The M4 Mac Mini Is a $600 Masterpiece

A 5-inch-wide computer with a cutting-edge M4 processor, 16GB of RAM, and oodles of Thunderbolt ports. That's the new, redesigned Mac Mini, a masterpiece of a machine that carries the same $600 price tag as its predecessor.

It's hard to overstate the importance of Apple's new M4 Mac Mini. Previous models of Mac Mini were already a steal—this one is just an outrageous bargain. The M4 processor and minimum 16GB of RAM provide a substantial leap in performance over the M2 Mac Mini (there was never an M3 version), and twice the power of the four-year-old M1 Mac Mini. There's also an M4 Pro upgrade that pushes performance to an even higher level, though we're still waiting for independent benchmarks for the M4 Pro.

This increase in power is accompanied by an all-new, redesigned chassis. Yeah, it took 14 years, but Apple finally reduced the Mac Mini's 7.5-inch length and width to just 5 inches. It also slapped two USB-C ports on the front of the machine (kind of like the Mac Studio), moved the computer's power button to its underside (weird choice, but okay), and replaced the USB-A ports with a trio of Thunderbolt 4 connectors. The headphone jack, Ethernet port, and HDMI output remain untouched.

Customers who spring for the M4 Pro Mac Mini get upgraded to Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, which is a very pleasant surprise, as TB5 is a fairly new standard that we rarely see outside of super-duper-expensive machines. Thunderbolt 5 provides up to 120Gbps of single-direction bandwidth (effectively three times that of TB4), though there aren't many Thunderbolt 5 accessories available today. Most buyers should think of TB5 as future-proofing, rather than an immediate need.

Apple also claims that this is the "first carbon-neutral Mac." It's designed with 100% recycled aluminum, gold, and rare earth elements. All electricity used during manufacturing is green, and investments in clean energy projects offset "100% of the electricity customers use to power Mac Mini." That last point is hard to take seriously, especially as Apple pursues power-hungry AI technologies, but it's good to see that AI hasn't shattered Apple's environmental goals.

I'm extremely impressed by the new Mac Mini. For just $600, you get an incredibly powerful Apple Silicon desktop with 16GB of RAM and a ridiculously tiny footprint. If anyone asks me what desktop computer they should buy, this will be my first suggestion. There's nothing that matches the price-to-performance ratio of this machine. Gaming is the only real caveat, as very few games are optimized for Apple Silicon.

Pre-orders for the M4 Mac Mini are available today. Apple will begin shipping orders on November 8th. The standard M4 model starts at $600, while the M4 Pro Mac Mini is $1,400.

Source: Apple