M4 Mac mini overview: Velocity, Efficiency, redesign, price

I’ve owned a Mac mini because the very first G4 mannequin. In an period of cumbersome towers and a G4 Dice simply years earlier than that impressed however did not ship, the little field introduced Apple energy to a small desktop package deal, and I used to be enthused.

And since then, I’ve had one in service 24/7 continuously. Even now with a Mac Studio on my desk, there’s one upstairs in use with a member of the family, one within the different room silently buzzing away appearing as my community hooked up storage and check platform, and some extra on my shelf that I’ve hoarded through the years, simply ready for an utility.

Past devotee pleasure, it has additionally been probably the most accessible possibility for switchers. The low worth made it a super first Mac for PC customers interested in altering their computing ecosystem.

It is had the identical footprint since inception, and held roughly the identical aluminum design for 15 years or so. Optical drives have gone, and the upgradeability has diverse considerably through the years, however the footprint has remained the identical.

That’s, till 2024. That is the primary main exterior design change in years. So, let’s discuss it.

The earlier exterior enclosure for the Mac mini had a rounded-off sq. footprint at 7.75 inches lengthy and extensive, together with the heigh of 1.41 inches.

To a degree, you might say that the brand new Mac mini follows the same path. From above, it is nonetheless a rounded sq., but it surely’s loads smaller at 5 inches throughout and deep.

M4 Mac mini overview – It is bought a a lot smaller footprint than current equipment

Shrinking the footprint does drive Apple into making compromises, and the primary one is the peak. It’s taller at 2 inches, but it surely’s not likely that a lot larger than the final one.

It is nonetheless a sq. aluminum puck with an Apple brand on the highest. It is simply extra svelte when trying top-down than earlier than.

One other compromise is one that truly works out to be a profit to finish customers. There’s not sufficient area for all the ports to exist on the rear.

M4 Mac mini overview – Not all ports are across the again

What that has finished is drive Apple to relocate some parts, with a couple of making their technique to the entrance of the physique. Apple took this strategy with the Mac Studio in 2022, and apparently they really feel that this was a very good transfer. I feel so too.

However let’s discuss that energy button. It has been shifted beneath the enclosure, underneath one of many corners.

The place of the ability button could drive you to elevate up the Mac mini to achieve it, but it surely’s not going to be one thing customers will do that usually.

M4 Mac mini overview – The facility button’s new location

It is nonetheless not fabulous, provided that Apple has stripped auto power-on and power-off timings out of the Settings menu and is forcing customers maybe model new to Mac to determine the Terminal to do it. We’re positive equipment are going to come out that may cope with this.

All advised, this is not a present stopper. It is simply annoying.

USB-A is gone. We have been saying for years that USB-C is finest embraced, and Apple is making it clear with the brand new Mac mini that it is time to shift.

It isn’t a giant deal now, and it wasn’t 9 years in the past when the 12-inch MacBook shipped with USB-C solely. We do not suggest adapters, as that is only one extra connection that may be problematic.

As a substitute, for those who’ve bought a non-USB-C peripheral, simply get the cable you want, which might be a USB-C to USB-B cable. They’re plentiful and low-cost.

Anyway, within the older Mac mini design, there have been a pair of USB-A ports, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, a headphone jack, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the M2 non-Professional Mac mini.

M4 Mac mini overview – Two USB-C ports and the headphone port on the entrance

For the M4, Apple’s restricted area meant it needed to rethink what the again of the Mac mini seems to be like. HDMI and Gigabit Ethernet is on the market as typical across the again. Extra on monitor help in a bit, however for those who want bleeding-edge networking, you’ll be able to nonetheless improve the Ethernet to a 10-gig model.

Like I stated, there is no extra USB-A. Additionally round again with the HDMI and ethernet, Apple determined to supply a trio of Thunderbolt 4 ports as an alternative.

The headphone jack and a pair of USB-C ports with USB 3’s 10Gb/s speeds reside on the entrance.

