An Ode to Mac Mini

Ok. So I bought an M1 Mac Mini with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage.? Nearly 18 months after it was launched. So, a well-considered decision.

Goal

My goal is to review how well this machine works and how common Apple ARM-native applications work on it. No unboxing. No reviewing the hardware. No benchmarks. No mention of video tools like Final Cut Pro. And nothing about price/performance ratio.

Context

My late 2013 MacBook Pro 8 MB was starting to show its age - things were slowing down, operating systems could not be updated anymore, battery was draining down to 20% in an hour, and fans came on if I had only a few apps open. If you are using a more recent Apple computer, this review may not be super useful as I can only give you my impressions of improvement over the 2013 MB Pro.

What do I do with it

Daily office work and small amount of software development.

What was important to me

Performance of both the system (how fast things launched and closed) and the applications (how fast applications delivered on my actions).?

Unboxing

I am sorry to be an old curmudgeon, but I don’t understand this new age fascination with unboxing.? Who invented it? Clever marketing.? Anticipation and then confirmation.? Reaffirm the beauty, purity and superiority of the brand.? Fine, fine.? But a box is a box. I just find these heavy shiny white boxes to be over-engineered and wasteful. So yeah. No unboxing videos from me. Don't want to promote the over-boxing culture.

Install

Was it easy? Heck yes.? Take the box out, plug in the power supply, make sure you have either a bluetooth or wired keyboard and mouse. Enter your Wifi password.? System ready and available.

A side note: many reports online that say you have to have a wired keyboard and mouse for the first boot/configuration. Not true. I had the Apple touch pad and Apple keyboard. Mini just accepted them without a peep and moved on with install.

Opening Apps

Easily 2-3 times faster than 2013 MB Pro.? Not lickety-split like you get on new M1 Pro or Max processors. But absolutely enough improvement to make me happy.

Closing Apps

Instantaneous. Pretty much all windows and applications close in a blink if you do not have to respond to any dialogs about saving the document.? I can see no reason why M1 Pro and Max would be any faster in this.

Scrolling through Apps

Not smooth like it is on M1 Pro/Mac processors.? Not bad, but definitely not instantaneous and smooth-scrolling.

Multiple Apps and Windows open

I have not stress-tested (others on YouTube have).? I don’t like to keep too many browser windows or applications open. Having said that, I now routinely have 10-12 browser tabs and 6-7 applications open.? I have not seen any impact on performance - everything is just as fast as if there was only one tab or app open at a time.? So yeah. No issues there.?

App Support for ARM M1 Processor

Used to think Apple MacOS were under-featured: Fantastical Calendar better than Apple's, Forklift 3 better than Finder, MimeStream or Google Mail better than Apple Mail, Chrome better than Safari, and so on. Apple apps are still under-featured, but on Mac Mini M1, I am discovering that their performance advantage can overcome that shortcoming. Most importantly, I love how these tools are synced automatically between iPad, iPhone, Mini, MacBook, and even Watch.? That is something I did not have to setup or configure. It works silently and exactly as one would expect.?

Apple Spotlight

Now, I had to limit search indexing on 2013 MacBook Pro because it slowed down all apps at random times. Maybe it was because of indexing, but it was too much trouble to remedy that. Compared to that, Spotlight now is a pleasure to work with.? I did not need to do any configuration. It just worked out of the gate.? Fast enough to be useful on Mac Mini too.? After 8 years of shutting down Spotlight, I have become an enthusiastic user.

Finder

I like Finder’s simplicity.? But it is frustrating to use - especially in the multiple Columns view.? I had to constantly resize the columns, and it was not possible to see file date or size in the columns view.? Plus, and this is a biggie, Finder did not have (still does not) multiple panes.? So to have two folders open in parallel, I would have to open two specific windows of Finder.? So I had switched to Forklift 3, which has a powerful multi-pane view.? But now, on Mac Mini, the Finder has become very fast.? So it has become a pleasure to use.? Still does not alleviate the said multi-pane problem or resizing column problem. But heck, I can forgive it now that the Finder is super fast.? So I am converted half-way: using Finder for most simpler, repetitive tasks, but using Forklift for power features.

Safari

I avoided Safari for years, but have rediscovered it on Mac Mini. Yes, it will take some work to transfer plug-ins, book marks etc.? Yes, Safari has slightly different tool bar. Yes, Safari’s URL/Search entry input box is too narrow, vertically.? But the performance is great.? Sync between devices is great. I get a feeling that I am going to stick with this switch.?

