2018 Mac mini: what you need to know
It's been four years since Apple last updated its Mac mini, but the company apparently heard calls to refresh the beloved headless Mac and on Tuesday delivered a machine worth waiting for.
![Mac mini](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/28338-43876-181031-Macmini-l.jpg)
The 2018 Mac mini was introduced at Apple's Oct. 30 event.
The mini was unveiled during Apple's recent media event on Oct. 30. In its marketing materials Apple seems to be positioning its diminutive Mac at professional users, showing off rendering farms with hundreds of Mac minis working together, touting its capabilities as a server and even illustrating how well the machine can handle live music gigs.
But how will the new Mac mini benefit the average user?
Simply put, it's the cheapest way to get a Mac outside of buying one used. Just bring a mouse, keyboard and display, and you've got a full-fledged Mac that packs some serious power.
For 2018, Mac mini ditches the raw aluminum look for a Space Gray finish. On the back are a variety of ports, including HDMI 2.0, two USB 3 ports, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack and -- for an extra $100 -- a 10-gigabit ethernet port. With the Thunderbolt 3 ports, users can transfer data at blazing fast speeds, connect an eGPU or even run up to two 4K displays.
![Mac mini](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/28338-43877-181031-Macmini-rear-l.jpg)
Mac mini sports a wide array of ports.
Like the rest of Apple's recent Macs, the Mac mini comes with a T2 security chip, which handles different system functions including automatic storage encryption. The machine sports SSDs with up to 3.4GHz sequential read speeds, and users can configure their mini with up to 2TB of storage.
This year's machine gets the same base 8GB of RAM that was offered with the 2014 model, except the memory is now much faster. The Intel processor powering the desktop can address up to 64GB of RAM, which users can configure at purchase or add on later.
A new cooling system doubles the airflow, allowing the machine to run at a maximum sustained power that is 70 percent higher than before. The improved cooling system, and four years of advancements in the chipmaking industry, equate to massive performance gains.
According to Geekbench 4 scores, the standard 4-core CPU nears the performance of the 2017 5K iMac's base processor.
![Mac mini Benchmark](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/28338-43875-181031-Macmini-Bench-l.jpg)
Mac mini benchmarks based on previous i3-8100 tests.
Compared to the previous Mac mini, Apple claims the 2018 model boasts 60 percent faster integrated graphics and a five fold boost to overall system performance. Those numbers are based on a Mac mini with a 3.2GHz 6-core 12-thread Core i7 processor that turbo-boosts up to 4.6GHz.
The base $799 model gets buyers a 3.6Ghz quad-core Core i3, which interestingly lacks support for Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading. A 6-core processor with those options is available as a $300 upgrade. The entry level mini comes with 128GB of storage, with an options to upgrade to 256GB for $200. A step-up model includes a 6-core processor and 256GB of storage, but that chip also lacks Hyperthreading.
Overall, the Mac mini is the cheapest way to get a Mac, and this year performance is up there with the rest of Apple's lineup.
Apple's new 2018 Mac Mini is available to order now starting at $799.
![Mac mini](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/28338-43876-181031-Macmini-l.jpg)
The 2018 Mac mini was introduced at Apple's Oct. 30 event.
The mini was unveiled during Apple's recent media event on Oct. 30. In its marketing materials Apple seems to be positioning its diminutive Mac at professional users, showing off rendering farms with hundreds of Mac minis working together, touting its capabilities as a server and even illustrating how well the machine can handle live music gigs.
But how will the new Mac mini benefit the average user?
Simply put, it's the cheapest way to get a Mac outside of buying one used. Just bring a mouse, keyboard and display, and you've got a full-fledged Mac that packs some serious power.
For 2018, Mac mini ditches the raw aluminum look for a Space Gray finish. On the back are a variety of ports, including HDMI 2.0, two USB 3 ports, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack and -- for an extra $100 -- a 10-gigabit ethernet port. With the Thunderbolt 3 ports, users can transfer data at blazing fast speeds, connect an eGPU or even run up to two 4K displays.
![Mac mini](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/28338-43877-181031-Macmini-rear-l.jpg)
Mac mini sports a wide array of ports.
Like the rest of Apple's recent Macs, the Mac mini comes with a T2 security chip, which handles different system functions including automatic storage encryption. The machine sports SSDs with up to 3.4GHz sequential read speeds, and users can configure their mini with up to 2TB of storage.
This year's machine gets the same base 8GB of RAM that was offered with the 2014 model, except the memory is now much faster. The Intel processor powering the desktop can address up to 64GB of RAM, which users can configure at purchase or add on later.
A new cooling system doubles the airflow, allowing the machine to run at a maximum sustained power that is 70 percent higher than before. The improved cooling system, and four years of advancements in the chipmaking industry, equate to massive performance gains.
According to Geekbench 4 scores, the standard 4-core CPU nears the performance of the 2017 5K iMac's base processor.