No Wi-Fi 7 right here, however that is okay. It should be some time earlier than Wi-Fi 7 is fairly priced. Wi-Fi speeds are as you’d count on, with no notable deviations from regular.

Bluetooth stays at 5.3, which can also be not value a lot dialogue. Your AirPods, keyboards, and different Bluetooth peripherals will work simply nice. Clean operation is the hallmark of the Mac mini, so this is no surprise.

The bottom M4 consists of a ten-core CPU with 4 efficiency and 6 effectivity cores, together with a 10-core GPU. The GPU advantages from hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which might help video games that use it look even higher.

There’s nonetheless the 16-core Neural Engine, which is primed and prepared for Apple Intelligence. There’s additionally the Media Engine, returning to deal with hardware-accelerated video encoding and decoding duties.

Clearly, the massive factor listed here are the efficiency enhancements. They’re beefy.

Geekbench single-core benchmarks

Most duties depend on a single-core. For many customers, the single-core M4 generational increase would be the most impactful pace enchancment.

Geekbench multi-core benchmarks

Geekbench 6.3 multicore: 15,012 – about the identical as M2 Professional.

Geekbench Metallic benchmarks

And, in advertising and marketing, Apple desires to name the M4 Macs gaming machines. We have seen sizzling takes that the brand new Mac mini is an efficient substitute for the brand new PlayStation or Xbox, given the inclusion of ray tracing.

We cannot go that far. Regardless of there being some benefit to the idea general given the efficiency of the machine, the Mac gaming panorama stays horrible.

That panorama is the most important obstacle to the entire “Mac mini as gaming console” idea. Till that is fastened, it is not a very good substitute for a console, or an Intel or AMD-based gaming PC.

Certain, there are big-name titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, No Man’s Sky, and the forthcoming Civilization 7 that may work nice. Do not count on to play Future 2, or many of the AAA titles available on the market.

And even for those who do, do not get them from the Mac App Retailer. Get them from Steam as an alternative.

So far as storage goes, as we have stated earlier than, Apple has chosen to make use of slotted SSDs for the M4 Mac mini. At current, that is extra so Apple would not must have a number of SKUs for motherboards, and might simply slot in SSDs at meeting time.

The restore professionals at iFixit have swapped out the 256GB SSD with a 512GB module from a donor unit, with the assistance of Apple Configurator. So, upgrades are potential. We’ll see with time.

There stays a fairly large distinction between the 256GB module and better storage capacities. Utilizing BlackMagic Disk Velocity check, we noticed about 2 gigabytes per second write, and three gigabytes per second learn on the 256GB capability.

The M4 1TB model has symmetrical learn and write speeds at about 3 gigabytes per second. It is a notable pace distinction, however not as notable because the M1 mini demonstrated between the low capability and excessive capability fashions.

We’ll be discussing this extra in a future overview, however the M4 Professional Mac mini delivers about 6 gigabytes per second learn pace max, and 5 gigabytes per second write.

As at all times, you recognize what you are getting for those who purchase the $599 config. Extra pace prices extra money.

And, we aren’t followers of Apple’s SSD pricing. Exterior storage is nearly at all times a greater and massively cheaper possibility for desktops.

At full retail, upgrading the 256GB mannequin to 512GB prices an extra $200. Going to 1TB boosts that to $400.

M4 Mac mini overview – Extra highly effective than the Mac Professional it is leaning on

And, throughout Thunderbolt, these drives will solely be very barely slower than an upgraded storage Mac mini. They will be considerably quicker than the 256GB capability.

As I nearly at all times have, I like to recommend exterior native storage, or community hooked up storage as an alternative of paying Apple’s exorbitant SSD costs. Possibly do what I do, and use a Mac mini a technology or two outdated as a server linked to your tv, with an enormous quantity of arduous drives.

