Apple Mac mini (2018) announced with powerful hardware

Apple's compact Mac mini hasn't seen a significant upgrade in over four years, leading us to believe that the company may have retired the product. Fortunately, Apple had other plans, by unveiling a brand new Mac mini during their "More in the Making" event in New York.

Design

The new Mac mini is manufactured entirely out of recycled aluminum reformulated into an “Apple-designed alloy.” It retains its familiar squared metal design with rounded corners and Apple logo on top. While retaining its predecessor's dimensions it comes in slightly heavier than the previous model.

Apple is also introducing a new space-gray version which matches the company's newest iMac Pro.


Hardware

In the past, the Mac mini has always been the entry into Mac desktops offering modest specs at an affordable price. This time Apple is aiming the device at professionals who use it for live performances, rendering video, running specialized hardware, and more.

Specs

Size	Dimensions	19.7 x 19.7 x 3.6 cm (7.7 x 7.7 x 1.4 in)
	Weight	1.3 kg (2.9 lbs)
Memory	Internal	128GB PCIe-based SSD	256GB PCIe-based SSD
		256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD	512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD
	RAM	8GB
		16GB, 32GB, or 64GB
Hardware	CPU	3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3 6MB shared L3 cache	3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5 Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz 9MB shared L3 cache
		3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz 12MB shared L3 cache	3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz 12MB shared L3 cache
	GPU	Intel UHD Graphics 630
	Chipset	-
	Others	-
Connectivity	Ports	Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports with support for: DisplayPort Thunderbolt (up to 40 Gbps) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps) Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA supported using adapters (sold separately)
		Two USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps) HDMI 2.0 port Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet) 3.5 mm headphone jack
	Wi-Fi	802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
	Bluetooth	5.0 wireless technology
	Ethernet	10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector) Configurable to 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb, and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ-45 connector)
	Audio	3.5 mm headphone jack HDMI 2.0 port supports multichannel audio output
	Video	up to three displays over Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI 2.0
Colors	space gray
-
Software	OS	macOS 10.14 Mojave
	Manufacturer	-
	Others	Mac App Store apps
-
Links	-

As you can imagine, all these new hardware upgrades make the Mac mini run hotter than its predecessor, and Apple has responded to this with a new thermal-dissipation system that circulates air in and out of the computer at twice the rate.

External Displays

Customers purchasing the new Mac mini can connect up to three displays with the following options:

• Two Displays: One display with 5120 x 2880 pixel resolution connected via Thunderbolt 3, plus one display with 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution connected via HDMI 2.0
• Three Displays: Two displays with 4096 x 2304 pixel resolution connected via Thunderbolt 3, plus another display with 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution connected via HDMI 2.0

The Mac mini’s Thunderbolt 3 ports support native DisplayPort output over USB-C. With the right adapters, users of legacy displays can also do Thunderbolt 2, DVI, and VGA output via those ports. DVI is also supported through the HDMI port, with an adapter.

Pricing and Availability

Customers will be able to order the Mac mini (2018) starting today with shipments set to begin on November 7, 2018. Apple has sadly increased the base price of the Mac mini with the entry-level model starting now at $799 with the top-end version costing over $4000.

3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor with 128GB Storage	3.0GHz 6-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz with 256GB Storage
3.6GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i3 processor 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory Intel UHD Graphics 630 128GB PCIe-based SSD storage1	3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory Intel UHD Graphics 630 256GB PCIe-based SSD storage1
starting at $799.00	starting at $1,099.00