Over the past 4 years Apple has released generations of smartphones, tablets, laptops and millions of accessories. But the younger member of the company's laptop family was sold without major changes. After the new Mac mini was announced, the internet has been filled with speculation about what will change and improve for the 2018 model. Even bold expectations were justified, the Mac mini turned out to be really cool.
Appearance
Four years of calm were not in vain, the expectations of users were embodied in an increase in the power of Mac mini 2018 by 5 times. A compact computer with an 'apple' forced to reconsider the attitude towards portable digital technology. Mac mini turned out to be faster than laptops and desktop computers in the budget category.
In 2017 – 2018, designers Apple revised the appearance of smartphones and tablets, changed sizes, materials, and new features from the company. But in the case of the Mac mini, they decided not to continue this trend. For a computer, these highlighting parts are not important, the main thing here is to maintain the original size, equipping the device with new functions.
The first thing that caught my eye at the presentation was the appearance of a new color 'gray space'. The appearance of the Space Gray color scheme came as a pleasant surprise for potential buyers. Previously, this shade was found only in top devices Apple.
Connectors
Nothing special happened in the Mac mini interface. It supports all well-known and proven connection standards. With the new processor, all operations are now performed 5 times faster. The new Mac mini received all the necessary connectors:
- Four USB-C Gen 3 hardware interface ports. Several computers are connected to one monitor.
- Connector for transferring digital video data to HDMI.
- Internet access at speeds up to 10 Gb / s.
- Standard USB ports.
- Audio output.
A compact computer from Apple is suitable for those who just like to watch movies in the evenings and for those who are professionally involved in audio or video processing.
What can be connected
One of the reasons the Mac mini is so popular is its ability to create a server machine by combining multiple computers. The lucky owner of a laptop from Apple can connect:
- high-speed storage;
- additional video card;
- up to 2 monitors supporting 4K format.
Various types of digital devices can be connected using standard USB outputs. So the device is relevant in any situation and for many-sided purposes.
Data transfer
The new Mac mini Apple did not stint and added as many as 4 ports Thunderbolt to the back panel. 3. What are the benefits of these interface ports:
- Information transfer occurs at a speed of 40 Gbit / s.
- The computer and other external devices are charged through any of the ports.
- If there is not enough internal one, an external video card is connected.
In addition, thanks to the 'generosity' of the company, it became possible to connect two monitors with 4K support at once.
Up to 6 cores per processor
Western bloggers and research resource leaders have already received the Mac Mini 2018 for evaluation. The very first tests showed that the engineers' long-term work was not in vain. The compact computer from Apple received 2 8th generation processors, one with 4, the other with 6 cores.
Mac mini is not just used as a compact home computer, the device is bought to combine a group of computers to solve complex computing problems. Therefore, there are much more questions to the processor than to all other components.
Up to 5x faster performance
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This is why Apple equipped the Mac mini with two advanced processors: the intel Core i5 and i7. Already the first tests gave extremely positive ratings. For example, 15 to 20 tabs were turned on, music played and video started, but no 'brakes' or freezes were detected. And the time of copying to external media is less than 5 seconds even for 5 GB.
New cooling system
The increase in performance brought about a solution to cooling problems. The compact case dictates its own rules for equipping, in order to fit the fan, we had to change the design of the power source, change special holes. As a result, the element received a 70% increase in power and a 2-fold increase in air flow.
Turbo Boost
Intel Turbo Boost has been around in computers for a long time and has already justified its creation. The technology increases the performance of various types of applications, that is, data processing in the processor is much faster. Turbo Boost is enabled by default and works automatically. The technology is also used when there is a lack of RAM. In fact, Turbo Boost boosts processor performance up to 4.1 GHz.
RAM
High performance 2666MHz DDR4 memory up to 64GB. In the previous version, this figure did not exceed 16 GB. Simultaneously with the increase in RAM, the memory speed has also increased, now it is 266 Hz.
HDD
The internal memory of the base model was 128 GB, the older one – 256 GB, expandable up to 2 TB. We recommend that you use the CleanMyMac utility to clean up your hard drive, which will erase unnecessary information, and provides detailed information on the status of your computer's memory, battery, and other options.
Capacity
2TB SSD storage with twice the speed of previous models. Now all information is stored on one device. Users have the opportunity to independently supplement the internal memory. It is planned that people will buy a basic Mac mini device and upgrade it themselves.
Another plus: such an intervention will not entail a waiver of warranty intervention. True, maintenance technicians recommend saving the standard folders of RAM, otherwise problems arise in the service.
Reading speed
The new Mac mini is equipped only with SSD drives with a maximum capacity of 2TB, which is 3-4 times faster and supports 3.4GB sequential read technology.
New Apple T2 chip for data security
Special attention is paid to the protection of information in devices from Apple. 2018 desktop systems received the Apple T2 Security Chip, an advanced data retention chip. A number of functions are assigned to this microcircuit:
- key protection;
- fingerprint verification;
- secure boot function.
The Apple T2 chip is enabled at the hardware level, so no third-party malware can influence it. The new chip will protect Mac mini from viruses, Trojans and hacker attacks. The latest threat is no longer a myth or an invention of especially suspicious bloggers. Hundreds of pirated connections to computers, webcams or passwords are recorded every day. The new Mac mini Apple provides an unprecedented security system that cannot be bypassed.
GPU
Modern digital devices are hard to imagine without an advanced device for processing and reproducing computer graphics. The new Mac Mini received an improved graphics processor that increased the performance of the laptop by 60%.
Price, release date in Russia
The new Mac mini is a small but powerful monster. Device advantages:
- Classic and familiar design, enhanced by the new 'Space Silver' color.
- The ability to update or upgrade the RAM, depending on the tasks.
- Four 3rd generation hardware interface ports Thunderbolt.
- Connects to 4-K displays with cinematic resolution.
- The productivity has increased 5 times.
Of the obvious disadvantages, we can only name the restriction on the upgrade of the internal memory, as well as the already familiar high price. And although there are plenty of devices on the market with similar or even superior parameters, the Mac mini takes on its compactness and undeniable power.
Two variants of Mac mini will be available in Russia: with a quad-core Intel Core i3 (RAM – 8 GB and internal memory – 128 GB) and a six-core processor Intel Core i5 with 256 GB of memory. The updated Mac mini rose in price by an average of $ 300, which, alas, alienated the lion's share of buyers. In the basic configuration, the Mac mini costs 68 thousand rubles, with the internal memory increased to 110 thousand rubles.
