Mac Mini 2014: Which Model to Buy [Mac Blog]

Whenever Apple talks about the Mac mini—like at the October event in Cupertino—the company always mentions how the Mac mini is a favorite with first-time Mac users. While that may be true, the Mac mini isn't just a computer for newbies. Its combination of affordability, compactness, and performance makes the Mac mini an ideal computer for new and experienced users alike.





Apple offers three models of the Mac mini. When shopping the Apple Store, it helps to understand the differences of all three models in the Mac mini line and how they compare to Apple's other Mac offerings, and to know what you're getting for your money. In this guide, we'll go over the key decisions you'll need to make when shopping for a Mac mini.

Why a Mac mini?

The main reason why you would consider a Mac mini is its price. The most affordable Mac mini is $499, and there are two other models, priced at $699 and $999. By comparison, Apple's lowest-priced iMac is $1099, the lowest-priced MacBook Air is $899, and the lowest-priced MacBook Pro (non-Retina) is $1099.



Another reason to consider about the Mac mini is its size. Measuring 7.7 by 7.7 by 1.4 inches, the Mac mini's small size allows it to fit in almost anywhere, which can lead to some unique uses besides desktop computing, such as a server or home entertainment component.



However, the small size and the low prices come with compromises in performance and your ability to upgrade the computer in a couple of years.

Performance

The $499 Mac mini has a 1.4GHz Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. The $699 Mac mini has a 2.6GHz Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive. The $999 Mac mini has a 2.8GHz Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB Fusion Drive. All the 2014 Mac mini models have dual-core processors.



The Mac mini isn't among the fastest Macs Apple offers, but it has enough power for people who use consumer-level software everyday. For web access, email, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, and most apps you use, the Mac mini works well.



A deeper look at performance using the GeekBench benchmark tool shows that in single-core performance—most consumer apps are single-core apps, meaning they use one processing core on a computer's CPU—the new $999 2.8GHz Core i5 Mac mini performs slightly better than the previous 2012 high-end 2.6GHz Core i7 Mac mini.





However, if you're using high-end professional-level software that uses more than one processing core, the new Mac mini takes a big performance hit. The reason why is simple: It doesn't have as many processing cores as before. If you work in professional-grade apps that can take advantage of multiple processing cores—video editors, audio editors, 3D animation, Mathematica, for example—skip the Mac mini and get a quad-core iMac or make the investment into a Mac Pro.







The two 2012 Mac mini standard configurations also had a dual-core processor in the low-end models, but a quad-core processor in the high end 2012 Core i7 model. With the new 2014 Mac mini, Apple decided to use dual-core processors in all three models.



If you like to play games, you'll find better video performance from the Intel Iris Graphics used in the $699 and $999 Mac minis. The $499 Mac mini uses the Intel HD Graphics 5000 integrated graphics processor, which is slightly better than the Intel HD Graphics 4000 found in the previous Mac mini, but it's not as good as Iris Graphics.



The $499 Mac mini actually has the same processor, RAM setup, and graphics subsystem as the MacBook Air, so you might expect the $499 Mac mini and the MacBook Air to perform similarly. The Mac mini, however, uses a standard hard drive, while the MacBook Air has speedy flash memory. This could help the MacBook Air outperform the Mac mini.

Upgrades

With the new Mac mini, Apple continues the trend of limiting the user's ability to perform do-it-yourself upgrades. When iFixIt did a teardown of the new Mac mini, the site found that the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, preventing the user from adding more. You could potentially upgrade the hard drive with a new 2.5-inch, 7-mm storage device, but Apple also made the Mac mini more difficult to open, and you have to remove several components from the case before you can get to the Mac mini's hard drive tray.



Most Mac mini users, however, aren't interested in upgrading the computer as it gets older. It's quite possible that the standard configurations offer the performance you need three or four years later—and by then, you can simply buy a new Mac mini when you need more speed. So the ability to do your own upgrades isn't an issue for you.



But it's worth considering the options Apple has available when you buy a Mac mini. Look at Apple's Mac mini specifications, and you'll notice that the processor, storage, and RAM say that they are "Configurable" to a higher specification than the standard for each price point. The future is now—if you think you'll want to upgrade a component in a year or two, consider buying that upgrade now by customizing your order. The upgrades will increase the price of your order, but you save yourself some hassle down the road.



For the 1.4GHz Mac mini, consider configuring the RAM from the standard 4GB to 8GB. That pushes the price up from $499 to $599, but the additional RAM will help performance.



If you want the faster Fusion Drive, Apple offers it as a $250 Fusion Drive upgrade for this machine, but that makes the price of the entry-level Mac mini $749 with 4GB of RAM. You're better off paying a little more money for a Mac mini with both a Fusion Drive and a faster processor. You'll pay $899 for a 2.6GHz Mac mini configured with a 1TB Fusion Drive, or $999 for a 2.8GHz Mac mini that comes standard with Fusion Drive.

