The Mac Mini: A Compact Powerhouse with M1 Processor

If you compare the new Mac mini to the top-selling PC desktop in its price range, it is just 1/10 the size and yet it is up to five times faster. This is a remarkable feat considering the compact design of the device. Rene Ritchie, the host of the Apple Silicon event, was reacting live to the announcement and expressed his excitement about the new Mac mini.

The rumors were that laptops would be released, but instead, Apple chose to focus on the Mac mini, which makes sense given that the developer test kit provided by Apple was based on a Mac mini with an A12Z processor from the iPad Pro. The new Mac mini is powered by the M1 chip, similar in performance to the A14 chip used in the MacBook Air and also to the A14 chip. However, unlike laptops, the Mac mini does not have an attached monitor.

Julie Brahms, senior manager of hardware engineering at Apple, explained that the Mac mini was originally designed for people who were switching from Windows and needed a low-cost entry-level Mac to do various tasks such as playing video games, editing photos, or working on home theater projects. The device was meant to be simple, yet powerful enough to handle basic tasks.

The new Mac mini is three times faster than the previous one, which may seem like an exaggeration since the actual CPU has not been updated in a while. However, it will be able to drive a pro display with six times better graphics. Apple is also demonstrating its ability to run Unity, a game developer environment, and showcasing actual games developed for the M1 chip.

The design of the Mac mini remains largely unchanged from previous models, which may have been expected given the emphasis on performance over form factor. The classic current Mac mini chassis has not seen any significant changes, which may be disappointing for some users. However, it's worth noting that Apple is now demonstrating everything from Unity to actual games developed for the M1 chip.

The M1 chip in the Mac mini also comes with the Apple Neural Engine, making it well-suited for all of the apps that already plug into the M1 on devices like the iPad and iPhone. This includes apps such as Pixelmator, which does neural filtering and image enhancing.

Another notable feature of the new Mac mini is its fanless design, which means it sustains and is quiet. It also comes with a range of ports including Ethernet, Thunderbolt 3, USB4, and more. The device does not have to worry about battery life since it's plugged in all the time, but users still expect better video quality, performance, and everything else.

The M1 chip should deliver on these expectations, and Rene Ritchie is excited to show off every spec, feature, pro, and con of the new Mac mini. The device is a compact powerhouse that can handle demanding tasks with ease, making it an exciting addition to Apple's desktop lineup.

For those interested in learning more about the M1 chip and its capabilities, there are plenty of videos available on Rene Ritchie's channel. In addition, for educational content and creators, CuriosityStream is a great resource. The platform offers a range of documentaries and educational content, and users can find all of Rene Richie's videos there.

Rene Richie also hosts a new podcast called AppleTalk, which explores how technology affects our culture and lives. Each episode includes a bonus topic available exclusively on Nebula. When users sign up for CuriosityStream using the link in the description, they get access to the platform as well as a free Nebula subscription.

