They’re finally here, Macs with Apple Silicon inside. On Tuesday, Apple held its “One More Thing” special event where the Cupertino-based company officially announced a new, more powerful Mac mini that features their new M1 Silicon.
The new Mac mini with Apple’s M1 silicon is, by far, the most powerful Mac mini ever produced. Featuring Apple’s new M1 Mac silicon, the new Mac mini is three times more powerful than the previous model, and is five times faster than a comparable Windows desktop.
Apple says the M1 chip is “the most powerful chip we have ever created,” and Apple praises its ability to be incredibly power efficient while also being incredibly powerful.
The M1 system-on-a-chip is built on a 5nm process, featuring an eight-core CPU with four high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores. The chip also features an eight-core GPU, making it the most powerful integrated graphics on a personal computer ever.
Apple says that, when compared to the previous Mac mini, the Mac mini with Apple Silicon can:
- Compile code in Xcode up to 3x faster.
- Play a graphics-intensive game like “Shadow of the Tomb Raider” with up to 4x higher frame rates.
- Render a complex timeline in Final Cut Pro up to 6x faster.
- Take music production to new levels by using up to 3x as many real-time plug-ins in Logic Pro.
- Magically increase the resolution of a photo in Pixelmator Pro up to 15x faster.
- Utilize ML frameworks like TensorFlow or Create ML, now accelerated by the M1 chip.
All of this power means that Apple’s M1 chip features three-times higher performance per watt than any chip before it. The CPU is twice as powerful as the leading PC chips, and the GPU is twice as powerful as comparable integrated graphics chips.
The new Mac mini features new WiFi 6 for faster internet connectivity, as well as Gigabit ethernet for a more reliable connection. Mac mini with Apple Silicon also features two USB-A ports, as well as two USB-C Thunderbolt ports, and an HDMI 2.0 port.
Mac mini with Apple Silicon is available to order today and retails for $699. Orders will begin shipping next week, with deliveries currently estimated between November 17th through the 18th, as of this writing.
Are you picking up a Mac mini with Apple Silicon? Let us know below.