Use your improve cash for additional RAM, possibly. Apple’s RAM costs are steep too. In a desktop type issue, that is cash higher spent than inside storage.

Regardless, be aware. The M4 Professional Mac mini is only a rung up the ladder or two, and it is easy to get to that worth level including upgrades.

Talking of that RAM, the Mac mini now ships with 16GB of RAM customary. That is greater than sufficient for many of the goal marketplace for this gadget, as even 8GB is ample for phrase processing and many of the use {that a} Mac mini sees.

That stated, the savvy AppleInsider reader, for probably the most half, has been butting up towards the bounds of that default capability for a while. The 16GB is welcome, particularly since Apple Intelligence will chew a little bit of that.

The primary grievance from AppleInsider readers about Apple Silicon has been the lessened monitor help, versus the final Intel Macs.

The non-Professional fashions of Apple Silicon had been restricted to a pair of shows. This manifested within the portables as the interior display screen and one exterior, and on the Mac mini as one on HDMI, and one on Thunderbolt.

We have spoken about this a bit on this overview already within the spec desk above, however Apple has modified that with M4.

Briefly, now you can have three screens linked to a base M4 Mac mini, versus two. For 3 screens, you’ll be able to join two 6K screens at 60Hz, over Thunderbolt, with a 5K 60Hz show over HDMI.

M4 Mac mini overview – The brand new mannequin on prime of the outdated one

If you happen to solely want two screens, The HDMI port might be the place you need to join your important monitor. With one 5K60 show linked over Thunderbolt, that HDMI port can help one 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz show over HDMI.

I do not presently have a 8K monitor to check this with, sadly. They’re nonetheless spendier than the finances permits. Ought to I be capable to beg, borrow, or steal one, we’ll replace this.

However, what I can say, is that I used to be capable of swap out my Mac Studio on my desk, and join my important monitor at 4K120 over HDMI, and two portrait-oriented screens at 4K60 simply nice.

Apple has at all times centered on a couple of particular markets for the Mac mini, and it is unfold a bit to others. At its core, the Mac mini was designed present shoppers with a Mac that will not break the financial institution, and get going with minimal effort.

It is unfold to fanatics like me who jam them locations the place others would put a Raspberry Pi. Information facilities like MacStadium like them too, they usually have already got a plan for racking up the brand new mannequin.

There was a day the place the Mac was the primary product and the iPhone was the “halo” one which the Mac would draw folks in the direction of. This hasn’t been the case in a very long time.

As a substitute, the brand new Mac mini stays a complete Mac expertise that at $499 underneath schooling pricing, is half the price of an iPhone 16 Professional.

We’re all for squeezing each final dime out of a capital funding in computer systems. That stated, for those who’re taken with efficiency on a budget, the one cause to stay with an Intel Mac mini at this level is Boot Camp.

And there is arguments to be made that the M1 is getting slightly lengthy within the tooth for people that learn AppleInsider on the common.

It has been nearly 5 years because the Apple Silicon transition. Almost all of the essential software program is Apple Silicon-native now, and non-native Mac software program is quicker underneath Rosetta than it ever was on an Intel mini.

The exterior design is totally different for the primary time in years. The footprint is now radically modified for the primary time in 20 years. We’re positive that the brand new footprint has confounded accent designers, however we’re additionally positive that they are on the case already.

What hasn’t modified is the truth that Apple’s new M4 Mac mini stays the perfect stability of computing energy to price for the computer-as-appliance crowd which you can get for the cash.

• M4 has massive pace good points over M2 within the final mini
• Unchanged $599 retail worth
• New design, for the primary time in years, however…

• The brand new design can also be a con for equipment that match the identical footprint
• No USB-A, however this is not main 9 years after Apple first used it
• Actually unusual energy button placement — however this too is not main
• Horrible SSD and RAM improve pricing

Each 2024 Mac mini configuration is on sale in our M4 Mac mini Worth Information, with costs beginning at $549 at press time.

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