini is, a) very troublesome when it comes to maintaining peripheral connections, and, b) it just acts odd.
When it comes to peripherals, I’ve had to resort to the Logitech dongle for my MX Master 3 mouse, and the Keychron K2 keyboard now flat-out refuses to connect via Bluetooth.
As for the ‘oddness’ of the Bluetooth problem, it’s hard to explain, but since the M1 Mac mini has been in my studio, I’ve experienced really weird issues with audio dropping out on headphones and AirDrop only working intermittently. Midi controller software.
We need a fix, Apple – fast.
The other issue with the M1 Mac mini is the much reported lack of ports. For me, it’s not the end of the world, because I only really need two of them, but if you’re a heavy external drive and peripheral user, you’ll have several dongles hanging out the back of the machine, which is a bit unsightly.
Conclusion
I spent a long time considering what to write about in this early two-week review of the M1 Mac mini. If I’m honest, I ran out of topics. But not for any bad reason; simply because this computer is just effortlessly good value.
That’s it.
People may scoff at that – it’s so easy to do so when it comes to Apple products. But when pitted against the ridiculously priced AirPods Max, £35 dongles and plastic watch bands for which we’re expected to pay £99, it is an absolute bargain.
This is for one very simple reason: the M1 Mac mini unashamedly knocks its intel cousins into a cocked hat. And it really doesn’t care about the trail of product line cannibalism it leaves in its wake.
We’re right at the start of a Mac revolution, and the M1 Mac mini demonstrates that more wholesomely than its MacBook siblings (and, trust me, they are very impressive, too). This computer is an absolute powerhouse.
All we need now is a fix for that Bluetooth problem. There are workarounds for most people, but they’ll be seen as temporary, so, come on, Apple – get this sorted, please.
Mac Mini V6 Reviews 2018
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If you’re wondering whether you should buy an M1 Mac mini, here’s your answer: yes, you should.