Almost the entire surface of the device is covered in matte aluminum, with just a large Apple logo on top to break up the uniformity. There is no other branding and no other labeling, just a tiny white light on the front that lights up when you power the device on. It is a Jony Ive fever dream, perhaps the ultimate expression of Apple’s obsessive design mores.Īs we have come to expect with Apple hardware, the build quality is excellent. The entire device is weighty and solid, with no flexing or bending to be found anywhere.

It feels like a device that could take a few knocks and still come up smiling - not that you would want that to happen. There are a few differences between the M1 and Intel models, though.

The most obvious is the paint job, with the M1 model coming in silver and the Intel version in the darker space gray. The Intel Mac Mini is also slightly heavier, weighing in at 2.9 pounds, compared to the M1 Mac Mini’s 2.6 pounds.Ī more significant difference lies around the back. Apple has long since dropped USB-A ports on its MacBooks, but its desktop Macs - including the Mac Mini - have held out. But while the Intel Mac Mini came with four USB-A ports, the M1 version has only two (both running at 5Gbps).

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