Pros & Cons
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- The least expensive Mac you can buy.
- Plenty of connectivity options.
- Comes with iWork and iLife preloaded.
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- Not upgradable.
- No included keyboard or mouse.
- Only 4GB of memory.
- Memory upgrade options are expensive.
Apple Mac mini (2014) Specs
| Operating System | Mac OS X Yosemite |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 |
| RAM (as Tested) | 4 |
Apple just made a slew of announcements this week, but between the thinner gold-tinted iPad Air 2 and the eye-popping iMac with Retina 5K display, it (finally) updated the little desktop that could, the Mac mini.
The pint-sized desktop gets an updated roster of ports and components, along with a lower starting price. The last update was the 2012 version, which is sure to leave a lot of Mac mini owners wondering, should I get the new model? By and large, the answer seems to be yes.
The Apple Mac mini (2014) looks almost identical to the 2012 model, with the same aluminum chassis measuring 1.4 inches thick and 7.7 inches square. Aside from a little dark spot for an IR receiver and a pinhole for an integrated microphone, the new Mac mini has a plain front face, plain brushed metal sides, and a densely packed I/O panel in the back. From above, it still looks like a solid block of metal bearing the Apple logo.
The only visible changes are on the back, where the lineup of ports has changed, though only slightly. The new Mac mini has not one, but two Thunderbolt 2 ports, and has shifted the HDMI output to accommodate it. Also, the new Mac mini dropped the FireWire 800 port that was offered on the 2012 model, which seems well overdue, since the FireWire standard was falling out of favor even then. Everything else looks the same, with four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI-out port, Gigabit Ethernet, and jacks for audio input and headphones.
| Name | Apple Mac mini (2014) | Apple Mac mini (2014) | Apple Mac mini (Late 2012) |
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| Lowest Price | %displayPrice% %seller% | %displayPrice% %seller% | %displayPrice% %seller% |
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| Processor Name | Intel Core i5 | Intel Core i5-4260U | Intel Core i5-4302Y |
| RAM | 4 GB | 3.01 GB | 4 GB |
| Storage Capacity (as Tested) | 500 GB | 500 GB | 1128 GB |
| Storage Type | HDD | HDD | HDD |
| Operating System | Mac OS X Yosemite | Mac OS X | Mac OS X 10.8 |
| Read the Review | Read the Review | Read the Review |
Flip the Mac mini over and twist open the tool-free access panel on the bottom of the chassis, and you'll spot a few internal differences. The new model is upgraded to a fourth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, a step up from the third-generation (Ivy Bridge) CPU seen in the previous iteration, but the clock speeds are different. The older model boasted a 2.3GHz dual-core CPU while the new base model is just 1.4GHz. Despite the difference in clock speed, I'd still expect better general performance out of the newer processor. The new CPU also bumps up the integrated graphics solution to Intel HD Graphics 5000, an incremental upgrade from the Intel HD Graphics 4000 used in the previous model.
Other things haven't changed much at all, with a 500GB hard drive in the base model and the option to configure the Mac mini with a 1TB Fusion drive, the same options available two years ago. Apple was already ahead of the curve when it offered 802.11ac Wi-Fi back in 2012, and that hasn't changed. Neither does the Gigabit Ethernet port built in for wired connectivity.
But what about 4K video, or even 5K, as we've seen offered on the new iMac 27-inch? The little desktop will support up to two 2,560-by-1,600 displays over Thunderbolt (which also works with mini DisplayPort), but it will put out a 4,096-by-2,160 resolution over HDMI, though only at the slower refresh rate of 24Hz. Most monitors have a 60Hz refresh rate, so there will be a noticeable difference between the two when the resolution is cranked up.
Ultimately, the biggest difference between the old and new Mac mini is the price. Dropping the base price from $599 to $499 makes the Mac mini (2014) the most affordable of all of Apple's desktops. The new model will offer better general performance, but it won't be a massive change. If you don't think your Mac mini is running slow, there's probably not much reason to upgrade, but with the price so low, there's also not a lot of reason to hold off.
For more, check out Old vs. New 27-Inch iMac: Do You Need a 5K Retina Display?