Many of us like Apple's hardware but not the operating system, and prefer to run Linux or even Windows. Yeah, it's a little crazy to pay a premium price for the hardware just to run some other operating system, that's how good Apple's hardware is. It's been discovered the 2018 Mac Mini has hardware to prohibit booting unapproved operating systems.

In October, Apple finally released the upgraded Mac Mini and early reviews suggest it is a powerhouse. Computationally, that is, thanks to a 6 core Core i7 CPU, but graphics-wise it isn't so hot. While the graphics chip is perfectly usable for every day use, it isn't enough for those with high-end graphics needs such as videographers. But, the port selection on the back of the 2018 Mac Mini means you can integrate an external GPU (eGPU) unit to drive high-end graphics cards.

In October, Apple finally released the upgraded Mac Mini and one leading feature is that we can again upgrade the memory. That we cannot upgrade the storage is sad, but at least we can upgrade the memory. However the picture Apple showed - that we can easily get in and change the memory - is a lie. The innards (once you open the case) look nothing like this, and upgrading the memory requires a near-complete disassembly.

As a former Mac Mini owner, and a happy Intel NUC owner, I have one suggestion to Apple regarding the Mac Mini. Make it more like the Intel NUC. Apple should be completely embarrassed that Intel has made a better Mac Mini than the Mac Mini. If Intel can do it to perfection, Apple should be able to do it. But with the direction Apple is taking with its hardware design, an updated Mac Mini is going to be even more locked down than that abomination of a Mac Mini Apple released in 2014.

Apple is losing to Intel in the Mini-versus-NUC battle. Ten+ years ago the Mac Mini was a very interesting machine, small enough to stick in a corner so we could put our computing where we want. But Intel's NUC is a better Mini than the Mini ever was, and Intel is selling a ton of NUC's. Apple should be ashamed of themselves.

Last week Apple unveiled a second round of updated machines, including the long-awaited update to the Mac Mini. While the upgrade is much appreciated, and one can easily upgrade memory, and it has a huge bump in processor capability, the 2018 Mac Mini simply is not what Apple needed to deliver. Intel's NUC is still far and away a better implementation of what the Mac Mini should be. Plus the Intel NUC is less than half the cost.

The 2014/2015 Mac Mini is still, in 2018, the "current" Mac Mini model, and its biggest problem is the great difficulty to upgrade the device. While it is impossible to replace the memory it is possible to replace the hard drive, so long as you bought the upgradeable Mac Mini. Namely the version sold with an HDD. The other, with PCIe SSD, does not support upgrading the disk. You can save some money by purchasing the HDD version and upgrading to SSD on your own, however performance is higher with the PCIe version. The videos attached to this post document the overly unnecessarily difficult process for upgrading such Mac Mini's to have an SSD. You have to remove everything just to swap the disk? And you can't change the memory? The Intel NUC is in the same class of machine, and does not require this kind of over-the-top surgery.