(Opens in a new window) Read Our Apple MacBook Air (2018) Review You'll pay a premium for the trim dimensions, and expandability is all external, but rest assured: The Mac mini is the same dynamo as ever, now with 2018 trimmings that do justice to a classic design.
What tips it into our Editors' Choice zone is Apple's deep included software set, which lets you do a tremendous amount right out of the box: office work, presentations, music dabbling, movie editing. Despite the price bump, with a move to 8th Generation Core desktop CPUs, PCI Express SSDs, and a new roster of connectivity, the Mac mini remains a compelling (if, mind you, the only) desktop space-saver for macOS users looking for a home theater PC, a desktop workstation, or a music- and video-editing sprinter. The 2018 reboot ($799 as tested, which is the entry-level model) rethinks the Mac mini's innards but also lays a new, ritzier price floor.
Since its last major rework in 2014, it came in configurations priced as low as $499 that scaled up from there.