The Mac Mini was one of many first ever gadgets to maneuver to Apple Silicon, having been outfitted with the unique M1 chip in 2020. Beginning at $699/£699, it was an effective way to get high-end efficiency with out the worth tag to match.
However with no new mannequin for 2 years, there have been rumours that Apple had cancelled the Mac Mini altogether. Happily, that hasn’t materialised, and the brand-new 2023 mannequin seems to be prefer it’s been well worth the wait.
Alongside upgrades to 2022’s M2 chip and the brand-new M2 Professional, Apple has managed to drop the beginning worth – each within the US and UK. Right here’s all the things you should know.
When will the brand new Mac Mini be launched?
Apple formally introduced the 2023 Mac Mini through a press launch on 17 January 2023. On the identical time, the corporate additionally revealed a brand new MacBook Professional and the chips that energy it – M2 Professional and M2 Max.
Pre-orders went dwell instantly, forward of launch on 24 January 2023.
How a lot does the brand new Mac Mini value?
Regardless of the M2 and M2 Professional upgrades, Apple has made the brand new Mac Mini cheaper than the 2020 mannequin. There’s $100 off the beginning worth within the US, however £50 off within the UK. Right here’s a abstract of all three fashions:
- Mac Mini – 8-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD – $599/£649
- Mac Mini – 8-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD – $799/£849
- Mac Mini – 10-Core CPU, 16-Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD – $1,299/£1,399
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What are the brand new Mac Mini specs and design?
The rumoured Mac Mini redesign hasn’t materialised, so there’s solely two upgrades of observe. A transfer from Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports is comparatively minor, however the different major change is rather more vital.
On the 2023 mannequin, you possibly can select between the common M2 and M2 Professional, with the latter introduced on the identical time.
The M2 configuration is a helpful improve in comparison with the M1 within the 2020 mannequin, with Apple claiming as much as 35% quicker GPU speeds due to the 2 additional cores – it’s now a 10-Core GPU. There’s nonetheless solely 4 CPU cores, however CPU speeds are nonetheless supposedly as much as 18% quicker.
However the M2 Professional takes issues to the subsequent degree, even whether it is surpassed by the top-of-the-line M2 Max. Like all Apple Silicon chips to date, it makes use of the 5nm course of, however now combines it with 40 billion transistors – double the quantity discovered within the common M2.
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Apple enables you to select between 8 or 10 CPU cores on the brand new Mac Mini, with the latter comprised of eight efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores. That supposedly makes it as much as 20% quicker than even the M1 Professional, which itself was a major improve over the M1.
The ten-Core GPU continues to be right here, however there’s additionally now an possibility for an enormous 16-Core GPU and bigger L2 cache. Apple’s declare of as much as 30% quicker graphics speeds are in reference to a mannequin with a 19-Core GPU, however the brand new Mac Mini shouldn’t be far off.
Apps reminiscent of Affinity Picture, Last Minimize Professional and Resident Evil Village are all highlighted as apps which is able to see an enormous profit with M2 Professional. It stays to be seen how noticeable the advance is in comparison with the 2020 Mac Mini’s M1.
All the things else right here stays the identical, together with the opposite ports – HDMI, Ethernet and a 3.5mm headphone jack.