Other cost considerations

The Mac mini doesn't come with a display. If you already have one, or if you decide to buy a non-Apple display, you'll connect it to one of the Mac mini's Thunderbolt 2 ports, which can accept mini DisplayPort video connectors. Chances are, you'll need an adapter, such as a Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, a Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, both of which Apple sells for $29. If the display you want to use has HDMI, and you connect using the Mac mini's HDMI port.





The Mac mini also doesn't include a keyboard or an input device such as a mouse or trackpad. Apple's Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad, and Wirelesss Keyboard are $69 each, but you can use just about any USB or wireless keyboard and mouse.

Which Mac mini?

The $499 Mac mini is attractively priced, and it's a good everyday computer with enough power for email, web, iWork and iLife apps, and iTunes. It's also good for students who need an affordable desktop computer. Consider spending the extra $100 for 8GB of RAM—$599 is still a good deal for a Mac.



The $699 Mac mini offers a nice boost in performance from the entry-level model, so consider it if you are a little more demanding of your computer—you work a lot in iPhoto, iMovie, or similar apps. Games will benefit from the Iris Graphics in the $699 and $999 models.



If you're a professional who makes things or does deep research on a Mac, the $999 Mac mini can serve as a cheap workstation for professionals who are budget-minded and use apps like Final Cut, Logic, Photoshop, Mathematica, or FileMaker. But you'll be better served by spending a few more dollars on a $1299 21.5-inch iMac with a quad-core 2.7GHz Core i5 processor.



As for owners of the older Mac mini that was released in October 2012, the only reasons for you to upgrade to the new Mac mini are the two Thunderbolt 2 ports and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The new Mac mini doesn't offer a boost in the apps that you use everyday, and you'll actually see a performance slowdown with high-end software. To get more speed out of your Late 2012 Mac mini, consider upgrading the hard drive to a SSD or adding more RAM. Owners of the Mac mini released before 2012 will benefit from a new Mac mini, which offers a good speed boost. However, Thunderbolt replaces FireWire, so you may need a FireWire adapter or connect by USB, instead.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:31PM, October 31

iOS 8 Hidden Features Video: Battery Usage By App, Hidden Photos, Siri Hands-Free, and More

Apple released iOS 8 to the public today, giving millions of users their first look at the new operating system. Along with all of the major features, like Continuity, Notification improvements, Messages upgrades, and the introduction of third-party keyboard/Touch ID access, there are also dozens of other minor tweaks and changes that have been introduced in iOS 8, both ahead of the OS's initial launch to developers and across the beta testing period.



Outlined in the video below are some of the most interesting and handy tweaks in iOS 8, including automatic credit card scanning, expanded weather options, quick access to contacts, a hands-free mode for Siri, hidden photos, and more.






We've been collecting and cataloguing minor feature changes to iOS 8 since the first beta was released, documenting the development of new features and providing a one-stop location for all the changes that have largely gone under the radar.



A complete list of all of the hidden features in iOS 8 can be found in our dedicated Hidden Features Roundup , which also serves as a way to see the progress iOS 8 made over the course of the beta testing period.



For example, in beta 4, Apple introduced a Tips app that offers iOS 8 users information about all of the new features in the operating system. Beta 5, meanwhile, added location information to photo collections in the Photos app, and beta 4 saw a Control Center redesign.



We've also compiled a walkthrough of all of the major features introduced with iOS 8, which can be found in our iOS 8 Roundup .






iOS 8 can be downloaded immediately for free. It can be installed on the iPhone 4s and later, 5th-generation iPod touch, iPad 2 and later, and the iPad mini.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:31PM, September 17

Flappy Bird Creator Set to Release New 'Swing Copters' Game This Thursday [iOS Blog]

Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen is preparing to launch a new iOS game in the near future, called Swing Copters. Previewed exclusively by our sister site TouchArcade, Swing Copters adopts the ultra tough Flappy Bird-style gameplay, adding new mechanics and a fresh skin.



In Swing Copters, players are tasked with navigating platforms with swinging hammers while climbing upwards towards the sky, a deviation from the original side-scrolling gameplay in Flappy Bird. According to TouchArcade editor-in-chief Eli Hodapp, Swing Copters emulates the "one more try" gameplay of Flappy Bird while being even more "brutally difficult."

That five point run that I busted out at the start? That's the best I've done so far, and that two minutes worth of video is basically my magnum opus as of this writing. Swing Copters is hard. Just getting through the gates themselves would be tricky enough, but adding in the swinging hammer things below them is just ridiculous, particularly as you're desperately trying to control your guy as he wildly swings from one direction to the other.



...But, like Flappy Bird, I love it. It feels like it's got all the same qualities that made Flappy Bird so sticky for me. Once you see even the smallest bit of success in the game, you can't help but play again, and again, and again, always trying to (in my case, anyway) top that amazing five point flight.

