The Mac Mini has gone years without an update. Apple’s littlest Mac hadn’t been updated since 2014 – until now. At its October 30 hardware event, Apple finally unveiled the Mac Mini 2018, and it’s looking good.
Now that it’s rocking 8th-generation desktop processors and updated RAM and SSDs, the new Mac Mini is more capable than ever of handling all of your work on a budget, and can finally support 4K displays.
- Check out our Apple October 2018 launch live blog.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into everything there is to know about the Mac Mini 2018. And, remember – keep this page bookmarked, as we’ll update it with all the latest information as it surfaces.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? A new version of Apple’s compact Mac
- When is it out? November 7 2018
- What will it cost? Starts at $799 (around £620/AU$1,120)
Mac mini 2018 release date
Mac Mini fans have been left out in the cold for nearly 5 years now. The small Mac has been in dire need of a refresh – arguably since it last released in 2014. Thankfully, the wait is finally over.
At the October 30 hardware event in Brooklyn, Apple announced that the Mac Mini 2018 will finally make it to store shelves on November 7, with orders going live today. Now, the wait for the Mac Mini 2022 begins.
Mac mini 2018 price
The price of the Mac Mini has gone up a little bit over its predecessor – which was to be expected, since computer hardware keeps getting more expensive. On the ground floor, the Mac Mini 2018 will set you back $799 (around £620/AU$1,120). You can kit it out for much more, if like us, you can’t live without the fastest hardware you can get.
We’ll update this section once we’ve played around with the configurations.
Mac mini 2018 specifications
Apple has said the Mac mini 2018 is the biggest update ever, and they're not joking. It comes with a quad cores 8th generation Intel processor, with the option of up to six cores, making it over five times faster than the previous model.
While the previous model maxed out at 16GB, Mac mini 2018 comes with up to 64GB 2666mhz RAM. It features 2TB SSD storage for four times faster storage, along with Ethernet, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, HDMI, two USB-A ports and power socket.
What we want to see in Mac mini 2018
While we don’t know a lot about the Mac Mini 2018 right now, we do know what we want to see from the refreshed device. However, we’re expecting to find out what’s inside the miniature Mac tomorrow, so check back for all the latest. Until then, read on to check out our wish list of what we want to see out of a new Mac Mini.
1. An attractive new design
Honestly, there’s nothing particularly wrong with the current Mac Mini’s design, but if we’re going to get the first major refresh in nearly four years, we’d love to see a nice makeover as well. Thinner, smaller and quieter – is that too much to ask? We don’t think so.
An old rumor from early 2017 suggested that the high-end Mac mini ‘won’t be so mini anymore’ which led people to assume more powerful components will be added, requiring more room for better cooling.
However, this rumor is quite vague, so we’d urge caution when taking this completely at face value.
Of course, powerful components will mean more heat produced, so a redesigned Mac mini isn’t out of the question, but as Apple has shown with the iMac and iMac Pro, it’s a dab hand at putting powerful components into svelte devices and keep them cool.
2. A power boost
One of the things we'd most like to see from a Mac mini 2018 is an upgrade to its components, which would make it a formidable mini machine to compete with other small form factor PCs like the Asus VivoMini and Intel NUC, which have been upgraded to 7th- and 8th-generation Intel Core processors, respectively.
To begin, the new Mac Mini straight up needs a newer processor than the 4th-generation silicon in the current model. Refreshing the silicon to, say, 8th-generation Whiskey Lake, would open the new Mac Mini to a world of possibilities, including Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort 1.2 and 4K video – not to mention a major power boost over the old one.
RAM-wise, the previous Mac mini came with 4GB, and while that could remain, we’d like to see a base 8GB of RAM, as with the MacBook Air.
2. Mouse and keyboard included
While the Mac mini has a reputation for being the most compact and economical Apple computer around, it’s also known for its lack of included (yet essential) accessories. The Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Keyboard can only be purchased separately from the Mac mini itself. That means you’ll have to shell out an additional cost for parts that are required to use it.
A recent patent filed by Apple suggests that the company is interested in bringing spill-free and crumb-resistant keyboards to its MacBooks. We would argue that this guard structure technology, designed to “keep contaminants from reaching the innards of the machine” would be a useful addition to the Mac mini as well.
3. 4K support
Wouldn’t it be great if the Mac mini 2018 could also act as an alternative to the Apple TV? For that to happen, the Mac mini 2018 would need to be a capable 4K machine – something previous models were decidedly not.
Thankfully, as we mentioned earlier, if the new Mac mini is going to feature recent Intel processors, then the integrated graphics should give it enough graphical power to handle 4K.
Earlier iteration of the Mac Mini aren’t quite capable of handling 4K content. This was of course due to hardware limitations of the time, coupled with Apple’s desire to keep the Mac Mini as an entry-level device, price-wise.
However, in 2018 even budget processors come with integrated graphics that are powerful enough to render 4K interfaces and play ultra high definition content from Netflix and iTunes, so we want to see Apple make use of this technology in any new Mac mini that it produces.
4. For it to actually exist
At the end of the day, we can speculate about what the Mac Mini 2018 may look like until our keyboard disintegrates, but none of that matters if it doesn’t exist in the first place. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen an update to the Mac Mini and Apple has a lot to gain from a market where it’s starting to see more competition than ever before.
If Apple can launch a new Mac Mini that can improve its design, they could end up with one of the best PCs on the market., So, let’s just hope that Tim Cook’s support of the Mac Mini is genuine and the Cupertino behemoth has something up its sleeve.
- These are the best Macs that 2018 has to offer so far
Gabe Carey has also contributed to this report
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