For now, Rene Richie invites users to check out the playlist above for every spec, feature, pro, and con of the new Mac mini. He will be going through each one in detail, so be sure to click on the link in the playlist and see you in the next video.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- If you compare Mac mini tothe top-selling PC desktopin its price range, themini is just 1/10 the size.And yet it's up to five times faster.- I'm Rene Ritchie and I'm reacting liveto the Apple Silicon event.Up next, Talk About Your Swerves,sponsored by CuriosityStream with Nebula.So the rumors were laptops.I don't, they were, you know,people wanted the mini didn'thear too many rumors about itbut there is a new Macmini, which makes sensebecause the developer test kitthat Apple provided was basedon a Mac mini with that A12Zprocessor from the iPad pro.But this is going all in now with the M1so similar performance to the...Probably the, you know,the A14, we already knowalso too that Mac book air,and we have Julie Brahmswho's senior manager ofhardware engineering.She's gonna tell us about it.So, similar power profile,but just in the desktopand without an attached monitor.Originally the Mac mini was designedfor people who wereswitching from windows.It was bring your owndisplay, keyboard and mouse.And it was meant for students,developers, hobbyists,home theater, all those sorts of thingsthat you just wanted alow-cost entry-level Mac to do.And now they're saying thatthis one is three times fasterthan the previous one,which is a hard comparebecause they haven't been updating.I don't think they've updatedthe actual CPU since 2018so it's not current generation Intel to M1but it'll drive a prodisplay, XDR, you know,because of course it will,six times better graphics.But again, though, we'retalking about a machinethat hasn't been updated in a while.But Apple is demonstratingeverything from unity,the game developer environment,to the actual gamesthat are developed for it.But again, no redesign.This looks like the classiccurrent Mac mini chassis.It's not like they pushed everything downinto an Apple TV sized puck.So you are getting allof the performance of M1but you're getting it inthe same sort of packageas the previous Intel chips.And because it has the Apple neural engineit'll be well suited for all of the appsthat already plug into thaton things like the iPadand the iPhone, for examplethings like Pixelmatorthat does neural filteringand image enhancingall of that sort of thing.And because this is the first timethe Mac minis had a fan init, they say that it just...It sustains and it's quietand you've got ethernet,thunderbolt, USB4, which is good.HTMI 2.0, because yeah, Inteldoes license thunderbolt nowbut USB4 super sets thunderbolt, anyway,so you have thunderbolt3 inside it regardless.Wi-Fi 6 finally, Wi-Fi 6 comes to the Macand I thought Apple waswaiting on Apple Siliconbecause of some of theissues around Wi-Fi 6and the price has gone downby 100 bucks, it's now 699.It's not at that, you know 599 price pointthat I think a lot of us werehoping that it would hit,but I'm also guessing thatApple wants to pay downall this work on Silicondevelopment upfrontand then start ramping up features,keeping prices relatively the same.I expect over a coupleof generations though,similar to like what'shappened with the iPad,we'll see previous versionsof the M chips availablein lower price, more entry-level products.The way the iPad 8 now is just 329compared to the iPad air(indistinct) much more expensive iPad pro.So the interesting thing hereis now we're back with JohnTurner and he's talkingabout the power ofgeneral purpose computingwhich I've actually been worrying about.Maybe not worrying about, butinterested in, because we knowthrough iPhone and iPad thatApple can do specific compute.They can do appliance computing fasterthan pretty much anythingelse on the planetbut general purposecomputing hits those sortsof things that are outsidethe predictable workflowsand you know things that aremore pro and are more hobbyist.And probably thosepeople wanna also be ableto do a lot of things on their devicethat are outside of Apple'smodel for mainstream computing,you know, including turningoff all the security stuffand just running what they wanton their computer when they want.So I'm still waiting to hear.So I'm sure we will hear about this.You know, Apple has talked about this WWDCbut I wanna hear more on it.So quick reaction on the Mac mini.I think this is great too.I don't think expectationson a Mac mini are high,it has been better,you know, traditionallythen it has used real Intel processorsand not the Y-Series processors,but it's been as the lowestend of Apple's desktop.So I think that also isgonna be super exciting.You don't have to worryabout battery life, of course'cause it's plugged inall the time, but just...We want better from that,we want better video,we want better performance,we want better everything.And the M1 should deliver on that.And yet, it ain't over folks.I've got a ton more videos coming your wayand for even more contentcheck out CuriosityStream.Now with Nebula, Nebula isa streaming video service.I started with myeducational creator friendslike (indistinct) and many, many more.It's a place wherenone of us have to worryabout demonetizationor the tyranny of click-through ratesor watch time or the algorithm or ads.And you can find all of my videos there.Completely ad free, including AppleTalkthe new podcast I'mhosting with Georgia Dowwhere technology meets psychology.And we talk about howall of these companiesare affecting our culture and our lives.And every episode, everyepisode has a bonus topicavailable exclusively on Nebula.So what this all has todo with CuriosityStream,well they're the go-to sourcefor the best documentaries on the internetand they love educationalcontent and creators.And we worked out this dealwhere if you sign up for CuriosityStreamwith the link in the description,not only do you get CuriosityStreambut you also get a Nebulasubscription for free.And for a limited timeCuriosityStream is offering 26%all of their annual plans.And yet, 26% is just the bestdeal you'll find anywhere.So click the link in the descriptionor go to curiositystream.com/reneritchie.It's a great way to support this channeland educational contentdirectly for just 1479 per year.Just go to the link in the descriptionor go to curiositystream.com/reneerichie.And clicking on that link,really helps out this channel.For a ton more on everythingApple is announcing today,check out the playlist above.I'm gonna go throughevery spec, every feature,every pro and every con, and more.Just click the link in the playlistand see you in next video.\n"