Don't let the Mac Mini's size fool you, this tiny desktop has the heart of a lion.

Small; Powerful; Upgradable

Can get expensive; Poor graphics processing

With a new lower starting price and Apple's straining-at-the-leash M1 CPU, the Mac mini is far and away the most polished, potent tiny desktop in its class.

New; lower starting price; Much improved overall performance from 2018 model; Especially promising bench results with native "Universal" apps; Surprisingly quiet and cool operation under load

Boosting RAM and SSD capacity at purchase time is pricey; Fewer Thunderbolt ports than previous Mac mini; Memory no longer upgradable post-purchase

The Mac mini has always been Apple’s most flexible desktop computer. Sure, most people go for the traditional experience and plug in a display, mouse, and keyboard — but you can also have it serve as a home theater PC, or put it to work with professional photo or audio editing, or turn a group of...

Blazing performance; Existing apps run very well on M1 chip; Appealing price for the power it offers; Now with Wi-Fi 6

Fewer USB-C ports than Intel model; Unified memory tops out at 16GB; Doesn’t support external GPUs; Truly awful speaker

Today’s piece was less of a review on the new Mac mini as it was testing out Apple’s new M1 chip. We’ve had very little time with the device but hopefully were able to manage to showcase the key aspects of the new chip, and boy, it’s impressive.

Apple’s first M1-powered Mac mini is short on flaws and big on promise, and it absolutely sells the company’s migration to its own Apple Silicon processors on its own.

The Mac mini is popular because it’s Apple most affordable desktop Mac, and also because its size gives it versatility, making it a good machine to use in a variety of situations. But it was to the low tier of the Mac lineup when it came to performance.

Tremendous speed at a bargain price; Compact design makes it ideal for any situation; Tremendous speed at a bargain price; Compact design makes it ideal for any situation

Limited display support; Two Thunderbolt ports; Limited display support; Two Thunderbolt ports

If you thought Apple was crazy for moving away from Intel in the Mac, you weren't alone. It sure seemed crazy. The Mac just had its best year of sales ever, and yet Apple couldn't possibly rock that boat harder than this.

Great performance across the board; Legacy x86 macOS app support and performance are generally rock solid; Low footprint in every respect: size; power; thermals; Everything that was good about the Mac mini before is still good; RAM and port options are limited; The iOS and iPadOS app experience is a...

RAM and port options are limited; The iOS and iPadOS app experience is a mess; The path for emulating x86 Windows is still unclear; and that’s an essential part of a lot of people's workflows

Over the years, it has sometimes seemed that Apple didn't really know what to do with the Mac Mini . Having outlived its usefulness as a 'low-cost Mac' in the Steve Jobs era, Apple has made tentative attempts in recent years to reposition the Mac Mini as a kind of entry-level server and, more...

Affordable; M1 processor delivers a big performance boost; Ultra-compact design; Runs cool and quiet

RAM and storage purchase-time upgrades are expensive; No user-installable RAM or storage upgrades; No discrete or external GPU options

Holy moley! The Apple Mac mini with M1 processor is cheaper, faster, and keeps everything we loved about the Mac mini while changing up both the internals and where Apple sits in the larger industry. That's a lot to live up to, but the M1 Mac mini does it with grace and style.

Seriously fast performance, Seamless support for most software, More affordable than ever before

No aftermarket upgrades, Fewer Thunderbolt 3 ports, A few minor hiccups with compatibility and features

If you're after a small-form-factor computer that performs superbly, runs almost silently and exudes quality, the new Mac Mini M1 is a terrific buy. It also represents excellent value for money, but you should give serious consideration to paying extra for the 16GB RAM upgrade at purchase to ensure...

Stunning performance; Ultra-quiet; Reasonable cost for such high speed

Only configurable to max 16GB memory; Fewer Thunderbolt ports than before; Few fully compatible apps at present