El primer Mac mini de Apple con tecnología M1 carece de defectos y es prometedor, y vende la migración de la compañía a sus propios procesadores Apple Silicon por su cuenta.</p><h2>¿Qué es el Mac mini?</h2><p>Apple anunció la semana pasada tres Macs equipados con Apple Silicon: el MacBook Air de 13 pulgadas. MacBook Pro y Mac mini.
All three use an M1 chip, run an optimized operating system (Big Sur), and are equipped with features like unified memory, which helps boost and improve graphics performance. I looked at the M1 Mac mini running macOS Big Sur 11.0.1. This is the entry level mini. It houses an 8-core Apple chip, a 256GB SSD, and 8GB of memory. (I smile when I see what this memory, and Apple's new Unified Memory Architecture (UMA), can do in this machine.) It's worth noting that this system is more than capable of running a Pro Display XDR, it has to be, as it'll also be running a second 4K display. You can run two displays from a single entry-level Mac. (Add an iPad in Sidecar mode and you have three.) Designed and developed by Apple, the M1 is a sophisticated system on a chip (SoC) that is also the world's first personal computer chip built using 5 nanometer (nm) process technology. It combines processor, GPU, security, I/O, memory and more on the chip and has 16 billion transistors; its UMA means it provides the fastest integrated personal infographic in the world. Some have pointed out that these Macs only support 16GB of memory, but in my experience, this rarely acts as a performance cap on what the machines can do. Part of this is because Apple designed the entire experience, including the software, to optimize performance. On other systems, additional memory is needed to make up for the lack of such optimization in the system, Apple seems to think. The fact that the memory is integrated into the processor also means that bandwidth is optimized from the start. Together, Apple claims the new Mac mini offers three times the processor performance of its predecessor, six times faster graphics, and up to 15 times faster machine learning performance. This is also bolstered by the tight integration between Mac and Apple's recently introduced macOS Big Sur.
How does the Mac mini work?
On these Apple claims: Early Mac mini performance data seems to confirm them. With Geekbench 5, the Mac mini returns a single-core score of 1745 and a multi-core score of 7704. Incredibly, this suggests that these new Macs are currently the second fastest Apple computer money can buy in terms of performance. single core. They're also hot on the heels of the Intel-based entry-level iMac Pro when it comes to multicore. That's amazing performance in a $699 Mac. It is important to note that Geekbench uses Rosetta 2 emulation, which suggests that processor performance may exceed measured performance. Rosetta is software developed by Apple that enables Mac M1s to run applications designed for Intel processors. Another test, CineBench, was optimized for the M1 processor. These tests scored approximately 7.569 points in multi-core performance and 1.523 in single-core performance. This means that when it comes to single-core, the only chip faster is the 7GHz Intel Core i2,81, which the M1 handily beats in multi-core performance. In other words, the M1 is already fast. I ran a whole collection of apps to see how the Mac would perform in certain real(ish) world situations:
Final Cut Pro
I applied effects and titles to a 12GB clip in Final Cut Pro. I'll admit I haven't used FCP much since version 4 in 2003, so my anecdotal experience is just that. But if I'd known I could get these tasks done in as little time as I can today on the new Mac mini, I probably would have used it more. Putting different clips together, adding effects and transitions, even adjusting colors, my mini didn't seem to care about a single task. iMovie, of course, becomes a real joy to use, because everything is so fast. The real advantage is visible in the rendering. Exporting an iMovie to the web seemed much faster than with an Intel chip.
Microsoft Word
Word has not yet been optimized as a native M1 application, although Microsoft is likely working on it. What is available is an updated version of Word that runs in Rosetta 2 emulation on the new Mac. Since it runs on Rosetta, you will experience a longer wait than usual the first time you start Word. This is the only caveat as Word will launch quickly every time thereafter and I have no further complaints, so much so that I wrote this review about it.
Pixelator Pro
I used Pixelmator's ML Super Resolution tool to increase the resolution of a small scanned image from the late 1500s by 90%. The Mac did this in a few moments and the image it created. it was much better (and more detailed) than the original. I will use this unique feature a lot as I try to bring some of my photographic memories into the XNUMXst century.