Back in March, Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen promised that the once popular game that spawned thousands of clones would return to the App Store in August. It is unclear whether Swing Copters is Nguyen's replacement for Flappy Bird or if Flappy Bird will also return to the App Store at some point.



Flappy Bird's incredible success in early 2014 prompted Nguyen to pull the game from the App Store in February, after the attention and media requests became overwhelming. At the height of its popularity, Flappy Bird was generating upwards of $50,000 per day. Nguyen also expressed concern over the response he was getting from parents and children, causing him to believe the game was simply too addictive. One woman reportedly told him he was "distracting the children of the world."



Nguyen has said that he would ensure that any future version of Flappy Bird would be "less addictive." He also suggested it would include multiplayer gameplay, but Swing Copters does not appear to include multiplayer capabilities at this time.



Swing Copters is set to be released this Thursday, August 21. The game will be a free download with a $0.99 in-app purchase to remove ads.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:31PM, August 18

Apple Adds Beats Music to App Store List of 'Apps Made by Apple'

Following Apple's official acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music, the Beats Music iOS app has been added to Apple's App Store listing of "Apps Made by Apple," giving the app high-profile placement to encourage downloads.



This section of the iTunes Store, which also houses Apple-designed apps like Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iPhoto, and more, can be found in the Quick Links section of the iOS App Store and the desktop iTunes Store.





The addition of Beats Music to the Apps Made by Apple list follows its inclusion in the list of apps recommended to new iOS users, another move that will undoubtedly result in a high number of Beats Music app downloads. According to Appshopper, Beats Music's popularity has soared in recent weeks. It is currently ranked fourth in music and number 23 in overall free apps.



As of May, Beats Music had garnered 250,000 subscribers, a number that has likely grown significantly with the app's prominent placement in the App Store and Apple's high-profile acquisition of the company. In contrast, Apple's iTunes Store has sold 35 billion songs and its existing streaming radio service, iTunes Radio, has more than 40 million listeners.



Unlike many of the other apps listed in the Apps Made by Apple section, Beats Music is not free. While the app can be downloaded at no cost, it requires a monthly subscription priced at $9.99. Unlike several competing streaming music services, Beats Music does not offer a free ad-supported listening.



According to rumors, Apple has plans to keep the Beats Music service as a standalone entity, separate from its own iTunes and iTunes Radio offerings.



(Thanks, William!)

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Posted in 2014 at 06:31PM, August 15

How to make long flights tolerable for just $60

Flying is amazing. You can start your day in Russia, and finish it in Reno. You can travel in relative comfort at over 500 miles per hour. Of course, the operative word here is relative. Few things are sweeter than figuring out a way to cruise in business class as you cross an ocean or two, but if I’m honest, it’s pretty impractical for the vast majority of humans. So, do you squeeze yourself into an impossibly tight seat for 13 hours to get from Atlanta to Seoul, or do you stay home and spend the day clicking through Google Images?

You go.

I’ve endured my fair share of excruciatingly long flights in economy class, and there’s really no redeeming quality to the experience. The only benefit is that you arrive somewhere different. In fact, a quick Google search for “how to survive long flights” yields page upon page of tips from here, there, and yonder. I suppose I’m adding yet another to the pile.

Continue reading...

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Posted in 2014 at 06:31PM, July 23

Apple Pulls Top Free iOS App 'Weed Firm' from App Store

Released earlier this month, somewhat controversial iOS game Weed Firm quickly shot to the top of the App Store charts for free apps. The game centers around a marijuana business, with the player controlling a character responsible for all aspects of growing and selling the product.



Just as quickly as it arrived, Weed Firm has disappeared from the App Store, with the game's developer, Manitoba Games, tweeting yesterday that the game would be removed for "a few days" to address "a few maintenance things". That may not be the complete story, however, as Manitoba Games has posted a note on its website (via CNET ) noting that the removal "was entirely Apple's decision, not ours."



The developers don't share Apple's specific justification for the removal, claiming that while there may have been some objections to "illegal activities", Apple must have simply thought it was "too good" of a game as there are a number of other marijuana-themed apps available in the App Store.

We guess the problem was that the game was just too good and got to number one in All Categories, since there are certainly a great number of weed based apps still available, as well as games promoting other so-called 'illegal activities' such as shooting people, crashing cars and throwing birds at buildings.

The Android version of Weed Firm has also been removed from Google Play, but the developer claims that this is due to an issue with the app's publisher rather than any action by Google.



Manitoba Games promises that Weed Firm will be returning to the App Store shortly, although some of the more controversial aspects of the game may need to be toned down given the close scrutiny Apple will undoubtedly give the app upon review.



Apple maintains a list of review guidelines for App Store submissions, but as part of the document's broader themes the company also reserves the right to reject "any content or behavior that we believe is over the line". As such, Weed Firm may simply have been a borderline case that garnered a second look as it soared to the top of the charts. But exactly what changes Apple will require of the app's developers in order for Weed Firm to return remain to be seen.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:31PM, May 21