The Apple Mac mini with the M4 SoC stands out because the star of Apple’s 2024 lineup. Regardless of being solely barely bigger than an Apple TV streaming participant and beginning at $599, it outperforms many high-end computer systems in benchmark assessments. Apple offered us with the M4 Professional mannequin, outfitted with a powerful 48 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. Priced at $2,199, is it definitely worth the funding? Let’s discover out!
Good
- Very excessive efficiency stage
- Small and compact
- Fashionable connections
- Low energy consumption
Unhealthy
- Low price-to-performance ratio for the M4 Professional improve
- Troublesome to improve
- Energy button on the backside is annoying
- No energy provide through USB C/Thunderbolt
Apple Mac Mini M4: All offers
Design & construct
The Mac Mini in 2024 is roughly half the scale of its predecessor, with the aspect size of the sq. mini PC shrinking to simply 12.7 cm. It is a document for computer systems working on MacOS, however taking a look on the Home windows vary brings us again right down to earth. It’s impractical for Apple to put the ability button on the underside of the case. The workmanship is extraordinarily top quality, however sadly, the Mac Mini is nearly inconceivable to improve.
Because the identify suggests, the Mac Mini is Apple’s smallest desktop PC. The mannequin with the M4 SoC shrank its footprint by roughly 50 p.c and is subsequently a small sq. with sides measuring 12.7 cm apiece with a peak of 5 cm. It is a new document within the Apple world, however mini PCs with Home windows working programs have lengthy been out there in equally small codecs. Curiously, the Mac Mini M4 seems to be similar to the Geekom A7 (evaluate), which I described in my evaluate as a miniature copy of the M2 Mac Mini (evaluate).
What Apple has achieved this yr to draw much more consideration is the curious place of the ability button. It’s not situated behind the Mac Mini, however on the backside. Because the small fan tower beneath may be very flat, it’s a must to raise the Mac Mini to show it on. In on a regular basis life, that is neither humorous nor “quirky” — it’s inconvenient and motivates individuals much more to not shut down their Apple computer systems. Since no one does this anyway, it does not actually trouble them in on a regular basis life, proper?
Mac Mini connections in contrast
| Mac Mini M4 (2024) | Mac Mini M4 Professional | Mac Mini M3 (2024) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entrance panel |
2 x USB Sort-C / USB 3 (max. 10 Gbit/s) 1 x 3.5 mm jack (In / Out mixed) |
2 x USB Sort-C / USB 3 (max. 10 Gbit/s) 1 x 3.5 mm jack (In / Out mixed) |
– |
| Rear panel |
3 x USB Sort-C / Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 Ethernet (10 Gbit non-compulsory) HDMI |
3 x USB Sort-C / Thunderbolt 5 / USB 4 Ethernet (10 Gbit non-compulsory) HDMI |
2 x Thunderbolt 4 (M2 4 x Thunderbolt 4 (M2 Professional) 2 x USB sort A Ethernet (non-compulsory) HDMI |
| Wi-fi |
WLAN 6E Bluetooth 5.3 |
WLAN 6E Bluetooth 5.3 |
WLAN 6E Bluetooth 5.3 |
Apple made the number of connections a little bit extra handy to entry in 2024. That is primarily as a result of two USB-C ports and the headphone jack in entrance. If you wish to join exterior audio system to the Mac Mini and do not wish to spoil the attractive entrance aesthetics, you may must resort to an adapter. Or, within the Apple cosmos, depend on the gorgeous good audio system within the Apple Studio Show (evaluate).
Should you do not thoughts paying a little bit further for the M4 Professional, Thunderbolt 5 is offered in each the Mac Mini and the MacBook Professional, providing a very highly effective commonplace for information switch. At speeds of as much as 120 Gbit/s, the bandwidth for video transfers is 3 times greater than Thunderbolt 4. Thunderbolt can switch different information at speeds of as much as 80 Gbit/s.
Preliminary on-line benchmarks present that storage media with Thunderbolt 5 might be quicker than the inner SSD—spectacular! There are additional benefits if you wish to function the Mac Mini on 8K shows. Nonetheless, as we discovered later with the ability provide, Apple doesn’t understand the total potential of Thunderbolt 5.
Theoretically, eGPUs may be linked to the small Mac through Thunderbolt 5 to additional improve the graphics efficiency. Sadly, that is principally the one sensible solution to improve the mini PC after buy. The RAM is completely soldered and, in line with the restore guide, Apple depends on a proprietary NAND flash resolution for the SSD. It’s subsequently potential in precept to improve the mass storage—however the required spare elements have to be bought immediately from Apple. There’ll most definitely be no value benefit.
To complete off the design and workmanship: Apple doesn’t supply safety in opposition to splash water and dirt. What’s attention-grabbing, nevertheless, is that the Mac Mini is the primary CO2-neutral Mac in line with the producer. It’s produced from 50% recycled supplies and 100% electrical energy from renewable vitality sources. Transport can also be stated to be 50% CO2-neutral, and the ensuing emissions are offset by “high-quality CO2 discount initiatives“.