4D cinema
I have never used Cinema 4D, but the application is compatible with Mac M1 so I had to give it a try. I took a series of object creation tutorials online. The Mac did everything I asked it to do, although I did see brief rendering issues when moving objects or changing some settings. However, it is impressive to be able to create and animate 3D objects on a Mac mini with 8GB of memory; This bodes very well for Apple's Mac pros next year.
Play some games
I have always liked the Civilization and Total War series of games. I love that you get to get so deeply involved in planning, strategy and execution, but I've always found that both challenge the computers running them when playing late-stage games where the scenarios get really complex. Do you play on mac mini? Yeah. Did they collide? Not while I was playing them. And I'm a bit obsessive. Fortunately, I was also able...
Mix up some beats
I once ran one of the iPod DJ clubs in London. We let people come in with their songs and give them 15 minutes to play their favorite songs. Good DJs have won awards from companies like Gear4. The club didn't last long, but these days almost every DJ uses digital music during their set. Much to the chagrin of my roommates, I used the demo version of DJay Pro AI to mix tracks, change bpms, and apply effects, flanges, echoes, and fades to individual musical components at my discretion. The Mac didn't skip the beat, which is very important when you're a DJ. Too bad for the people I live with because then I spent an hour making incredibly normal metal songs with my guitar and GarageBand. The only wall I hit was my own limited talent. The Mac wasn't even warm to the touch.
Apple apps
I opened all the Apple applications that I regularly use on Mac. The company claims to have optimized all of its applications to run natively on Apple Silicon. It seems to be the case. To me, the only significant difference seems to be that all of these applications seem to load faster than on my Intel Macs. Most applications start almost immediately, with the sole exception of applications that use Rosetta translation. This is not a problem with Apple apps as they all work natively on M1.
Apps for iPhone and iPad
First of all, not all iPad or iPhone apps are available for Mac M1. Developers can decide if they want them to be available. The ones that are available have been changed to look much more like a Mac. There is already a small collection curated by Apple. None are going to stretch out your computer, but it seems very useful to access all this software on your Mac.
I even tried running all the apps installed on my Mac at the same time when rendering a movie from iMovie. I was hoping the Mac Mini would have problems. That was not the case. He kept his cool, he kept his cool and he did his job. I felt some cold air coming in through the ventilation shaft. This Mac can handle it.
Tech Specs I worked with a €699 Mac mini with 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD. I was driving a Pro Display XDR screen over Thunderbolt. Interconnects include two Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet, and a headphone jack. There's also a built-in mono speaker, which is the only compromised item in the box. It weighs 2.6 lbs. The dimensions are 1.4 x 7.7 x 7.7 inches.
What I Think I think most people buy a Mac because they really want to do things with computers. This is definitely what prompted me to get my first Mac, an older LC2 many years ago. They are machines that, at best, creatives use to do creative things.
This is why I am so impressed with what the Mac mini can accomplish.
To resume Blade Runner, with Apple Silicon M1: “I've seen things you wouldn't believe. Low-resolution images have increased by 1,500% in the blink of an eye. I saw the subtitles and effects drop on the timeline in real time with no lag. All of these moments will be claimed as mine, as a gift of time.
It will get the job done, at a very affordable price, on an entry-level Mac that already offers significant competition to Intel machines. It will also make your job faster and save time.
The mini offers little less performance than the 1-inch MacBook Pro M13, but it is a great example of what can be achieved when an Apple chip is inserted into a Mac with a higher thermal capacity.
It seems clear that Apple can improve performance even from the M1 by putting the chip in a larger chassis, which suggests very good news for iMacs next year.
Buying Advice I couldn't be more impressed with the performance and stability of this Mac mini.
If you are a business or consumer user and want or need to familiarize yourself with the new processors, you can start here. You'll find that these Macs work like Macs, they run Mac apps, they run iOS apps, and they have performance benefits that make them some of the best performing computers you can find.
The Mac mini has always been the entry-level Mac, and it shows. But this new model is a beast and for its price I think it should become a popular desktop, WFH or second user machine.
I would be very interested to know how well they perform when used as render or farm servers, as my experience suggests that we will see significant improvement even in these implementations.
Apple's adventures in Apple Silicon for Mac are off to a very promising start.
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