Apple's tiny, affordable Mac mini desktop received a hardware refresh and an accompanying price cut on Thursday, featuring 4th-generation Intel Core processors and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, starting at $499.
The new Mac mini lineup features integrated Intel Iris and HD Graphics 5000. It also has PCIe-based flash storage for faster performance.
The hardware refresh adds two Thunderbolt 2 ports and 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity, but retains the title of world's most energy efficient desktop.
Though it had been priced at $599 for some time, the Mac mini saw a reduction on Thursday, with a new entry price at $499 for a 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 5000 and a 500GB hard drive. Customers can configure their machine with a top-shelf 3.0 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, up to 16GB of memory, and up to a 1TB PCIe-based flash drive. The units are shipping to customers starting today.
Where to Buy
Thew new Mac mini is currently available for order from AppleStore.com and MacMall.com (, , ), with MacMall adding the benefit of only collecting sales tax in a handful of states. Additional discount retailers are expected to begin adding the product to their online stores over the next few weeks, so shoppers can keep an eye on the .