Software program: Apple Intelligence-Prepared
The Mac Mini is delivered with MacOS 15.1 Sequoia proper out of the field. The working system as soon as once more presents mixture of performance, user-friendliness, and an attractive system interface. Apple can also be closely selling the Mac Mini with its new Apple Intelligence compatibility. As the corporate’s personal AI assistant continues to be a very long time in arriving, that is all that is still for now. Too unhealthy!
Efficiency & configuration
Within the $599 base configuration, the Mac Mini presents the brand new M4 SoC with 10 cores every within the CPU and GPU, 16 GB shared reminiscence, and 256 GB of inside reminiscence. For this evaluate, nevertheless, Apple offered us with a extra highly effective model with the M4 Professional SoC, 48 GB shared reminiscence, 1 TB SSD storage, and extra processing cores within the graphics unit. As we have been additionally in a position to evaluate a MacBook Professional within the base configuration concurrently, the benchmark outcomes of a number of configurations might be discovered under.
In contrast to earlier years, Apple needed to make a little bit extra effort in 2024 when it got here to the efficiency of its SoCs. It’s because Qualcomm confirmed how the Snapdragon X Elite might meet up with Cupertino when it comes to know-how final yr. If you wish to discover out extra in regards to the X-Elite SoCs, Rubens has already ready an outline for you. I’ve additionally included his benchmark outcomes from the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16 on this evaluate as effectively.
Again to the M4 and the M4 Professional. Apple makes use of a 10-core CPU with 4 efficiency cores and 6 effectivity cores in addition to a 10-core GPU as commonplace within the M4. Those that go for the Professional mannequin will obtain an improve to 12 cores within the CPU and 16 cores within the GPU. The M4 Professional works with eight efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores. For a further $200, you’ll be able to improve to a 14-core CPU and a 20-core GPU, and that is precisely what Apple offered us for this evaluate.
This implies we will discern from the benchmark outcomes how the Mac Mini performs within the approximate most configuration. Sadly, the improve to the M4 Max is at the moment reserved for the MacBook Professional mannequin. Apple will in all probability introduce a brand new Mac Studio quickly, which is able to then work with probably the most highly effective processors.
The one factor that may very well be improved on the Mac Mini is the shared RAM. We’ve got 48 GB configured right here and never 64 GB. In the course of the evaluate length, we additionally reviewed a MacBook Professional with M4 and 16 GB shared reminiscence. Primarily based on these outcomes, you’ll be able to roughly guess how a lot decrease the efficiency of the Mac Mini is in its commonplace configuration.
Benchmark desk
| take a look at | Mac Mini M4 Professional | MacBook Professional M4 | iMac M4 | Geekom A7 | Samsung Galaxy E-book 4 Edge (SD X Elite) | MacBook Air M3 | MacBook Professional M3 Professional | MacBook Professional M3 Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 CPU (Single / Multi) | 3,963 / 22,578 | 3,829 / 14,936 | 3,845 / 14,551 | 2,664 / 13,658 | 2,630 / 13,314 | 3,153 / 12,033 | 3,130 / 14,243 | 3,092 / 19,315 |
| Geekbench 6 GPU | 69,643 | 38,134 | 35,697 | 33,099 | – | 30,457 | 43,050 | 76,507 |
| Cinebench R32 | 9,217 | 3,870 | 4,370 | – | – | 3,314 factors | 5,426 factors | 19,671 factors |
| 3D Mark Nomad Gentle | 7,492 | 3,946 | 3,549 | – | – | – | – | |
| AS SSD Benchmark 2.0 studying | 5,211 Mb/s | 2,924 Mb/s | 2,990 Mb/s | 3,719 Mb/s | – | 3,050 Mb/s | 5,000 Mb/s | 5,600 Mb/s |
| AS SSD Benchmark 2.0 write | 6,366 Mb/s | 2,962 Mb/s | 3,268 Mb/s | 2,588 Mb/s | – | 3,400 Mb/s | 5,600 Mb/s | 7,500 Mb/s |
Within the Mac Mini, the M4 Professional as soon as once more presents a big leap in efficiency in comparison with final yr’s mannequin. Keep in mind Apple skipped a technology with the Mac Mini. Principally, it’s undoubtedly price upgrading from the M2 mannequin. For extra demanding duties, the Mac Mini behaves extra like a smaller model of the Mac Studio albeit with fewer ports.
It’s notably spectacular how quiet the Mac Mini stays. For my evaluate, I performed the online game “Resident Evil: Village” on the best graphics settings. It delivered a clean gaming efficiency in 4K decision, throughout which the small PC needed to flip the followers as much as full pace. It sounded roughly like a pocket book fan, so for those who work in full silence, you’ll hear a low noise. Nonetheless, the noise is certainly not annoying. I additionally did not discover any main warmth growth. The Mac Mini merely obtained heat.
