Apple Mac mini (Late 2012) Pro Reviews

Not all Apple’s additions offer good value, but the hardware is as enticing as ever, and the Ivy Bridge upgrade is worth having

It's fair to say the Mac mini occupies a special place on the consumer spectrum. Consider it a 3 on our appropriated Kinsey scale of tech-to-consumer affiliations. It's the perfect bridge to all things Apple. Designed, initially, to help make Windows users feel at home within the Mac ecosystem, the mini was offered up as an elegant solution -- a compact desktop that would play nice with people's existing peripherals. But as time wore on, this "appliance Mac" (as one rep put it) took on other uses in enterprise and among power users. Eventually, it wormed its way into all manner of server-based applications: digital signage, airport arrival displays and so on. The mini could also charm fairly frugal shoppers, though, packing a quad-core Intel Core i7 into the top-end $799 model. Whether you really need the added boost of the 1.12TB FusionDrive depends entirely on your consumption habits, as you can always opt for a perfectly capacious 256GB SSD and call it a day. In fact, that latter option might be more than enough for most. So, where's the rub? Well, that's just it. If you fit the sort of user profile we've been describing, we aren't quite sure there is one. At the end of the day, the mini is destined to sit outside of Apple's public limelight like all the models that have come before it. It's the company's jack-of-all-trades, but a shining star for those in the know.

The hackneyed old phrase, 'an evolution not a revolution' could (to use another hackneyed phrase) be written for the late 2012 Mac mini. With the Ivy Bridge processors and faster memory already having debuted on other Macs, it was inevitable they'd come to the small form factor Mac with this year's refresh. Dropping the discrete graphics processor was an unwelcome surprise, though the unexpected but much appreciated Fusion Drive, a hybrid solution combining a hard drive and solid state storage, is a great configuration option.

The Apple Mac mini (Late 2012) is Apple's best yet, packing as much punch into its compact chassis as a full-size desktop, and offering the sizable, speedy Fusion drive.

The new Mac mini continues to build on the solid foundation set by the 2011 model. If you prefer a Mac desktop computer to a laptop, and/or you don’t want to be confined to the glossy 21.5- or 27-inch displays that come with the iMac, the Mac mini is a capable system for most tasks. The quad-core Core i7 processor and the larger storage capacity make the £679-799 Mac mini more attractive - plus you £200. The least expensive Mac available today, the £499 Mac mini, has made its own performance strides and continues to be an affordable option for anyone wanting the Mac experience without paying a high premium.

The new Mac mini continues to build on the solid foundation set by the 2011 model. If you prefer a Mac desktop computer to a laptop, and/or you don’t want to be confined to the glossy 21.5- or 27-inch displays that come with the iMac, the Mac mini is a capable system for most tasks. The quad-core Core i7 processor and the larger storage capacity make the $799 Mac mini more attractive—plus you can configure this system with Apple’s new Fusion Drive for an additional $250. The least expensive Mac available today, the $599 Mac mini, has made its own performance strides and continues to be an affordable option for anyone wanting the Mac experience without paying a high premium.