Apple Mac mini Review

The Apple Mac mini (2014) is the small-form factor (SFF) consumer desktop to beat, thanks to a solid chassis, convenient wired and wireless connectivity, an OS that hands off to the iOS devices in your pocket, all at a reasonable price.

The matte-aluminum chassis measures 1.4 by 7.7 by 7.7 inches (HWD), which can almost disappear behind a large screen display or HDTV.

Like its predecessors, there's no option for an optical drive.

The chassis is fashioned out of matte aluminum

The exterior of the Mac mini is mostly unchanged from that of the Apple Mac Mini (Late 2012) we saw two years ago.

Connectivity options are plentiful, including an Ethernet port, an HDMI port, an SDXC card reader, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, and four USB 3.0 ports.

SFF competitors like the Maingear Spark and Zotac Zbox CI320 nano Plus Windows 8.1 With Bing may be physically smaller, but both of those Windows PCs require an external power brick that can clutter your workspace. The Mac mini has its power supply built in.

The two Thunderbolt 2 ports can be connected to speedy hard drives or large screen displays.

The chassis is effectively sealed now (the bottom panel is much harder to remove, and security screws prevent you from going further).