Exact 1,475 days after the penultimate update, Apple finally released yesterday, new Mini macs.
We obviously already talked about the main news in yesterday’s post, but now we are going to break them down so that everything that has changed in this new generation of Mac is no longer so cheap in the entire Apple line.
Design
The Mac mini’s housing remains the same, with 19.7 cm on its side and 3.6 cm in height, but its aluminum is now anodized in space gray and no longer silver. It gives the machine a more “professional” look.
He got a little heavier: from 1.2kg to 1.3kg.
Connectivity
The rear of the new Mac mini is a little different:
- From two Thunderbolt 2 ports, we move to four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C);
- From four USB-A (3.0) ports, we move to two;
- We continue with a Gigabit Ethernet port, but it can be customized to 10Gb;
- The HDMI port continues, but it is now 2.0;
- The 3.5mm headphone output continues, but we lost the microphone input;
- Apple also removed the slot for SDXC memory cards.
On the wireless side, Wi-Fi remains 802.11ac (aka Wi-Fi 5) and Bluetooth goes from 4.0 to 5.0. The old Mac mini also had an IR receiver for remote controls, which no longer exists in the new one.
Processors
Obviously, the jump in four years had to be big. We have in the new Macs mini chips Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 of eighth generation, with four or even six cores each.
The base model is a Core i3 quad-core 3.6GHz with 6MB shared L3 cache, and the top of the line is a Core i7 hexa-core 3.2GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz) with 12MB shared L3 cache.
Inside, we now also have the T2 security chip.
Graphics
Here, a common / expected upgrade: before we had options for integrated graphics Intel HD 5000 or Iris. Now, the option is UHD Graphics 630 – up to 60% faster, according to Apple. No dedicated GPU on mini Macs.
The new generation is capable of outputting up to two 4K monitors connected via Thunderbolt 3 and another 4K connected via HDMI 2.0, or even a 5K monitor connected via Thunderbolt 3 plus and another 4K connected via HDMI 2.0.
RAM
Before, we had 4GB or 8GB versions of the 1,600MHz LPDDR3 memory and the Mac mini could be configured up to 16GB. Now, all models come standard with 8GB and can be configured with 16GB, 32GB or even 64GB (!) Of 2,666MHz DDR4 memory.
In addition, Apple says they are SO-DIMM memory sticks – that is, the user himself can open the Mac mini and upgrade the RAM.
Mac mini RAM can be updated post-purchase but Apple strongly recommends you bring it to a certified place or Apple Store to have it done. https://t.co/MEjIk1U0YX
– Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) October 30, 2018
Mac mini RAM can be upgraded after purchase, but Apple strongly recommends that you take it to a certified location or an Apple Store for the procedure to be performed.
Storage
Goodbye, hard drives! Before, we had options with 5,400RPM HDDs of 500GB or 1TB, configurable for Fusion Drive of 1TB or 2TB, or also SSD of 256GB, 512GB or even 1TB.
Now, it’s all SSD – and much faster, by the way (based on PCIe). The standard versions are 128GB or 256GB, but configurable for 512GB, 1TB or even 2TB. Obviously, these flash memories are soldered to the logic board, so we can’t run from the high prices that Apple charges for upgrades.
Prices
We have already seen that the prices of Macs mini have risen a lot in Brazil, but abroad, the line has also become * much * more expensive: before, the most basic model cost US $ 500; now, part of $ 800.
If you configure the new Mac mini on the stem (3.2GHz Core i7, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD and 10 Gigabit Ethernet), you’ll have to spend – sit down – a trifle in $ 4,200!
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With that, we have a clearer vision of what the new Mac mini is. Apart from the price increase, the upgrade was well within expectations (ok, it could have gotten a little smaller, it goes…) and, now, it is rooted for the machine to receive more frequent updates.