![Mac mini Benchmark](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/28338-43875-181031-Macmini-Bench-l.jpg)
Mac mini benchmarks based on previous i3-8100 tests.
Compared to the previous Mac mini, Apple claims the 2018 model boasts 60 percent faster integrated graphics and a five fold boost to overall system performance. Those numbers are based on a Mac mini with a 3.2GHz 6-core 12-thread Core i7 processor that turbo-boosts up to 4.6GHz.
The base $799 model gets buyers a 3.6Ghz quad-core Core i3, which interestingly lacks support for Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading. A 6-core processor with those options is available as a $300 upgrade. The entry level mini comes with 128GB of storage, with an options to upgrade to 256GB for $200. A step-up model includes a 6-core processor and 256GB of storage, but that chip also lacks Hyperthreading.
Overall, the Mac mini is the cheapest way to get a Mac, and this year performance is up there with the rest of Apple's lineup.
Apple's new 2018 Mac Mini is available to order now starting at $799.
Comments
this is a nice computer. Too late for me, but a nice option for people who were able and willing to wait.
I also think this blurs the line between a geek product, mini-pro product and a budget mac. The latter being further from the truth because the price doesn't reflect it. I just purchased one with the i5 chip (standard option) 16GB ram and I could almost have got a 27" iMac for the same price (new). So its not cheap, whoops let me correct that, the word cheap infers something is lacking quality, where Apple products are not cheap in any sense of the word, so lets just say, the mac mini does not seem on the surface great value but if you consider it a mini pro with pro components then I think it brings it more into perspective. However, the omission of the microphone is bitterly disappointing. I tried mics on my current mini all have not worked. So suggestions welcome.
Apple AirPods will work. Companies like Plantronics make USB & Bluetooth headsets. Any number of makers sell USB mikes.
Also, some webcams include mikes and they usually connect via USB.
Blackmagic just added a Vega to their eGPU enclosure and Apple is pushing both Blackmagic's original and Pro eGPUs on their MacBook Pro page and Thunderbolt page, with an eGPU mention on the Mac Mini page, and an Accessories recommendation on the MacBook Air tech page.
And since there has never been a discrete GPU in a unibody 13" MacBook Pro, I for one am grateful for the eGPU option for staying portable and powerful. Right now, the eGPU is an improvement on the best discrete GPU you can get in 15" Pro as well, but they've also just announced Vega GPUs will be an option for 15" MacBook Pros in November.
All of this points to Apple serving professionals better this year than any time in recent memory. If they release a new Mac Pro next year, you'll have the most diverse pro-friendly lineup they've ever had, with the option of plugging in an eGPU into whatever Apple computer you'd like, or spending 3+ months worth of rent on an iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, or 15" Vega MacBook. That's more pro choice than I can recall them offering in the last 20 years.
I need a new machine real soon now, but will wait to see what the iMac is like, my current iMac is dying from overuse.
If I had to buy a machine right now, it would be the i7 mini with minimum ram and ssd. I will update the ram myself. I will wait until someone comes up with a matching external TB3 case that stacks with the mini in space grey, and add an external M.2 SSD. I currently boot my old iMac off a TB2 external SSD anyway, but I would like better than SATA. No way am I paying Apple’s evil prices for ram and ssd. And if I wanted a dedicated GPU, I am sure there will end up a eGPU case that matches too.
Cook is making it real hard not to switch to the dark side. The prices are getting stupidly expensive.
First text on the page says:
Part racehorse. All workhorse.
In addition to being a great desktop computer, Mac mini powers everything from home automation to giant render farms. And now with eighth-generation Intel quad-core and 6-core processors and Intel UHD Graphics 630, Mac mini has even more compute power for industrial-grade tasks. So whether you’re running a live concert sound engine or testing your latest iOS app, Mac mini is the shortest distance between a great idea and a great result.
The typical consumer isn't running a live concert or developing iOS apps.
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tell me more about these GHz.
Thanks for talking for all us 'pro' users again... not all 'pro' users are video professional creative 'pro's.
The mac mini is most widely used by professionals for specific purposes... which is why Apple pivoted the niche that the little Mac Mini is for.
I will be buying one of the i7/32GB RAM ones 'for professional purposes'. I know of another company that will order a significant number more than me (by the skid).
It would have been nice to see an option with discrete graphics - say that small Vega 16/20 that is coming to the MacBook Pros.
But, failing that, how about an eGPU in a matching case that you can stack under the Mac Mini? A tiny thunderbolt cable between the two (shame there isn't a direct PCIe slot for this built into the base of the Mac Mini to avoid the cable and thunderbolt), and boom, nice setup with GPU.
You forgot that included in the increase in price is the SSD (not spinning rust), 8GB of RAM instead of 4GB, and the quad-core not the anaemic 2 core CPU.