Oh it’s Apple and you’re sold, right? But it’s about time you looked beyond the bitten apple logo and actually looked at the changes you are paying for. As for the Mac mini, visually it would be the new space grey shade plus the fact that it is mimicking the Mac Pro in miniature.

Despite the trend of creating gadgets with zero slots, the case is not true for the Mac mini. This device sports four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, HDMI 2.0, a headphone port, and Ethernet (upgradable to 10Gb). But the SD card slot didn’t make it, not even in the back. The machine deals with most tasks fine, especially considering Apple claims it is designed to offer performance five times greater than the previous model. Moreover, the computer can handle a great deal of tasks without the fans going off instantly.

When you start examining figures in earnest, you find this Mac mini betters last year’s 21.5in iMac, and holds its own with the bulk of the company’s notebook line. Performance is further aided by the speedy SSD. The SSD is itself boosted in terms of read/write times by the T2 chip; and the T2 chip increases the Mac’s security by encrypting its storage and enabling secure boot.

Unfortunately, the built-in GPU (Intel UHD Graphics 630) is less impressive, although that’s only noticeable with certain tasks. Should you just want to plug your mini into external displays and do some browsing. It’ll drive three 4K displays (or two 5K ones, if you can find any). But you won’t be using such a set-up for gaming. Start raiding some tombs or screaming along race tracks, and you’ll quickly have to dial down the resolution or put up with jerky frame-rates.