Mac mini

Days since refresh 415 UPDATE LIKELY? Mid 2016? Buy or wait? Wait if you can

The smallest Mac in Apple’s range finally got a long-awaited update in October 2014. It’s a welcome update, but there have been a few odd choices in the components as well. Starting at a new lower price of £399 (£100 cheaper than the previous model), it’s still the same shape as before, but with some more modern internals.

It starts with a 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor with Intel HD 5000 graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive – the most affordable, but also the lowest specification desktop Mac. It’s the same kind of power as you get in a MacBook Air, but without the zippiness of flash memory.

Higher end models bring Intel Iris graphics and the option for a Fusion Drive hybrid storage system, though every option limits you to dual-core processors – a quad-core option is sadly absent. When stepping up to the high-end model (£230 more than the previous model), you get a 2.8GHz Core i5, 8GB of RAM, Intel Iris graphics and a 1TB Fusion Drive, offering more headroom for tasks such as video editing, but it still needs to be accepted that these aren’t powerhouses like some other Macs.