M4 Pro Mac mini
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Mac Mini M4 Pro
5.0/5 Buy on Amazon
Last updated 32 minutes ago
M4 Pro Mac mini may be the best deal in computing space in late 2024, boasting an impressive amount of power for professionals that rivals the Mac Studio and Mac Pro in a tiny package.
When it comes to desktop Mac models, the Mac mini has always been considered the entry-level and cheap option, while the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are performance beasts. With the release of the M4 Pro Mac mini, Apple has changed the script – at least for now.
We've already reviewed the entry-level M4 Mac mini. The M4 Pro Mac mini is a reasonably priced upgrade for people who want high-end performance, all in a tiny package.
Mac mini M4
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The Mac Studio and Mac Pro are still stuck on the M2. Updates for both aren't expected until mid-2025, so the new Mac mini with the M4 Pro could be a stopgap upgrade for Pros that need power now and can't wait for the M4 Ultra.
M4 Pro Mac mini review – Design and dimensions
As part of Apple's overhaul of the Mac mini design, the M4 Pro version shares the same look as its M4 counterpart. The 7.75-inch rounded flat square has been reduced to a 5-inch rounded square, reducing its footprint on your desk.
Apple TV [top], new Mac mini [center], old Mac mini [bottom]
At 2 inches tall, it’s also slightly taller than the previous Mac mini’s 1.41-inch design. However, it’s still made of aluminum and has a round base section that allows for ventilation.
The Mac mini’s redesign also required a few interesting changes.
The new Mac mini’s rear ports
For starters, Apple couldn’t fit all the ports on the back of the Mac mini simply because there wasn’t enough room. As a compromise, some of the USB-C connections were pushed to the front next to the headphone jack.
It’s a compromise and a huge departure from the Mac mini’s usual design philosophy.
The front ports of the new Mac mini
The increase in height and decrease in width also makes it look like a miniature Mac Studio. Another big compromise is power, as the power button is now located on the bottom of the Mac mini.
The M4 Pro Mac mini's power button is now at an angle
This sounds like a bad design idea, since you'll have to lift it up to access the button. But even so, most users will put the Mac mini to sleep, rarely needing a physical power button at all.
How much of a deal this is depends on how often you turn off your computer. It's made somewhat worse by having to use Terminal to set startup and wake times, but it's not a major deal-breaker.
M4 Mac mini review – specs vs. M2 Mac mini
| Specs | M4 Mac mini (2024) | M4 Pro Mac mini (2024) | M2 Mac mini (2023) | M2 Pro Mac mini (2023) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $599 Best M4 Mac mini prices |
$1,399 Check M4 Pro Mac mini prices |
$599 Best M2 Mac mini prices |
$1,299 Best M2 Pro Mac mini prices |
|
| Dimensions (inches) | 5.0 x 5.0 x 2.0 | 5.0 x 5.0 x 2.0 | 1.41 x 7.75 x 7.75 | 1.41 x 7.75 x 7.75 | |
| Weight (lbs) | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 2.8 | |
| Processor | Apple M4 10-core CPU | Apple M4 Pro 12-core CPU, Apple M4 Pro 14-core CPU |
Apple M2 8-core CPU | Apple M2 Pro 10-core CPU, Apple M2 Pro 12-core CPU |
|
| Graphics | 10-core GPU | 16-core GPU, 20-core GPU |
10-core GPU processor | 16-core GPU, 19-core GPU |
|
| RAM | 16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB |
24 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB |
8 GB, 16 GB, 24 GB |
16 GB, 32 GB |
|
| Network | 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E wireless network IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit Ethernet, 10Gig upgradable |
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E wireless network IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit Ethernet, 10Gig upgradable |
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E wireless network IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit Ethernet, 10Gig upgradable upgrades |
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E wireless network IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compliant, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit Ethernet, 10Gig upgradeable |
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E wireless network IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compliant, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit Ethernet, 10Gig upgradeable |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB |
512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8 TB |
256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB |
512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4TB, 8TB |
|
| Display Support | Maximum 3: Two 6K 60Hz via Thunderbolt and one 5K 60Hz via HDMI, or one 5K 60Hz via Thunderbolt and one 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz via HDMI |
Maximum 3: Three 6K 60Hz via Thunderbolt or HDMI, or one 6K 60Hz via Thunderbolt and one 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz via Thunderbolt or HDMI |
Maximum 2: One 6K 60Hz via Thunderbolt and one 5K 60Hz via Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz via HDMI |
Maximum 3: Two 6K 60Hz via Thunderbolt and one 4K via HDMI. Up to 8K resolution or 240Hz possible via HDMI |
|
| Ports | HDMI, Three Thunderbolt 4, Two USB 3 Type-C (front) Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack (front) |
HDMI, Three Thunderbolt 5, Two USB 3 Type-C (front) Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack (front) |
HDMI, Two Thunderbolt 4, Two USB-A, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm headphones |
HDMI, Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, Two USB-A, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack |
M4 Pro Mac mini review: connectivity and Thunderbolt 5
On the wireless side, there's Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. They're pretty standard, but also connections you'll only really benefit from if you have the infrastructure or supporting peripherals that use it.
