Mac mini 2011 review upgrade#
Whether you’ll want to upgrade from the $799 base model really depends on what you’re planning on doing with your Mac mini. I attached my Thunderbolt 2 RAID to one of the Thunderbolt 3 ports via an Apple adapter. That’s the combination of the modern processor, 8GB of RAM, and the speed of the flash storage boot drive. Even the base model was dramatically faster than my 2011 Mac mini, no surprise there. Snell, who uses his mini as a home server, says:Īpple provided me with a base-model Mac mini to test, and I transferred the contents of my home server and ran it all weekend. The most intriguing thing about the new mini, however, is the range of configurations available, which is best bracketed by reviews from Jason Snell on Six Colors and Marco Arment on, who tested entry-level and top-of-the-line models respectively. On the outside, the new Mac mini is the exact same size as the existing model, but the new model is Space Gray and includes a larger vent and new ports on the rear. The new geographic center of the Mac is once again where it’s been for most of this decade: It’s the MacBook Air. It’s not the cheapest or fastest or lightest laptop, but it’s the lowest-priced Retina Mac and it’s powerful and flexible enough to serve the needs of the broad audience for consumer Macs. Still, Apple has placed the MacBook Air back where it spent the first part of this decade: firmly at the center of the Apple laptop universe.
Mac mini 2011 review update#
Regardless of what becomes of the 12-inch MacBook, Jason Snell sums the Air update up well on Six Colors: The new Air is very clearly the better buy. With all of its upgrades and lower price point to boot, the Air is the clear pick over the 12-inch MacBook in practically every way.Īs a matter of fact, barring some major future upgrade, the 12-inch likely isn’t long for this world. It’s pricier, too, though Apple’s kept things more in check here than with the Mac Mini. There’s no doubt the new Air marks a sizable update. Brian Heater of TechCrunch is convinced that the Air will replace the MacBook: It’s clear that the MacBook Air is a better value than the 12-inch MacBook and the better choice for most users. My guess is that if you’re still using a MacBook Air, neither does yours. I just want to be clear that my daily workflow doesn’t push the limits of this processor. The Air can do everything I want it to in my daily workflow. I don’t think of any of this as a problem, though - not really. I have found it to be more capable and powerful than the 12-inch MacBook, but, again, the difference is not as big as I’d hoped. Those kinds of tasks will bring this Air to a chug and spin up those fans. If you’re hoping you’ll be able to upgrade and get way faster video editing or process a ton of RAW photos at once, get a MacBook Pro. I would recommend the base 8 GB configuration to just about any typical user.Īlthough capable for everyday tasks, it doesn’t excel at every task as Bohn highlights: If you don’t know whether you need the upgrade to 16 GB of RAM, you don’t need it. The system is swapping, but I honestly don’t notice. I’ve been using this device heavily over the last few days - as heavily as I could while simultaneously testing the new iPad Pro, at least - and performance has been great. Gruber, who reviewed an Air with 8GB of RAM, says: The Air is unmistakably an entry-level notebook, but one that reviewers generally find rises to the occasion when more intensive tasks are thrown at it. There are a ton of people who have been hanging on to theirs because it was so good and so reliable. The comparison that actually matters is to the old MacBook Air. People who have purchased one of those MacBooks already have a fairly modern, powerful computer that’s nice to use.
But the more truthful answer is that it doesn’t matter. My answer is that it’s both of those things.
Mac mini 2011 review pro#
Is this new Air like a 12-inch MacBook, just blown up to a slightly bigger size? Is it more like a 13-inch MacBook Pro (sans Touch Bar), just with cheaper parts? After all, if you set the latter down next to this new Air, you can barely tell them apart.
Dieter Bohn of The Verge addresses the ongoing debate about whether the new Air is more like an updated MacBook or MacBook Pro with no Touch Bar:
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