Skip to main content

Apple updates Mac mini with all-new internals, drops starting price to $499, available today

9to5-image 2014-10-16 at 2.15.55 PM

Apple has just announced an update to it’s Mac mini desktop PC that features all-new internals and a lower starting price. The CPU has been bumped to the current fourth-generation of Intel’s Core processors paired with Intel Iris and HD Graphics 5000 graphics processors. It now sports PCIe-based flash storage, though the exact amount of storage wasn’t mentioned.

The computer’s connectivity has also gotten a bump with 802.11ac Wi-Fi and the addition of two Thunderbolt 2 i/o ports. The tweaked internals have also afforded the new Mac mini the title of “world’s most energy efficient desktop.”

The upgraded machine will be available today at a reduced starting price of only $499.

Apple Updates Mac mini

Now Starts at $499

CUPERTINO, California—October 16, 2014—Apple® today updated Mac® mini with the latest technologies and a new lower starting price, making Apple’s most affordable Mac an even better value. Mac mini now features fourth generation Intel Core processors, integrated graphics that are up to 90 percent faster,* 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Thunderbolt 2 and is still the world’s most energy efficient desktop.**

“People love Mac mini. It’s a great first Mac or addition to your home network, and the new Mac mini is a nice upgrade packed into an incredibly compact design,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With the latest CPU and graphics, faster Wi-Fi, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, OS X Yosemite, and starting at just $499, the new Mac mini is the best value ever.”

The new Mac mini delivers new levels of graphics performance, expandability and connectivity. New integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000 and Intel Iris Graphics deliver up to 90 percent faster graphics performance than the previous generation.* Mac mini now includes two Thunderbolt 2 ports, each delivering up to 20Gbps of bandwidth to each port, as well as next-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi that is up to three times faster when connected to an 802.11ac base station. Mac mini is still the world’s most energy efficient desktop, exceeding Energy Star 6.1 requirements by seven times the standard and consuming as few as 6 watts of power at idle.**

Every new Mac comes with Mac OS® X Yosemite, a powerful new version of OS X®, redesigned and refined with a fresh, modern look, powerful new apps and amazing new Continuity features that make working across your Mac and iOS devices more fluid than ever.

iMovie®, GarageBand® and the suite of iWork® apps come free with every new Mac. iMovie lets you easily create beautiful movies, and you can use GarageBand to make new music or learn to play piano or guitar. iWork productivity apps, Pages®, Numbers® and Keynote®, make it easy to create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations. iWork has been redesigned with a new look, support for iCloud Drive℠ and a host of new features, including a new comments view in Pages. iWork for iCloud® beta lets you create your document on iPad®, edit it on your Mac and collaborate with friends, even if they’re on a PC.

Pricing & Availability
Mac mini begins shipping today. Mac mini comes in three standard models: a 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 5000 and a 500GB hard drive starting at a suggested retail price of $499 (US); a 2.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory, Intel Iris Graphics and a 1TB hard drive starting at suggested retail price of $699 (US); and a 2.8 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, 8GB of memory, Intel Iris Graphics and a 1TB Fusion Drive starting at a suggested retail price of $999 (US). Customers can order Mac mini through the Apple Online Store(www.apple.com).

Customers can choose to configure their Mac mini with up to a 3.0 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, up to 16GB of memory, and up to a 1TB  PCIe-based flash drive. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/mac-mini.

*Testing conducted by Apple in October 2014 using preproduction Mac mini configurations. For more information visit www.apple.com/macmini/features.html.
**Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 6.1 energy database. EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Press Contacts:
Colin Smith
Apple
colins@apple.com
(408) 862-1171

Jennie Orphanopoulos
Apple
jennieo@apple.com
(408) 783-0203

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, OS X, iMovie, GarageBand, iWork, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iCloud Drive, iCloud and iPad are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. trinities - 9 years ago

    No iPod touches? Seriously? Goodbye Apple then!

  2. PMZanetti - 9 years ago

    Hooray!

  3. kckitts - 9 years ago

    OUSTANDING!

  4. Robert Epps - 9 years ago

    Of all the announcements today, the updated Mac Mini is actually the most exciting one to me!

    • taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

      Fully agree. You can have 5 of these for one new iMac.

      I was hoping to hear about Apple TV especially after all the secrecy jokes in the keynote.

      Just strange for the Mac mini to be the. Set part of a keynote.

    • Fallenjt JT - 9 years ago

      Yup…a Dell 4K 28″ monitor for $400 and you’re good to go.

