#Apple mac mini 2012 software#
As far as managing your files and programs goes, that's all you need to know, because the Fusion Drive software does the rest. Instead of there being two drive volumes to manage (which can be a nuisance for the tech savvy, and downright mystifying for others), the Mac mini presents the two drives as one volume. Apple's Fusion Drive combines hard disk and flash storage – Apple's nomenclature for both solid-state drives and custom flash modules – but it's neither a hybrid drive, nor is it a traditional dual drive. Fusion DriveĪs we’ve just mentioned, our review model was equipped with a 1.12TB Fusion Drive (an optional extra costing £200), but that's not even half of the story. Graphics processing got a bump with the integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000, but this time around there is no configuration available with a discrete GPU. 8GB and 16GB configurations of the machine are available for an additional £80, and a rather eye-watering extra £240 respectively. It also had the optional Fusion Drive on board, bringing the total cost of our review model to £879. The processor has been upgraded to the latest Ivy Bridge technology, and our review unit was outfitted with a 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor and 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3 memory. It's a robust selection of features for such a small system other compact desktops often drop features in the interest of saving space.
#Apple mac mini 2012 Bluetooth#
Gigabit Ethernet is here along with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. Joining the faster USB ports are the same ports used before, with a Thunderbolt port (which doubles as a mini-DisplayPort), FireWire 800 connection, HDMI output, an SDXC card slot, and audio line in and line out connections. The USB ports have all been upgraded to USB 3.0, though the ports aren't labelled as such, nor do they have the usual blue port connectors. In such a small, tightly packed machine, there isn’t really room for upgrades.Īpple has beefed up several features in the new Mac mini. RAM modules can be added and swapped, and the fan removed for cleaning – although the rest of the components can be accessed, you need to have the necessary tools and a lot of patience. It can be opened without any tools, giving you a limited view of the internals, and only providing real access to a few specific components (see below). On the top is a glossy black Apple logo on the bottom is a round black plastic hatch. Unlike other tiny desktops that set up vertically, the Mac mini sticks with the low horizontal design it has used for years.