Mac mini updated with HDMI, aluminum unibody, and SD card reader
By Vlad Savov 
posted June 15th 2010 4:01AM
posted June 15th 2010 4:01AM
Don't fret if you were looking to drop the optical drive, Apple retains the config option that allows you to add in a second HDD in lieu of its DVD burner. You can grab two 500GB plate spinners, Snow Leopard Server (we thought Apple only had one OS version?), 4GB of RAM, and a 2.66GHz Intel chip for $999. Finally, the new enclosures will come with user-accessible memory slots courtesy of a removable panel at the bottom of the case. Neat that the designers didn't take the unibody idea too literally.
Apple Unveils All New Mac mini
CUPERTINO, California-June 15, 2010-Apple® today unveiled a completely redesigned Mac® mini, featuring up to twice the graphics performance, a new HDMI port and a new SD card slot, all in an amazingly compact aluminum enclosure. Mac mini is the world's most energy efficient desktop and starting at $699, is the most affordable way to enjoy Mac OS® X, iLife® or Mac OS X Snow Leopard® Server.
"The sleek, aluminum Mac mini packs great features, versatility and value into an elegant, amazingly compact design," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With twice the graphics performance, HDMI support and industry-leading energy efficiency, customers are going to love the new Mac mini."
Created with the unibody construction process pioneered by Apple, the new Mac mini features a compact aluminum enclosure just 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin. A new integrated power supply eliminates the need for an external power adapter, reducing overall system volume by 20 percent and keeping cable clutter to a minimum. A removable panel underneath provides quick access for memory expansion. Mac mini is incredibly versatile, effortlessly connecting to existing peripherals such as mice, keyboards and digital displays, while the new HDMI output connects Mac mini to an HDTV and the new SD card slot enables easy transfer of photos and videos from a digital camera.
Inside its sleek, compact enclosure, the new Mac mini includes the fastest integrated graphics processor on the market today. With 48 processing cores, the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor delivers up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, making Mac mini ideal for graphics intensive applications or visually rich games. Mac mini comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 320GB hard and 2GB of RAM for $699.
With twice the graphics performance, the new Mac mini is still the world's most energy efficient desktop.* The new Mac mini reduces power consumption by an incredible 25 percent to less than 10W at idle, less than half the power required by competing systems. Mac mini meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status.** The new aluminum enclosure is highly recyclable and Mac mini uses PVC-free components and cables, contains no brominated flame retardants and features material-efficient system and packaging designs.
Mac mini comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple's innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.
Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server fulfills all the server needs of a workgroup or small business including email, calendar, file serving, Time Machine® backup, Wiki Server, Podcast Producer and more. Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server uses less than 11W of power at idle, a fraction of the power consumed in comparison to typical entry-level tower servers.*** Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server is faster than before with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 500GB hard drives now running at 7200 rpm, 4GB of RAM and supports unlimited clients for $999.
Pricing & Availability
The new Mac mini is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $699 (US), includes:
* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
* 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
* a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
* AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
* Gigabit Ethernet;
* four USB 2.0 ports;
* SD card slot;
* one FireWire® 800 port;
* one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
* HDMI to DVI video adapter;
* combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
* combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).
Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB hard drive running at 5400 rpm, Apple Remote, Aperture™ 3, Final Cut® Express 4, Logic® Express, iWork® (pre-installed), Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare® Protection Plan.
The Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes:
* 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
* 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
* two 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm;
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
* AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
* Gigabit Ethernet;
* four USB 2.0 ports;
* SD card slot;
* one FireWire 800 port;
* one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
* HDMI to DVI video adapter;
* combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
* combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).
Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, External SuperDrive, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
*Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA Energy Star 5.0 database as of June 2010.
**EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.
***Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA Energy Star Small Scale Server database as of June 2010.
The Mac Mini was maybe worth it when it was $499. But I couldn't see myself buying one at $599, let alone $699.
Looks nice, wish it had a Core i3 and possibly better graphics for the new price but it does look shnazy. Anyone hear about the Dell Zino HD?
That might be what some are looking for in terms of an alternative but then again theres always Shuttle and they build some sweet systems but for lots of money. Id buy a Shuttle any day over the new Mac Mini but even their prices are just as out there if not more, but they do manage to fit somewhat better hardware inside their boxes.
For $700 you can get SUCH a nicer computer.
Wow. My $850 ASUS laptop has twice as many features, more power, way more hard drive space, better discrete graphics, a better OS, and a really nice screen.
Once again, I'm glad I switched from Apple to Windows last year. `Most cost-effective decision I ever made...
$999 for a Mac mini is ridiculous. Even at $500 it was pricey for what you got (and I had two of them!) -- But $1k for this thing? Give me a break.
The article doesn't mention even one word about the $100 price increase. Engadget is really a good news site.
@aluop If you care about a measly $100, you probably wouldn't be shopping Apple products in the first place. =p
Apple charges $100 alone just to add a mouse and keyboard.
You seriously didn't realize that Apple had a server version of their OS? It has been around since the release of the xServer.
Looks AWESOME and integrated PSU despite smaller case is fantastic, as is the low idle power usage. SD card reader would be a nice addition except they put it on the back as somebody else pointed out (doh!), and the processor's not really faster than my current Mini, so I won't be upgrading. (The GPU is a LOT faster than my current mini, but I really don't care about GPU.)
Also, they really need to give an SSD option. (Frankly, at that price it should probably be included as standard...)
If the current one breaks though? Sure I'll get this and I'll be happy because it's slightly better and it looks really nice. :)
HDMI and SD reader? Finally. Still no power brick? Epic win. Microsoft could learn a thing or two from Apple about hardware design.
ZING!
$699. For that. Right.