There's no Wi-Fi 7 here, like the iPhone. We're not sure why this decision was made, especially for the more expensive Mac mini, but it's not a big deal at this point.
Thunderbolt 5 will really be useful for those who need high-speed connections
The port placement isn’t the only change to the M4 Pro Mac mini’s connectivity. The selection has also changed to match the new design.
On the back of the M4 Mac mini, there’s an HDMI port, three Thunderbolt ports, and a Gigabit Ethernet port that you can pay to upgrade to a 10Gbps version.
Around the front are a pair of USB-C ports that offer USB 3 support and 10Gbps speeds. There’s also a headphone jack that supports high-impedance headphones, which is now a standard feature change.
The M4 Pro Mac mini’s front ports are sparse, but available.
The pair of USB-A ports from the old Mac mini have been relegated to the dustbin of history. If you really need them, your best bet is to use a Thunderbolt Dock.
Thunderbolt 5 Will Be the Star of the Show – Eventually
Speaking of Thunderbolt, the M4 Pro is better than the M4 Mac mini here. Instead of Thunderbolt 4, the trio of ports on the M4 Pro Mac mini use Thunderbolt 5.
There are several advantages to using Thunderbolt 5 over Thunderbolt 4, the main one being bandwidth. While Thunderbolt 4 tops out at 40Gbps, Thunderbolt 5 doubles that to 80Gbps for bidirectional connections.
For asynchronous use, that increases even further to 120Gbps.
There are also advanced video capabilities. Thunderbolt 4 can drive one 8K display or two 4K 60Hz displays, which is pretty cool in itself.
M4 Pro Mac mini and its box
But Thunderbolt 5 can handle multiple 8K displays or three 4K displays at up to 144Hz. If it's a single 4K display, the Thunderbolt 5 standard allows it to run at up to 540Hz.
Thunderbolt 5 can also handle higher power limits. Thunderbolt 4 can deliver up to 100W of power, while Thunderbolt 5 can do up to 240W, with 140W support mandatory.
This is a great future-proofing feature, but it’s extremely difficult to test. We’ll look into this more in the future as Thunderbolt 5 cases, docks, and other accessories become more affordable.
M4 Pro Mac mini review – The M4 and other internals
The main thing that catches your eye here is the M4 Pro chip, which marks a two-generation upgrade from the M2 Pro in the previous model.
This time around, the M4 Pro packs more cores than the M2 Pro in both flavors. Add to that Apple's claim that it uses the “world's fastest CPU core,” and things start to get a little more spicy.
Mac mini M4
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The base version of the M4 Pro is a 12-core CPU with eight performance cores and four efficiency cores. This is paired with a 16-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine, which is powered by Apple Intelligence and the Media Engine for encoding and decoding video.
The top-end version has a 14-core CPU with ten performance cores and four efficiency cores. The GPU is also boosted, featuring 20 cores.
The memory is also improved in a number of ways. For starters, there’s unified memory capacity, with the base amount being 24GB and then increasing to 48GB and 64GB, which is double the maximum capacity of the last model.
Memory bandwidth has also increased from 200GB/s in the M2 Pro to 273GB/s in the M4 Pro. Even this increase helps the M4 Pro further improve performance.
M4 Pro Mac mini Review – Performance
Apple trumpeted the speed of the M4 when it was announced. They made vague promises of 2x, 3x, but they never followed up with results.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs. Old Mac mini in Geekbench Single-Core Tests
When compared to previous Mac mini models in Geekbench, it's clear that the M4 Pro is significantly more powerful. With a single-core score of 3509 in the test, that's almost 900 points higher than the M2 Pro version.
Geekbench multi-core tests for the M4 Pro Mac mini and older models
When it comes to multi-core performance, there's still a noticeable performance difference between the M4 Pro models. This is partly due to the increased core count, but even the 12-core M4 Pro with 20,195 cores dwarfs the 12-core M2 Pro with 14,483 cores.
Geekbench Metal scores for the M4 Pro and previous Mac minis
It continues with the Metal test, as the top-end M4 Pro finally breaks the 100,000 barrier.
Geekbench single-core scores for the M1 Mac Studio and M4 Pro Mac mini
In the single-core test, the M4 Pro once again beats the M1 Mac Studio models with a score of 3,500 to 2,400. That's a significant step up in performance for everyday tasks.
