Mac Mini: Packed With Impressive Power

Hot off the heels of its new iPhone XS and XR launch, Apple invited New York professionals to its ‘More in the Making’ event in late October, unveiling a whole host of new hardware, like the long-awaited MacBook Air refresh and an iPhone X-inspired iPad redesign.

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One product announcement that garnered the most excitement, however, was the newly-designed Mac mini, which features blazing-fast storage, more ports, and the ability to build server farms. Today, we take a closer look at the mini, and ask whether size really matters in computing…

A TWEAKED DESIGN

The Mac mini has always been an attractive device, and it has maintained its signature silver box look since 2005’s model. Whilst the latest iteration of the mini looks the same on first impression, Apple did announce a new color option, Space Gray, to sit alongside its fleet of Mac computers, which can all now be purchased in multiple color options, bar the iMac - the $4,999 Pro version of the machine must be purchased in order to enjoy a Space Gray finish.

But the truth is, very little needed to change to make the mini a more attractive device - its casing is as iconic in the Apple fandom as the iPhone, as outlined in the draw-dropping ‘Arrival’ video, where the new Mac mini is shown to be coming from outer space, only to wind up on a home office desktop. The model has always been the smallest and most portable desktop device that Apple has released, and the latest version of the mini, which measures in at 7.7 inches by 1.4 inches and weighs a mere 2.9 pounds, continues the legacy set by Steve Jobs and co back in 2005.

Whilst the design may look similar to the 2014 model, Apple has added some new ports to the device, giving developers and professional users more choice over which peripherals they’d like to use. Of course, the port range doesn’t compete with the iMac Pro, but for a portable desktop computer, it packs its punch. As well as four Thunderbolt 3/USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 ports,