The casing is also made of a new alloy that allows Apple to make it completely from recycled aluminum, making it probably one of the most environmentally friendly versions of the Mac mini to date. To go with the upgraded internals, the externally visible parts have also been given a bit of a makeover, with the raw aluminum casing switched out for a Space Gray finish. Storage for this model is solely PCIe-based SSDs, starting from 128 gigabytes with options for 256 gigabytes, 512 gigabytes, 1 terabyte, or two terabytes. The available memory for the model starts with 8 gigabytes of DDR4, but it can be configured to use 16 gigabytes, 32 gigabytes, or even 64 gigabytes at maximum capacity. At the top end is a six-core Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 3.2GHz with a 4.6GHz turbo boost. Powering the new Mac mini is a choice of a quad-core Intel Core i3 clocked at 3.6 gigahertz at the base level and a six-core Core i5 clocked at 3.0GHz that can be boosted to 4.1GHz. While staying a compact unit, measuring 7.7 inches square and just 1.4 inches thick, the specifications haven't been constrained, with Apple making considerable upgrades to the internals.

Following a longer-than-expected period between refreshes, the new Mac mini brings Apple's compact desktop Mac up to date.

Review apple mac mini 2018