For non-professionals, single-core performance is still the metric that matters.
Geekbench multi-core scores comparing the M4 Pro Mac mini to the M1 Mac Studio
The multi-core testing is much closer, in part because the M1 Ultra has a 20-core processor compared to the 14-core and 12-core M4 Pro. However, despite the massive core count, the M1 Ultra still can't match the M4 Pro, even with the 12-core version.
Geekbench Metal Scores for M4 Pro Mac mini and M1 Mac Studio
When it comes to Metal, the GPUs in the M4 Pro and M1 Max are comparable. The exception is the M1 Ultra, simply because it has so many cores at its disposal. It’s hard to keep up with the GPU improvements alone against a chip that offers such a huge number of GPU cores.
So it might be worth holding off on the M1 Ultra Mac Studio a little longer if you need the CPU power.
M4 Pro Mac mini review – SSD speeds
Our M4 Pro review came with a 512GB SSD. As promised, it has a faster SSD than the M4 mini.
Our BlackMagic Disk read speed test showed a speed of about 6.3 gigabytes per second. Write speed was a stable 5.2 gigabytes per second.
This contrasts with our M4 Mac mini review, where we saw symmetrical read and write speeds of around 3 gigabytes per second.
As I always do, I recommend external local storage or network storage rather than paying Apple’s exorbitant prices for SSDs. External storage is almost always a better and much more cost-effective option for desktop computers. However, on the M4 Pro Mac mini, the speeds are not equivalent in Thunderbolt 4 enclosures.
Maybe use your upgrade money for more RAM. Apple’s RAM prices are high, too. In a desktop form factor, that’s money better spent than on internal storage.
Retail prices for 1TB external high-speed Thunderbolt or USB4 SSDs are around $160 if you buy or build your own correctly. Or 2TB drives can be purchased for around $250. They offer read and write speeds of around 2.7 gigabytes per second, which is more than enough for any task.
We'll cover Thunderbolt 5 enclosures when they become more widely available.
M4 Pro Mac mini review: The tiny machine to beat in December 2024
Time marches on, and so does computing power. While Moore's Law may no longer apply, the year-on-year performance gains from Apple Silicon have produced some impressive gains, even for budget models like the Mac mini.
The M4 Pro Mac mini is a stunning, compact unit of computing power
When you look at the M4 Mac mini, it's worth considering what your workspaces look like. If you're primarily doing day-to-day business work like Office, there won't be much of a performance difference between the M4 and M4 Pro models.
However, rendering, video editing, and the like will be improved by the multi-core and graphics speed boost from the $599 model to the $1,200 version and beyond.
M4 Pro Mac mini with HomePod mini for scaling
I've loved the Mac mini since the first one arrived. There's been at least one in the house since the G4 arrived, and if I'm counting correctly, there are five. One is a beefed-up G4 for when I start getting nostalgic for OS9, and another is the core of my home network, serving up content and Time Machine backups for multiple machines. And now this one.
Now that this review is complete, the cascading upgrades begin. The M4 will be overkill for a home server, the M2 mini will replace the M1 mini used as a shared compute device, and the M1 mini will be given to a family member for shared use.
What it won’t replace is my M1 Ultra Mac Studio today. It probably shouldn’t for the few people who have one. The next one probably will, though, and as of today, almost everything else in Apple’s lineup is slower than the M4 Pro Mac mini.
As we discussed in our M4 mini review, if you’re still using Intel Mac hardware, it’s probably time to upgrade, regardless of your power needs.
M4 Pro Mac mini Review – The Pros
- The M2 Mac Studio Power for Half the Price
- More USB-C and More USB Overall Than the Previous Model
- Thunderbolt 5 Will Be Incredibly Fast, But…
M4 Pro Mac mini Review – The Cons
- Thunderbolt 5 accessories aren't available yet, and won't be available until 2025
- Exorbitant SSD and RAM upgrade prices
Rating: 5 out of 5
Where to buy Apple's M4 Pro Mac mini at a discount
All 2024 Mac mini configurations are discounted in our M4 Mac mini Price Guide, with prices starting at $499 at the time of publication.
Exclusive Deals via AppleInsider
M4 Mac mini
The standard M4 Mac mini has 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.
Buy for $549
M4 Pro Mac mini
Each M4 Pro Mac mini is eligible for a discount with promo code.
Buy from $1,349
Save on the retail M4 Pro model with 24GB of combined memory and 512GB of storage at Amazon with the coupon on the page, or choose a configure-to-order (CTO) model for up to $200 off with promo code APINSIDER at Apple Authorized Reseller Adorama.
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