Email

This is a touchy subject.? I am never happy with my email app.?I am on a constant quest to find a better email app. Yes, Gmail offers great convenience and it is stable, powerful and intelligent software. But I prefer to have an app on my machine. So I have been using Mimestream, a great G-mail and Apple-Mail compatible MacOS app.? It is a fast, clean and stable app.? But now that I have started using Apple Mail, I think it is also good enough. Apple Mail on Mac Mini is fast.? I would not call it super fast (messages load with a visible blink), but the mail overview pane is always up to date, scrolling in that pane or through a message is superfast.? And, again, it syncs easily, without any complaints, across devices.? Let's see how long this honeymoon with Apple Mail lasts.

Calendar

I love Google calendar because it allows me to color code each individual event. ? Apple Calendar does not have this feature. You can color code each calendar separately, but not each event even within a calendar.? This event coloring allows me to clearly see the type of appointment / event based merely on its color.?

Fantastical is a good solution - it has most of the features of Google Calendar, and also the speed of a native App.? It also does the said event coloring and has natural language event creation (which Apple Calendar also has).

But Apple Calendar is, again, super fast and synced. I would still keep my Google Calendar around as a security blanket though.? So current solution? Use Apple Calendar as the default and go to Google Calendar for features Apple Calendar does not have. Not perfect.

Photos

Apple, please, please, please turn on instantaneous sync of photos between all apple devices, and set that as the default. I don’t want to have to take a picture on iPhone and wait a bunch or fiddle around with Photos app to have the photo show up on other devices. I understand transporting photos on the wire is a huge load on servers etc. But please, figure it out and remove this impediment.?

Is Apple Photos faster on Mini? Yep.? Edits, searches etc - all faster on Mini. Is it blazing fast? No. Fast enough? Yes.

Messages

Bees knees.? Fast launch, reasonably fast switch between contacts (noticeable blink). Pleasure to work with, but not magical performance.

Dock

It is a bit faster than in old 2013 MB Pro. But it is definitely not instantaneous.?Maybe it is blazing fast on M1 Max and Pro systems, but not on Mac Mini. I have disabled slide in/out and kept the dock on all the time.?

BlueTooth

Not a single problem. Not even a hint of any bluetooth issues. In fact I am now using two mouse devices at the same time: Apple’s Magic Touch Pad and Logitech MX Master 3.? Each mouse device responds instantaneously without complain.? So I now use the touch pad for scrolling and “tap” clicking, and mouse when I need to do a lot of button-clicking (mouse is better at positioning the cursor).

I do wish Apple would take it upon itself to create a more easily switchable / portable standard than BlueTooth. Create something great and simple, like you do, and let users demand compatibility from device vendors.

Monitor

I have a reasonable looking Dell Ultrasharp 25-inch monitor.? I have to say, for some reason, the screen looks much more interesting than it did when it was connected to my old MB Pro. ? Screen looks sharper, has more vivid colors and, overall, my old screen has transformed into an interesting one, a pleasure to work with.

One minor annoyance: when I put the Mini into sleep mode, the screen does come on 1 or 2 times by itself. Sometimes it presents the user log-in lock screen and sometimes the desktop.? For people using the Mini in an office environment, this may be a privacy/security issue in addition to being an annoyance.??

Quiet

It is quiet. Not a hint of a fan starting.? It is so quiet, you forget it is there.? It not only does not intrude unnecessary noise in your work environment, it actually strengthens the aura of “quiet professionalism” of Mac Mini. New standard established for PC fan noise.?

Elegant

It is really a beautiful thing to look at. Minimal with just one tiny light showing it is on.? The weird thing is that this beauty quickly fades from consciousness because we almost never have to look at it, never have to worry if it is working or not.

Ports

I am an average user. I don’t need to connect too many things. Monitor, Ethernet, an external SSD drive and occasionally a bluetooth device charger.? But as the number of peripheral devices increases (Watch, earphones, phones, external SSD drives, Bluetooth dongles, etc), it would sure be nice to have more USB ports.? Yes, this problems is easily solved with an extended dock.? But having dongles intrudes upon the clean lines and visual simplicity.

Final Word

I had tested the first IBM PC/AT (look it up, Gen Z'ers) at IBM in the early 80’s. I had built desktop PC’s in 80’s and 90’s.? Loved the geeking around with that. But as I got older, Apple steadily improved. Finally, in these Mx platforms, Apple has delivered the performance and improved on its traditional strengths - simplicity, reliability and cross-device cooperation.? To use Apple's own apps and participate in their "ecosystem" is now pleasing, not just tolerable. Yes there is a price premium - but the performance and peace of mind are more than worth the premium price.? Keep going Apple, keep innovating.?

In the words of Anton Ego, the formidable food critic in the movie Ratatouille, "I will be returning to Gusteau’s soon, hungry for more."