Apple Updates Mac Mini with M1 Chip - Faster & More Powerful

Alongside the new MacBook Air, Apple unveiled an updated Mac Mini. This iteration is powered by the M1, Apple’s inaugural custom-designed chipset created specifically for Mac computers. While maintaining its well-known form factor, the Mac Mini now incorporates an Arm-based processor.

Julie Broms, Senior Manager of Hardware Engineering, stated, “When contrasted with the leading desktop computer in its price category, the Mac Mini occupies just one-tenth of the space, yet delivers performance up to five times greater.”

The M1 chip incorporates four cores optimized for high performance and an additional four cores focused on power efficiency. It is manufactured using a 5nm process. The chip also includes eight GPU cores, featuring 128 execution units, which are projected to achieve peak performance of 2.6 teraflops. Furthermore, Apple’s neural engine is integrated to accelerate machine learning operations.

Apple reports that the redesigned Mac Mini demonstrates CPU performance up to three times faster than the prior generation. GPU performance sees an increase of up to six times, and machine learning task acceleration is reportedly up to 15 times quicker.

The rear panel of the device provides an Ethernet port, two Thunderbolt/USB4 ports capable of supporting a 6K display, an HDMI 2.0 port, two USB A ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The base model, equipped with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, is priced starting at $699. An upgrade to 16GB of RAM is available for an additional $200. Increasing the storage capacity from 256GB to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB incurs a cost of $200 for each step up. Pre-orders are open now, and the new Mac Mini will ship starting next week.