Apple Mac Mini: The affordable entry into the M1 world

In the cheapest configuration variant, the Mac Mini comes with an Apple M1 that can use both eight CPU and eight GPU cores. In addition, there's a 256 GB SSD and GB of RAM.

A 16 GB option is offered for an extra 260 Euros (~$305), and the storage space can also be configured with 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. Another relatively new feature is the option to equip the Mac Mini with 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The base configuration is equipped with the standard Gigabit LAN.

For now, nothing has changed in the case, except that the color has returned to silver. The Space Gray color is reserved for the Intel model, which is still available. Compared to the latter, the M1 Mac Mini only has two Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Despite its active cooling, the Mac Mini isn't audible, even under load. The surfaces only heat up moderately, so the case can be touched without issues when you need to connect or disconnect a cable, for example.

Account for emulated applications

The performance of the built-in M1 is on par with the MacBook Pro 13 with the M1 in our tests. Even against Intel CPUs like the Core i7-1165G7, the Apple SoC is always able to gain an advantage.

The fact that native M1 applications are necessary for the best performance is, however, also a fundamental point to consider here. As with Apple's other M1 devices, non-native applications need to be emulated. This can lead to limitations that, depending on the program, can be more or less noticeable or even not noticeable at all.

If you use your own peripherals anyway, you'll get a comparatively cheap M1 computer with the small Mac. Our review reveals the performance of the Apple Mac Mini with the M1 chip in detail.