[NewsPoster]

Apple kept its Mac mini fans waiting around two years between updates, and recently it finally gave the mini a refresh. While not a full redesign as some had hoped, the new model finally brought with it Intel's fourth generation "Haswell" Core-series processors. Apple also took the opportunity to introduce a new cheaper low-end model, but opted to drop the server option that was powered by a quad-core chip, and make some other less welcome changes including soldering the RAM and making the hard drive almost impossible to access. Despite these changes, is it still worth considering the Mac mini?

When it comes to refreshing the Mac line, the Mac mini is often the last on Apple's list of models to get an update. Clearly it is not one of Apple's highest selling product lines as it caters to two fairly narrow sets of customer bases. Apple has tended to pitch the Mac mini as an affordable option for first-time PC users who want to get a taste of the Mac experience - these users just need to plug in their existing keyboard and mouse, and attach the Mac mini to their existing monitor. The other set of users is Mac fans use the Mac mini as a fine second computer, the basis for a home theater experience, or as a home server. These users have appreciated the option of a quad-core model, as well as the ability for users to access its internals to add their own RAM, and/or upgrade the hard drive, or even add a second drive to the unit themselves.

So, although the Mac mini received a welcome upgrade to Intel's current processor family, there can be little denying the fact that the latest options did little to keep Apple's Mac enthusiast fan base especially happy. As we examined in our editorial on the subject, the new entry-level 1.4GHz Mac mini extends the Mac mini further towards the potential "switcher" user base; Apple isn't necessarily focused on the Mac mini as a device to appease all of its enthusiast base. The Mac mini was already headed towards becoming more of an "appliance" than a fully fledged desktop computer, and the latest Mac mini lineup continues on the same trajectory. This is not to say that it is still not a capable machine; it is just not quite as capable or as flexible as it was before despite the welcome upgrades to connectivity.

Ever since the stunning Mac Pro (Late 2013) was released in a stunning, highly polished iteration of Apple's Space Gray color, I expected it be joined in quick succession by similarly finished accessories as well as other computing products. Like many, I continue to be slightly flummoxed by the fact that Apple is still to release a 4K or 5K Thunderbolt 2 display -- we'd take it in any color if it was in the offing. I had also thought that the Mac mini might get a complete redesign, given the extended delay before the refresh arrived. Along with the processor upgrade, the Mac mini did also receive a welcome upgrade to its connectivity options, which now extend to USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 2 and Wi-Fi 802.11ac, but user accessibility to the chassis has been closed off.

Apple has provided us with the standard high-end configuration for testing, which is fitted with the dual-core Intel Core i5 clocked at 2.8GHz. This is matched with 8GB of system RAM and a 1TB Fusion Drive. As a configuration option available off the shelf, it offers good performance out of the box. Unlike Intel's desktop chips, its mobile Core i5 processors offer hyper threading creating a virtual core for each of its two physical cores allowing the chip to handle up to four threads simultaneously. Although the Mac mini RAM is no longer user-upgradeable, 8GB will provide enough support for complex multitasking and for processing video, photos and other media in most contexts. For users who want more RAM for more intensive use in these types of tasks, RAM is upgradeable to 16GB, but only as an option through the Apple store at time of placing your order. This of course, increases the price that you must pay for the RAM over being able to buy it and fit it yourself.

The latest version of Apple's Fusion Drive combines a 128GB PCIe-based SSD into a single volume with a spinning hard drive for the benefits of both speed and storage. This too can be upgraded to a 256GB SSD, 512GB SSD or a 2 TB Fusion Drive. Again, as an out of the box inclusion on the standard configuration for the high-end model, this is a practical and useful choice. However, with the new USB 3.0 ports and the new Thunderbolt 2 ports, users will have plenty of options for adding fast external storage to their new Mac mini. The upgrade to Thunderbolt 2, especially, means that in combination with external hardware, the Mac mini could still be quite potent, although it will always be somewhat restricted by its limitation to two computing cores.

We will benchmark the Mac mini in our upcoming full review and compare it to a few devices across Apple's range. Yes, the latest model is not everything that we might have hoped it would be, but it still makes a solid argument for its continued relevance in the Apple desktop lineup.

- Sanjiv Sathiah

[bobolicious]

2TB fusion drive (not 3TB) I believe: http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/ma.../A&step=config

While the low end unit seems logical & most welcome, as noted would a quad core option, RAID SSHD, user replaceable memory & a discrete video card option serve customers better...?

Omissions begging clarification from the venerable fruit company...

[SunSeeker]

meanwhile in other recent news - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

[Inkling]

"Despite these changes, is it still worth considering the Mac mini?" No, not built as this model is built. You forgot a third market for the Mac mini—those who need a working tool. Before this awful upgrade, the Mac was the perfect model for those who see their computers as tools not toys. It was easily repairable and upgradable—something that's not true of any other model. And living far away from any Apple store, I can't afford the week or more delay it would take to get any other Mac fixed.

[efithian]

I was eagerly awaiting the latest Mini. And then I saw the specs. I have 2011, 2009, and 2007 Mac Minis, as well as a Mac Pro 2103, MacBook Pro Retinas. I was planning to use the new Mac Mini with my entertainment system which is 4K. While the new Mini can do 4K, its other shortcomings led me in a new direction. A fully clapped out proper Mini would run about $2500. A new quad core Mac Pro, stripped, runs $2700. I am enjoying my second Mac Pro immensely.

[iphonerulez]

Apple seems to a a highly profit-margin-driven company at this point and cheapskates need not apply. I get their point for not allowing users to upgrade RAM. There are less things that can go wrong if a user isn't allowed to buy some cheap RAM. Apple wants to MacMini to be set up, used and never touched. I think Apple's idea of a MacMini will suit 95% of potential customers who are going to use it for a specific purpose. It will be like a kitchen appliance which is how I use my quad-core i7 MacMini as a media server for my HDTV. It just runs 24/7 for months at a time and I never think about it until I hear it needs some security update.

[bdmarsh]

just a minor note: Thunderbolt 2 can't support 5K displays, only up to 4K.

as for the mini - ok for many of the people who purchased it before, but for some not having the quad i7 is a downgrade for sure. I replaced a 2006 model Mac Pro with a 2012 Mac mini quad i7 - upgraded to 16 GB of ram, and did the fusion myself, and that was cheaper than the new model with dual i7 as a base price - not including the upgrades - which would be about $200 more than being able to do it yourself to bump the ram up, and add the SSD.
where I work, we use many of the i7 models with dual hard drives setup as mirror for Kiosk systems (less likely to completely go down if one drive fails) - something not even officially an option in the new models - although might be able to do it by changing out the 1 TB drive for a 256 GB SSD, then doing a mirror manually, might have to test this in a year or two.

[Charles Martin]

The argument that the older Mac minis has some hardware options that were more desirable to certain types of users, I feel, is a valid one -- but somewhat undermined by the fact that uses that depended on those features are not what the machine was designed for.

The Mac mini is a budget Mac computer, mostly aimed at switchers used to lower up-front costs. Period. End of story. That it could be used for a wider variety of stuff was great, but still missed the stated intention of the device. The present Mac mini goes back to those roots, following the MacBook Air's playbook of simplicity and basics done well rather than trying to pretend to be a poor man's Mac Pro. Consequently, the Mac mini -- like the MBA -- will likely continue to be very popular with its target market.

[smacker]

@Charles Martin: That's it exactly!