Apple Mac mini / M1 / 8-Core CPU / 8-Core GPU / 16GB RAM / 256GB SSD

Mac mini M1 Historical Overview

The original M1 Mac mini was announced by Apple on 10 November 2020 as part of its transition from Intel processors to Apple-designed silicon. It was one of the first three Macs powered by the Apple M1 chip, alongside the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The computer retained the compact aluminium enclosure of the preceding Intel-based Mac mini but introduced a new processor architecture designed to improve performance and energy efficiency.

The M1 chip combines an eight-core CPU, consisting of four performance cores and four efficiency cores, with an eight-core integrated GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine for machine-learning tasks. It uses a unified memory architecture in which the CPU, GPU and other processing components share the same memory pool. The Mac mini was available with 8 GB or 16 GB of unified memory, which is integrated into the system and could not be upgraded after purchase. Storage options included a 256 GB SSD, configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB.

Its rear connections include two Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports supporting transfer rates of up to 40 Gb/s, two USB-A ports supporting up to 5 Gb/s, an HDMI 2.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. A 10 Gigabit Ethernet controller was available as a configuration option. Wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. The system supports up to two external displays simultaneously: one with a resolution of up to 6K at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt and another at up to 4K at 60 Hz over HDMI.

The M1 Mac mini originally shipped with macOS Big Sur, which introduced native support for Apple silicon and enabled compatible iPhone and iPad applications to run on macOS. It also supported applications compiled for Intel processors through Apple's Rosetta 2 translation technology.

Today, the M1 Mac mini remains officially supported by Apple, although compatibility with future macOS releases will depend on Apple's continued support for the model.

In performance terms, the M1 represented a substantial improvement over the 2018 Intel Mac mini. Compared with the six-core Core i5 model, it offered considerably stronger single-core performance and similar or better multi-core performance while consuming much less power. Geekbench 6 results typically put the M1 at approximately 2,300–2,400 points in single-core performance and 8,400–8,600 points in multi-core performance. By comparison, a 2018 six-core Core i7 model scores approximately 1,436 and 5,218 points, respectively.

In comparison with the M1 Mac mini, the current-generation M6 Mac mini offers considerably higher performance, with reported Geekbench 6 results of around 4,661 single-core and 20,525 multi-core points. These figures suggest approximately twice the single-core performance and 2.4 times the multi-core performance of the M1. Despite this difference, the M1 Mac mini remains capable of handling everyday desktop tasks, office applications, web browsing and many creative workloads without requiring an upgrade.

Note: used computers cannot be upgraded upon purchase.