T
he Mac mini doesn’t get upgraded often, but when it does, it makes an
impact well out of proportion to its trim dimensions. The 2018 Mac
mini was a PCMag Editors’ Choice pick for its pep, connectivity, build
quality, and limited upgradability. A slight variation on the same sheet music,
played with little fanfare earlier this year, pumped up the two base models’
SSD capacity. The real update of this iconic little desktop is this one, and it’s a
big-band extravaganza. Apple’s own highly integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC),
the M1 brings the Mac mini to new performance highs, and while a few
fundamentals have changed, the peppy performance, the reasonable mix of
connectivity, and a new lower $699 starting price combine to make it one of
the best values in compact computers, period. It easily earns our Editors’
Choice nod.Apple Mac mini (M1, Late
2020): Most Polished,
Potent Tiny Desktop
HARDWAREREVIEWS