Choose a budget monitor for the M4 Mac mini – Image credit: Apple, ASUS, Samsung
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If you bought an M4 Mac mini, you probably need a display to match. Here are the best Mac mini monitors to consider for your new setup.
The Mac mini is the perfect device if you’re upgrading from a PC, but it’s also a great workhorse for Mac traditionalists. However, while it’s a very powerful device, you’ll have to provide your own display.
If you’re upgrading, you’ll obviously have one on hand, but it may be too old or have too low a resolution for modern computing needs. If it’s a brand-new setup, a monitor is a must-buy.
However, since you've gone to the trouble of getting a great value and the cheapest Mac Apple sells, you might not want to splash the cash on a display. With prices on options rising quickly, it can be tough to pick the right one.
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Mac mini M4
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Here are AppleInsider's budget display recommendations for your wallet-friendly Mac mini purchase. The best bang for your buck in terms of visuals.
Best Mac mini monitor for a tight budget – Acer KB272 EBI 27-inch
If you’re looking for a budget monitor to save on costs or want to use two monitors, consider the Acer KB272 EBI. It’s a 27-inch IPS panel display, making it large enough to be easily seen by most users.
Acer KB272 EBI 27-inch – Image courtesy of Acer
It has a 1080p resolution, a 100Hz refresh rate, and a 1ms response time for gaming, along with 250 nits of brightness. Ports include one HDMI 1.4 port and a VGA connection.
It has a stand with a tilt range of -5 degrees to 15 degrees. You can also use it with a standard 100mm VESA mount if needed.
Buy on Amazon
The Acer KB272 EBI doesn't have the fancy bells and whistles of other, more expensive monitors. But at $99.99 on Amazon, it gets the job done for a very low price.
The Best Portable Mac Mini Monitor – Asus ZenScreen 15.6
While the Mac mini isn't really meant to be carried around between workstations, its small size makes it possible. For that, you'll need a display that's equally portable.
The Asus ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable USB Monitor, as the name suggests, is one such option. Instead of being a large display, you get a smaller screen that can be folded for easy transport.
Asus ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable USB Monitor – Image Credit: Asus
Its 15.6-inch screen has an anti-glare IPS panel, and its 1080p resolution is usable on such a small scale. The screen is also certified flicker-free and uses low blue light technology to reduce eye fatigue.
Buy on Amazon
The display connects via USB-C and uses DisplayPort Alt Mode to power the display from the host Mac, as well as supply power to the display. You don't even have to use it in landscape orientation, as it can be rotated to portrait orientation.
Amazon is currently selling the Asus ZenScreen 15.6-inch Portable USB Monitor for $89.
The Best Mac Mini Monitor with a Wide Screen is the Samsung 34-inch Viewfinity S50GC
Two monitors can be great for productivity, but sometimes it’s better to have one big screen. The Samsung ViewFinity S50GC offers the best of both worlds by being an extremely wide display.
With a 21:9 aspect ratio, it has a QHD Ultra Wide 1440p resolution and can easily replace two screens placed side by side. With two HDMI 2.2 inputs and one DisplayPort 1.2 input on the back, you can even view two different video sources at the same time in picture-by-picture or picture-in-picture mode.
Samsung 34-inch Viewfinity S50GC – Image courtesy of Samsung
The display also supports HDR10, can display over a billion colors, has a brightness of 300 nits, and a static contrast ratio of 3000:1. It uses an ambient light sensor to adjust brightness, and also has Flicker Free and Eye Saver Mode features to help preserve your eyesight.
Buy on Amazon
The Samsung Viewfinity S50GC 34 inch is $219.99 on Amazon.
The best 4K Mac mini monitor is the Samsung 32-inch UJ59 4K. If you need a lot of digital workspace on one screen, it’s hard to go wrong with a 4K display. The Samsung UJ59 is one such example, with a resolution of 3840 by 2160. It’s housed on a 32-inch display panel, giving you plenty of room for the massive resolution without looking too small. There’s seamless scaling, too, so you can view SD, HD, and Full HD content in UHD resolution.
Samsung 32-inch UJ59 4K – Image courtesy of Samsung
Supporting a billion colors, it also features AMD FreeSync support for gaming, a low-lag mode, a game mode that optimizes screen contrast, and picture-by-picture and picture-in-picture modes for viewing multiple sources.
Buy on Amazon
While the UJ59 is a 2018 display model, the core features are still up to modern standards. The $218.99 price tag on Amazon also makes it an attractive prospect for productivity-minded consumers who don’t want to spend too much on a screen.
The Best Mac Mini Monitor If Money Is No Object Is the Dell 6K or Apple Studio Display
If you’re going to spend your budget on the highest-spec M4 Pro Mac mini, you’ll probably want to do the same with the display. In that case, we have two recommendations for you.
First up, there’s the Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor, also known as the U3224KB. It’s a 32-inch display with a 6K resolution and an IPS black panel. It’s capable of displaying 1.07 billion colors and covering 99 percent of the P3 wide color gamut, with brightness up to 600 nits.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor – Image Credit: Dell
Comes on a height-adjustable stand that can also swivel 90 degrees, has a pair of dual 14W speakers, and echo-cancelling microphones for audio. As for the camera, there’s a built-in camera at the top that uses on-device AI to simulate a center stage.
Buy at B&H
For connectivity, there's HDMI 2.1, Mini DisplayPort 2.1, a quartet of USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, Ethernet that can run at up to 2.5Gbps, a Thunderbolt 4 upstream port with 140W PD and DSC support, a 15W Thunderbolt 4 downstream port, and a data-only USB Type-C port.
The Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor is on sale at B&H for a limited time at $2,049.99.
The Best Mac mini Monitor from Apple
Another expensive option on this list is the Apple Studio Display. It’s for those who want all of their hardware to be made by Apple.
Sure, there’s the Pro Display XDR, but the Apple Studio Display offers a lot without the hefty price tag.
Apple Studio Display
The 27-inch 5K Retina display can display 14.7 million pixels and more than 1 billion colors, covering a wide color gamut (P3). There are also multiple reference playback modes available for image editors and videographers.
Buy at Best Buy
There’s a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera up top, and audio is handled by a six-speaker system with force-canceling woofers and Spatial Audio support. There’s also a three-mic array with a high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming, which certainly helps with “Hey Siri” support.
There are four ports on the back, including one Thunderbolt 3 upstream connection with 96W of host charging, and three USB-C ports.
The Apple Studio Display starts at $1,599 with standard glass or $1,899 with Nano-texture glass. You can also choose from three stands, including a tilt-adjustable stand, a VESA mount, or a tilt-and-height adjustable stand for an extra $400.
You can get the Apple Studio Display for $1,299.99 at Best Buy, with the $300 discount only valid through December 12. Read our full Apple Studio Display review to learn more about the 27-inch display.
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