minor refresh, practically the same. very sad because the mini was long long overdue for a refresh.
the top $1k model still is only a dual core cpu.
it comes with a slow 5400 rpm drive instead of a ssd. even the pro $1k model has a slow 5400 rpm mechanical drive unless you pay extra for the upgrade.
not to mention thunderbolt ports have not really caught on outside the apple-peripheral community, would have liked to see more USB3's than thunderbolts.
(also not sure about their claim of "lowest power computer in the world", guess it depends what your definition of a computer is, because RPi takes 700mW. None-the-less, some of the NUC kits sip only 8W or less, while the new Mini is rated at 83W)
If you are refering to compact desktop computers there aren't many (none?) that use regular TDP mobile CPUs, have Intel Iris graphics and are virtually silent. The only ones that are similar or have better specs are the Gigabyte Brix Pro line of compact desktops and most of them are noisy or extremely noisy and have bad cooling solutions. I know because I've owned two and ended up selling both after only a few weeks. The only one that show promise is this [1] and I still have doubts that it will be any good...
My only issue with the new Mini's is that you used to be able to buy one with a quad core CPU and now that option is gone. Other than that...
[1] http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5156
[1]: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4888
[2]: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8175/gigabyte-brix-pro-a-secon...
That BRIX you linked to has a quad core with hyper threading (8 threads), and Iris Pro graphics (you can do some gaming with this, not just hi-def video).
And when outfited with 16GB of RAM, and a 240GB SSD, this puppy is what the new Mac Mini should have been. (only this is cheaper!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemLi...
And according to this review, it sips about 82w at full throttle:
http://www.missingremote.com/review/gigabyte-brix-pro-gb-bxi...
So, it uses less power than the Mac Mini, busting Apple's claim that their new Mac Mini is the "lowest power computer in the world".
All-in-all, you'd have to be a fool to buy the new Mini. Especially given we can expect the current (new) Mini hardware to be the same for another 2-3 years without a refresh, and given the difficulty you will have trying to upgrade it with more RAM, HDD, etc.
I would of bought the mini then wiped it anyways. I've found Linux to be a much better home server/build server anyways. And now that Steam is on Linux, I could game on the same box. Great setup.
I tried running a Hackintosh, and gave up after the third instance of unrecoverable disk corruption. :(
There's also 47/55W mobile processors with Iris Pro, one of which Apple uses in the 15" rMBP. Several historical unibody Mac Mini models had a 45 W processor.