Apple on Tuesday updated its Mac mini desktop computer, adding an HDMI port for easy connectivity to an HDTV, as well as a built-in SD card slot for grabbing photos and videos from a digital camera.
The newly redesigned hardware is just 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin. It also has a built-in power supply, which means it lacks a bulky external power brick, which Apple said means the tiny desktop Mac takes up even less space than before, with 20 percent less system volume than the previous model.
"The sleek, aluminum Mac mini packs great features, versatility and value into an elegant, amazingly compact design," said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With twice the graphics performance, HDMI support and industry-leading energy efficiency, customers are going to love the new Mac mini."
The new Mac mini includes the Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics processor, which delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor. It also comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 320GB hard drive, and 2GB of RAM at the $699 starting price.
In March, AppleInsider first reported that Apple was building its first Macs with an HDMI port for high definition video and audio output. HDMI, or High-Definition Multimedia Interface, is a cabling standard intended for home theater, built on top of the computer-oriented DVI, or Digital Video Interface, specification.
Weeks ago, AppleInsider revealed that supply of the Mac mini was dwindling ahead of the release of new models.
Availability
Shipping today, the Mac mini is available through the Apple store, retail stores, and authorized retailers. The $699 model includes:
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet;
four USB 2.0 ports;
SD card slot;
one FireWire® 800 port;
one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
HDMI to DVI video adapter;
combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).
Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB hard drive running at 5400 rpm, Apple Remote, Aperture 3, Final Cut Express 4, Logic Express, iWork (pre-installed), Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
The Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes:
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
two 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm;
NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet;
four USB 2.0 ports;
SD card slot;
one FireWire 800 port;
one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
HDMI to DVI video adapter;
combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).
Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, External SuperDrive, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
Environmental impact
Even with its doubled graphics performance, Apple said the new Mac mini is still the world's most energy efficient desktop, based on products listed within the EPA Energy Star Small Scale Server database as of June 2010.
The new hardware uses 25 percent less power to less than 10W at idle, which is less than half the power used by competing systems. It also meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, achieves EPEAT Gold status, has a highly recyclable aluminum enclosure, and uses PVC-free components and cables with no brominated flame retardants.
Included software
The new Mac mini comes with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system, and iLife, Apple's suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. The $999 high-end model includes Snow Leopard Server, and allows a workgroup or small business to fulfill needs such as e-mail, calendar, file serving, Time Machine backup, Wiki Server, podcast production and more.
It's beautiful, and clearly a better design and computer than what it replaces.
Sadly, because of this it has turned from an entry level computer into a new line of more boutique Apple Macs. At least the RAM is accessible now.
The price markup in the UK (after VAT is removed) is 17%, compared to a usual 6-7% markup for Apple goods. (Mac Mini is £649, without VAT is £552, which is $815 after conversion).
For the additional price, Apple should throw in some software, like iWork, to sweeten the deal.
Way too expensive for what is supposed to be an entry level Mac. Think I'll pass.
If you think it's expensive, don't buy one. That simple. Go ahead and buy your POS cheap box which has a 40% failure rate out of the box and which requires you to talk to someone in Swahili to get support.
Meanwhile, here in the real world, the Mini server is a super value. Please look up the cost of Windows server with unlimited client licenses. Heck, the software alone is considerably more expensive than the Mac Mini server.
Comments
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
Yeah it looks pretty sweet. Looks like you were wrong about it's death Kasper.
iMac pages are not accessable either....something must be happening there.
Lots of people were worried about lack of Macs, Mac focus at WWDC.
And so begins Apple's response...
The AppleTV seems to have been removed from the online store and the main website!
No longer needed, hardware-wise. What about the interfacing?
---
Stores are down everywhere... I hope we have an interesting evening ahead of us (it's 7pm where I live). Buckle your seat belts.
Thanks
The newly redesigned hardware is just 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin. It also has a built-in power supply, which means it lacks a bulky external power brick, which Apple said means the tiny desktop Mac takes up even less space than before, with 20 percent less system volume than the previous model.
"The sleek, aluminum Mac mini packs great features, versatility and value into an elegant, amazingly compact design," said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With twice the graphics performance, HDMI support and industry-leading energy efficiency, customers are going to love the new Mac mini."
The new Mac mini includes the Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics processor, which delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor. It also comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 320GB hard drive, and 2GB of RAM at the $699 starting price.
In March, AppleInsider first reported that Apple was building its first Macs with an HDMI port for high definition video and audio output. HDMI, or High-Definition Multimedia Interface, is a cabling standard intended for home theater, built on top of the computer-oriented DVI, or Digital Video Interface, specification.
Weeks ago, AppleInsider revealed that supply of the Mac mini was dwindling ahead of the release of new models.
Availability
Shipping today, the Mac mini is available through the Apple store, retail stores, and authorized retailers. The $699 model includes:
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet;
four USB 2.0 ports;
SD card slot;
one FireWire® 800 port;
one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
HDMI to DVI video adapter;
combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).
Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB hard drive running at 5400 rpm, Apple Remote, Aperture 3, Final Cut Express 4, Logic Express, iWork (pre-installed), Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
The Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes:
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
two 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm;
NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet;
four USB 2.0 ports;
SD card slot;
one FireWire 800 port;
one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
HDMI to DVI video adapter;
combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).
Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, External SuperDrive, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
Environmental impact
Even with its doubled graphics performance, Apple said the new Mac mini is still the world's most energy efficient desktop, based on products listed within the EPA Energy Star Small Scale Server database as of June 2010.
The new hardware uses 25 percent less power to less than 10W at idle, which is less than half the power used by competing systems. It also meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, achieves EPEAT Gold status, has a highly recyclable aluminum enclosure, and uses PVC-free components and cables with no brominated flame retardants.
Included software
The new Mac mini comes with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system, and iLife, Apple's suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. The $999 high-end model includes Snow Leopard Server, and allows a workgroup or small business to fulfill needs such as e-mail, calendar, file serving, Time Machine backup, Wiki Server, podcast production and more.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
If buying a LCD monitor to connect to the mini, what is the maximum size of lcd monitor the mini can take ? (24" or 27")
Thanks
It's not the size of the monitor, it's the resolution.
The spec page shows the resolutions it will support
No sale for me, shame because it looks really nice.
Sadly, because of this it has turned from an entry level computer into a new line of more boutique Apple Macs. At least the RAM is accessible now.
The price markup in the UK (after VAT is removed) is 17%, compared to a usual 6-7% markup for Apple goods. (Mac Mini is £649, without VAT is £552, which is $815 after conversion).
For the additional price, Apple should throw in some software, like iWork, to sweeten the deal.
"4.4 inches thin" try "1.4 inches thin"
Way too expensive for what is supposed to be an entry level Mac. Think I'll pass.
If you think it's expensive, don't buy one. That simple. Go ahead and buy your POS cheap box which has a 40% failure rate out of the box and which requires you to talk to someone in Swahili to get support.
Meanwhile, here in the real world, the Mini server is a super value. Please look up the cost of Windows server with unlimited client licenses. Heck, the software alone is considerably more expensive than the Mac Mini server.
at the $699 starting price.
Here in Portugal it starts at ?799 = $980.
In the UK it starts at £649 = $956
I think they didn't convert the price right...
C'mon, Apple - now you're just being needlessly stubborn. Add it as a goddam option and get it over with.