I used to be notably stunned by the video enhancing efficiency within the evaluate. Utilizing Davinci Resolve Studio, I used to be in a position to edit 4K video materials in 10-bit shade depth at full timeline decision with out creating proxy recordsdata. In contrast to on my MacBook Professional with M3 Professional and 24 GB RAM, there have been no stutters when taking part in again the preview or throughout different steps within the video enhancing course of. Rendering the roughly 8-minute video took 3.5 minutes. The MacBook Professional wanted simply over 4 minutes for a equally lengthy video. In distinction to gaming, the sound of followers have been absent right here.
By the way, Apple nonetheless depends on an NPU with 16 cores for the execution of ML and AI processes. As Apple’s personal AI has not but been launched outdoors the US, so these residing in different areas are unable to determine its efficiency when working AI functions.
Energy provide and energy consumption
What’s spectacular contemplating the scale of the housing: The Mac Mini has an built-in energy provide unit in the case and is subsequently linked to the ability provide with an IEC plug. It’s annoying that Apple doesn’t allow energy provide through Thunderbolt. Energy consumption is extraordinarily low normally because of the environment friendly SoC.
In my mini PC evaluations, I at all times level out the low-power consumption in comparison with typical desktop computer systems. After all, this purpose to purchase additionally applies to the Mac Mini, which must be notably economical because of the environment friendly M4 SoC. Apple specified a most steady energy consumption of 155 W. In our evaluate utilizing an influence meter, it by no means exceeded 65 W on the highest potential load. In desktop mode, nevertheless, it was solely 8 W, whereas energy consumption in idle mode was not measurable.
iMac 2024 energy consumption
| Activity / Situation | iMac M4 2024 | Mac Mini M4 Professional with Studio Show |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep mode | 0 W / not measurable | 0 W / not measurable |
| Minimal brightness idle | 13.6 W | 17.4 W + 8 W = 25.4 W |
| Most idle brightness | 45 W | 58 W + 8 W = 66 W |
| Minimal brightness full load | 41.5 W | 17.4 W + 63 W = 80.4 W |
| Most brightness full load | 70 W | 58 W + 63 W = 121 W |
I additionally examined the brand new iMac with M4 through the evaluate length and have subsequently populated all energy consumption in a desk for you. Instantly above this paragraph is the place the iMac with M4 SoC and the Mac Mini are noticed along with the Studio Show.
One level of criticism that I saved noticing, even with mini PCs working on Home windows, is how USB-C can present the required energy provide, however there may be nonetheless no energy supply through that route. This might assist you to arrange an excellent “cleaner” desktop configuration and release an influence socket alongside the best way.
Technical specs
| Technical specs | |
|---|---|
| Gadget | Apple Mac Mini 2024 |
| Picture | |
| SoC |
|
| Shared reminiscence | |
| Dimensions & weight |
|
| Connectors |
|
| Wi-fi | |
| RRP |
Ought to You Purchase the Apple Mac mini?
With the brand new Mac mini, Apple including one other feather to its crown, trending from the previous couple of years of its gross sales technique. With an asking value of $599, the Mac mini with M4 is an extremely compelling deal. That is primarily as a result of efficiency of the brand new Silicon SoC, the low-power consumption, and fashionable connectivity choices.
There are hardly any PCs or notebooks that provide extra efficiency at this value level. Nonetheless, each 16 GB RAM and 256 GB inside reminiscence will not be adequate in 2024, to not point out when Apple Intelligence is offered at extra geographical places in time to return.
Principally, the Mac mini with M4 Professional, 48 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD that Apple despatched us for this evaluate proved spectacular in on a regular basis use. It mastered demanding duties effortlessly and consumed barely greater than 60 W of energy even below a full load. It’s enticing to take a look at, can theoretically be taken anyplace, and may even be described as future-proof, as Apple put in two Thunderbolt 5 slots behind.
With a $2,199 price ticket, the configuration we reviewed is certainly not deal. Home windows-powered computer systems with considerably extra efficiency can be found at this value, which can be upgraded as they become older.
Whereas Apple’s MacBooks, which may simply attain related value ranges with upgrades, supply the benefit of with the ability to edit movies or do 3D rendering on the go, however this isn’t the case with the Mac mini. Identical to a high-quality show, even a mouse and keyboard must be bought individually for the Mac mini.
I can subsequently hardly advocate the “upgraded” Mac mini for high-performance customers, however if you’re in search of an inexpensive desktop laptop, the $599 mannequin may very well be a viable possibility.
The place to Purchase the Apple Mac mini
The Mac Mini impressed us with its vitality effectivity, compact design, and plentiful connectivity choices.
Nonetheless, with its strongest chipset, 48 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of SSD storage, this price-to-performance marvel shortly turns right into a expensive funding. For many customers, the bottom mannequin is a greater worth and is offered on Amazon or by the Apple Retailer beginning at $1,399.
