Customer Ratings & Reviews

After owning and using various Mac computers over the last 30 years, I was looking for a small solution for my moveable tiny recording studio/video edit suite. I am using a DVI-D adapter to use my 14 year old Hi-Rez 30” Apple Cinema Monitor. Looks and functions great. Still loading and acquiring software. I’m trying to stay with Catalina, but 64 bit and T2 security does make it difficult for using some of my programs and plug ins. I haven’t had to buy a Thunderbolt dock yet, as 4TB ports, 2 USB 3.0, headphone, speakers, FireWire 800 (with an adapter) & Gigabit Ethernet. Plus, did I mention this computer is the size of an external hard drive. In a word ...WOW.

I had this device, in an operational setting for 8 months, and within that time frame I've only gotten about 2 months worth of uninterrupted function. From the get-go, I had issues with distribution of power to peripherals, despite the peripherals having their own power supplies. Meaning, on numerous occasions one or more of said devices simply wouldn't be recognized by the computer. The biggest problem for me has been the T2 chip. I guess I should've researched it more, because I wasn't aware of how much control the T2 chip has over what the computer processes. I bought this to for audio production, and that was my first mistake. For the first few months, I'd have random audio drops, clicks, pops, etc regardless of what audio interface I hooked up to it (be it USB or Thunderbolt). Worst though was when I installed the -oo2 security update with updated the firmware of the T2 chip. After that, I had constant random crashes that corrupted the main drive. I had to wipe and reinstall everything twice, thousands of apps/plugins for music production. A LOT of time spent doing this, only for the problem to continue and for Apple to not recognize or at least acknowledge this was an ongoing issue for many people with 2018 minis and Macbook Pros. I eventually took it to an authorized repair, during the Covid-19 pandemic (even more stress tacked on), and all they could do was swap out the logic board to replace the T2 chip, because if anything screws up the T2 chip, the computer might as well be a brick. That I as a user can't have control of what the T2 chip processes or prohibits is the reason why I'm getting rid of this trash. I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1, because it was a very capable machine tech/specs wise, but for all of the trouble I went through that's as high as my rating can possibly go. A complete stress-fest. I'll go back to my reliable 2013 iMac, and my 2013 Mac Pro trashcan is already doing what the mini failed to... you know, work.

If your looking for one of APPLES best core systems for a great price and performance. This little monster is the way to go. You can upgrade the RAM, choose which monitor you want, optional EGPU and external storage