Mac mini
The M1-powered desktop that’s much faster than you think
$699 From Apple, apple.com
Features M1 chip, 8GB of memory (16GB option), 256GB SSD (512GB/1TB/2TB options), 802.11ax Wi–Fi, 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4
Apple’s third M1 Mac is the new Silver-clad Mac mini, which at $699 is the cheapest way for anyone to jump on the Apple silicon bandwagon. The new model is $100 less than its entry–level Intel predecessor and there’s an obvious reason for that. While the previous Intel–powered Mac mini came with four Thunderbolt/USB 3 ports, the M1 Mac mini makes do with two (albeit Thunderbolt/ USB 4). It also eschews the optional 10GBEthernet upgrade available in the Intel model in favor of plain old Gigabit Ethernet. And like the MacBook Air and 13–inch MacBook Pro, the Mac mini offers a choice of 8GB or 16GB of unified memory, with solid–state storage of 256GB (upgradeable to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB) and is driven by an eight–core CPU, eight–core GPU and 16–core Neural Engine–equipped Apple M1.