  5. Andrew Watson - 9 years ago

    I’m going to pull the trigger on several of these. Finally!

  6. Jesse Supaman Nichols - 9 years ago

    Excellent!

  7. taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

    Makes this an easy sell for me with my $250 Apple gift card for trading in my iPhone 5. Was planning on getting an IMac, but not enough extras for me to pay the $700 premium.

  8. Kevin Mongru - 9 years ago

    i think the top model mac mini w\ iris supports 4k, think it may be worth the upgrade!
    finally – its been way too long

    • The specs do not mention you can drive 4K 60hz over thunderbolt2. Bummer for me! And I would actually have preferred a quad core instead of fusion drive in the package. I’d switch for my own ssd anyway. Now I’m not too sure I’ll upgrade, for my own purpose..

      • Thunderbolt 2 is 20Gbps which is sufficient for 4K at 60hz (e.g. for reference, HDMI 2.0 is 18Gbps and supports 4K @ 60fps)

      • Ed Hurtley - 9 years ago

        Oliver, the problem is that it isn’t *THUNDERBOLT* that supports 4K/60Hz, it’s *DisplayPort* that does – and the specs don’t say if this update includes DisplayPort 1.3. (Thunderbolt 2.0 doesn’t guarantee DP1.3, only DP1.2, which only guarantees 4K/30Hz; although 4K/60Hz is optional.)

  9. Mike Galicki (@mgalicki) - 9 years ago

    have to spend at least $699 for the middle one with a decent processor and the Iris GPU. have to wait to see ifixit open it up and if i can add my own RAM and Fusion drive.

  10. belovedlovephotography - 9 years ago

    The old server was an i7? so this new one isn’t faster?

    • Tim Robson - 9 years ago

      Nope. The new top end CPU is an i7-4578U with a CPU Mark score of 5204. The old mid-range quad core is an i7-3615QM with a CPU Mark of 7344. Iris 5100 graphics are somewhat faster than Intel HD 4000 graphics, but not that much faster.

  11. oscar2267 - 9 years ago

    So the high end Mac Mini loses the quad core option? Hmmm

  12. belovedlovephotography - 9 years ago

    I had video issues, they got rid of the ipod touch too?

  13. gen0music - 9 years ago

    As the only Mac that makes any financial sense in the UK (Macs are 1.6x the price over the pond, as they tend to do a $1 = £1 conversion), it’s nice to see it updated, but wheres the quad core?

    And the “worlds most energy efficient desktop” doesn’t make much sense when it’s made of off the shelf laptop parts welded together, however beautifully.

  14. Ethan Tabor - 9 years ago

    Why only dual core? No quad core? No thanks!

    • Fallenjt JT - 9 years ago

      Get the old Mac Mini. New dual core would blow away old quad core. That’s why.

      • Tim Robson - 9 years ago

        No, actually, it won’t, smart guy. The new top end CPU – the one that raises the cost of entry to $1200 – is an i7-4578U with a CPU Mark score of 5204. The old mid-range quad core, 2.3 Ghz i7 (available for $799) is an i7-3615QM with a CPU Mark of 7344. Iris 5100 graphics are somewhat faster than Intel HD 4000 graphics, but not that much faster.

  15. taylore90 - 9 years ago

    Just ordered my 2.6 Ghz i5 Mac Mini! Super stoked! I’ve been waiting for this since February! I’ve been using a 2008 black MacBook for 6 years and it’s still running like a champ. Albeit a bit sluggish now and stuck on OS X Lion. It’ll make a viable back up that has Windows 7 on Boot Camp. Very excited to actually have the ability to play somewhat new games and run Yosemite.

    • Douglas Brace - 9 years ago

      I have an early 2008 MacBook Pro. I feel your pain. Because of using an iPad for most of my mobile computing, I have no need for a laptop anymore. I’ve been waiting for over a year to upgrade.

  16. Toby! (@TrashGoblin) - 9 years ago

    My plan:
    -Get the $699 Version and rip out the 5400rpm hard drive
    -Put in my SSD to use for OS and programs
    -Get a 256GB SDXC card and use it to store my iTunes and Photos libraries
    -Sing a happy song.

    • Douglas Brace - 9 years ago

      I like that idea too but we’ll need to wait and see what iFixit says about the upgradability. It probably won’t be an issue.

      • Toby! (@TrashGoblin) - 9 years ago

        Good point. The guides for this version vs the 2012 version will probably be interchangeable. But, it’s worth waiting a couple of days for them to verify it.

