Apple Mac mini (2018)

usability, size, price, reliability

94% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Thin and light for a 2-in-1 convertible ; Strong construction ; Classic ThinkPad keyboard, touchpad, and pointing stick ; Includes a garaged pen

Brief battery life ; Runs hot, even for basic use ; Memory isn't upgradable ; Standard warranty just one year

Lenovo's premier 13.3-inch convertible for business, the ThinkPad X13 Yoga impresses with slick design but is hamstrung by so-so battery life and high temperatures.

Loads of ports ; Decent CPU performance ; Design still looks great ; Silent

Upgrades quickly get pricey ; GPU performance isn’t all that

As a major pro-ish-oriented rethink of the Mac mini’s place in the world, this upgrade gets the balance right

Inexpensive ; Plenty of apps and services ; Amazon Alexa control with voice remote

Remote doesn't have TV controls ; Interface is sometimes sluggish

The $30 Fire TV Stick Lite is the most affordable way to add streaming media and Amazon's Alexa voice assistant to your 1080p TV.

Huge boost to speed and power ; Sleek space grey finish ; Excellent port selection

More expensive base model ; Lacking GPU performance ; Tough sell for your average Mac user

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy this machine, especially if you really do want a clean and uncluttered home workstation with a full mouse and keyboard setup. This device is powerful, compact, and everything a power user would want the Mac mini to...

Apple wrests excellent performance out of even the low-end Core i3 processor in the base configuration. The small system remains unobtrusive. The four USB-C/Thunderbolt ports and 10Gb Ethernet option provide for more storage with fast external data...

You're stuck with integrated graphics unless you fork over the bucks and desk space for an eGPU. Relatively high entry price once you spring for the accessories and a display. It no longer serves as a budget option despite being the most affordable Mac.

The Apple Mac Mini 2018 continues to serve as a satisfying, gets-the-job-done desktop system that delivers surprising value when you want something designed to be seen and not heard.

Compact size and great looks mean the Mac Mini can be put practically anywhere in your home; built-in wireless card; ships with same software bundle as pricier Macs; vocal Mac community means you can find help online for almost any problem.

Meager standard memory allotment must share resources with integrated graphics; no media card reader; small, slow hard drive; free phone support runs out after only 90 days.

The Apple Mac Mini is an unquestioned winner among budget desktops, but HP has a small-form-factor PC whose feature set will woo many would-be Mac Mini buyers.

No other PC in its price class fits the affordable home-theater desktop bill as well; still the aesthetic leader; entry-level model now includes dual-core CPU.

Even more than with most Apple PCs, upgrades are limited and costly due to the small case; lack of DVD burner feels stingy.

If you're looking for a pure budget desktop and aren't too worried about looks, even this new updated Mac Mini with its 1.66GHz dual-core CPU is a hard sell. But if you want a small, innocuous computer for sending or receiving media or other files...

Affordable ; Faster processor than previous model ; Includes remote with microphone, TV controls, and dedicated service buttons

1080p only ; Home screen can occasionally stutter

Amazon's $40 third-generation Fire TV Stick is nearly identical to its predecessor, just a bit faster and equipped with a new Alexa voice remote, which is enough to preserve its status as the best media streamer for 1080p TVs.