MAC MINI REVIEW CHAINED UPDATE

The chassis of the Mac mini hasn’t changed a whole lot since the 2018/early 2020 revision. 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. Design: 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.

MAC MINI REVIEW CHAINED UPDATE

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.

Mac mini review chained