    • hmurchison - 9 years ago

      I don’t like the pricing of the SXDC cards so my strategy would likely be iTunes Match or a NAS.

      256GB SSD for boot drive

      Max RAM

      OS X Server

  17. Basileuz (@Basileuz) - 9 years ago

    Horrible Horrible Horrible. I’ve been reading the comments and I can’t believe the responses. The mac mini base model with 1.4 ghz (boost to 2.7) in combination with a 5400 rpm HD will be horribly slow in terms of future usage. The geekbench results will be in the 4500 points area, which a 3 year old macbook pro doubles! If you’re planing to use this thing for more than 2-3 years you’ll need at least a ssd upgrade!
    In addition to kill off the quad core option is just horrible horrible horrible.
    Worst updated! I could have even imagined such a horrible updated.

  18. Triple-X (@TripleXbeatz) - 9 years ago

    No quad cores tho, at all. That’s kind of weak in my opinion. Especially for those users with multicore audio applications that can really benefit from multiple processing streams. Odd choice for Apple.

    I would like to see some benchmark results between the 2.6ghz quad i7 in the previous models, versus the new dual core i5 and i7 options.

    • hmurchison - 9 years ago

      Heat and Cost.

      These aren’t Broadwell so heat dissipation is going to be important in a small chassis like the mini. Apple will likely skip Broadwell and go Skylake with the next iteration and all Skylake platforms will be Quad Core if the internets is telling the truth.

  19. ricardogomez297167426 - 9 years ago

    This is a really nice little machine. Even my base 2011 Mac Mini with dual core i5, 16GB was able to handle Photoshop and Lightroom running at the same time. Though it would start to heat up quite a bit if I was streaming video. But it would handle all that. Barely.

    2 TB2 ports, FOUR USB, Optional PCIe Flash Drive, 3 slots, built-in WiFi, very decent graphics… I don’t expect it to support 4K video at 60Hz… But it’s a Mac Mini after all…. Considering performance and functionality, a little cheaper over the last model.

    Apple: Great job on the Mac Mini!

  20. Scott (@ScooterComputer) - 9 years ago

    It should be noted, @mikebeas, that according to a call I made to Apple Sales and which went through Support today, the new Mac mini does NOT have USER installable RAM. What you get when you buy is what you’re stuck with, like the 21″ iMacs and MacBooks. Which is pretty unfortunate. Their “specs” pages don’t make it particularly clear, instead they opted for a mealy “Configurable to 16B”…which means BTO.

    At the $699 price point, the mini is fairly competitive against PCs; but when ya have to figure in “future proofing” with 16GB of RAM, the price no longer is ($899). Being able to sell a 8GB mini now and pushing the allure of updating the RAM down the line was an easy thing to do, even if it never actually happened. But it is just one more thing for PC buyers to balk at, and disappointingly unnecessary for Apple to have done. (I would have been fine with the 1.4GHz being soldered, but not the upper two tiers.)

    • hmurchison - 9 years ago

      You have to be careful about the terminology here. Apple rarely recommends that users install RAM. The slots may still be there and accessible underneath some screws. Sealing things up too much without the benefit of slim design like the Macbooks doesn’t help those at the Genius Bar that need to work at speed.

      In summary there’s got to be a decent reason why Apple prevents easy access to upgrades.

  21. lefthandedphoto - 9 years ago

    Ugh. We wait two years for an updated Mini, and this is what we get? It’s as if Apple doesn’t give a crap about these units anymore. At the very least they should have increased RAM capacity to 32GB. A massive fail for Phil Schiller on this one.

    • hmurchison - 9 years ago

      Why do you think 32GB of RAM is necessary? With the mass adoption of SSD drive and better virtual memory in OS X the need for massive amounts of RAM for the average user is ameliorated. Now you are a design pro then you need RAM and a beefier computer.

  22. David Carlin (@DJC631) - 9 years ago

    Dual core only, no more user-upgradable RAM, no GPU, no way to add second hard drive. Apple didn’t update the mini, they took a massive shit on it.

  23. Hal Dorr - 9 years ago

    You can’t upgrade the Memory, So “delivers new levels of graphics performance, expandability?” Yes “New Levels” as in Lowered…

  24. Yo Han - 9 years ago

    This pretty much sucks!
    Better get the old Mac Mini server, replace one of the hard drives with an SSD and put the spare 1TB drive in a cheap external USB3 case. Upgrade the memory yourself and you’ll end up with a machine that’s faster and cheaper.