I have a soft spot for Apple Mac Mini. Apple’s mini-sized desktop came at a time when I was trying to figure out where to store a rather bulky PC tower, and the appeal of it was instantly obvious. Since then, it has been upgraded with new chips, with the launch of the M1 version in 2020, and the latest M2-powered Mini in January.
The Mini keeps the familiar design: a small square of aluminium that measures less than 20cm by 20cm, and just over 3.5cm high. It can find a small space on your desk, and sit there unobtrusively, which is an underrated characteristic.
The updated Mini starts at €729 for the base model, which comes with the M2 chip, an 8-core CPU with four high-performance and four high-efficiency cores, and a 10-core graphics chip. That is cheaper that the €786 the Mac Mini M1 version was selling for in 2020. Storage starts at 256GB and can be increased to 2TB if you have deep enough pockets.
The higher-powered M2 Pro device, the first time Apple has included the Pro in the Mini line-up, is significantly more expensive, at €1579. But for that, you get a 12-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, and a 16 core GPU. That’s a lot of firepower in one tiny device. The Pro comes with a 512GB solid state drive as the entry level option, but you can go up to 8TB, which will significantly increase the price by more than €2,700.
Gerry Thornley: Ireland’s fitful displays made for a rather disconcerting month
Nil Yalter: Solo Exhibition – A fascinating glimpse of a historically influential artist
Katie McCabe and Ireland fully focused on their qualification goal ahead of Wales match
A Californian woman in Dublin: ‘Ireland’s not perfect, but I do think as a whole it is moving in the right direction’
In essence, the Mac Mini M2 replaced my main computer for work
But for most people, the M2 version will suffice. It offers a significant power bump over the M1 version, and even more gains over the previous generation of Intel-powered Minis. It is fast enough and powerful enough to deal with all the everyday stuff, plus some extra tasks such as image and video editing. In essence, it replaced my main computer for work and handled everything I threw at it.
And it does all of that without announcing its presence. I barely heard a fan kick in, even when it was pushed with multitasking and some power-hungry tasks.
Although the review version came with the rather impressive Apple Cinema Display, you can use your existing equipment for the Mac Mini with no issues. The Mini has one HDMI port alongside two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port with a 10GB option, and a headphone jack. It also has Wi-Fi 6E, which is the newest wireless standard, and Bluetooth 5.3. It supports up to two displays, which should keep most people happy.
Good
The Mac Mini is so small it fits almost anywhere on your desk, which is perfect for a home office if you are stuck for space. And it does that without compromising on power, with the Mini delivering an impressive performance, even on the lower end of the spec. You don’t need to shell out for the Pro chip to squeeze good performance and power from the Mini; the regular M2 is more than capable of coping with the tasks you throw at it. Power users with a serious need for firepower will justify the upgrade to the M2 Pro, but by and large, the standard M2 is enough of an upgrade.
Like any desktop, you’ll need a good monitor to accompany the Mac, and a keyboard and mouse, You can opt for the Apple-branded versions of these devices, but it’s not essential.
Bad
No ports on the front of the device meant I occasionally had to fumble around the back of the Mini to plug in a USB device – though with wireless keyboards and cloud storage, I am rapidly running out of reasons to use USB A or C ports these days.
Everything else
The Mini is remarkably quiet in its operation, so much so that my regular machine seemed noisy in comparison When I went back to it.
The ability to work across two monitors is welcome. You can use one of the newer iPads as a second screen if you need it, making your set-up much more versatile.
The verdict
An excellent upgrade to the Mini line.
Rating: *****
Apple.com
