New Mac mini teardown reveals that Apple could have made its mini-PC a lot smaller

Apple may be now on the fifth-generation of the Mac mini, but the design of the mini-PC has essentially remained unchanged from the third-generation model - unveiled in 2010. Apple took advantage of every millimetre of space ten years ago, but that is no longer true.

On the contrary, a teardown video has demonstrated just how much free space there is in the new Mac mini. As the video below shows, Apple has included a fan, a power supply and the logic board, which contains a speaker, a heatsink and the M1 chipset, among other components.

Only the logic board, fan assembly and power supply are replaceable too, as Apple has soldered the RAM, storage and Wi-Fi modem. Ultimately, the new Mac mini seems like something of a missed opportunity. On the face of it, Apple could have made its mini-PC a lot smaller, leading the charge as it did ten years ago. Instead, the latest Mac mini looks refined and is powerful, but it is also a poor use of space.