Ars Technica: M4 Mac mini is easily the fastest, most capable Mac that Apple has sold for $599
Top image: The new front-facing ports on Mac mini include two USB-C ports and an audio jack with support for high-impedance headphones.
Bottom image: On the back, the M4 model features three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and the M4 Pro model includes Thunderbolt 5 for the first time. Both models also include Gigabit Ethernet and an HDMI port.
Apple in October unveiled the all-new Mac mini powered by the M4 and new M4 Pro chips, and redesigned around Apple silicon to pack an incredible amount of performance into an even smaller form of just 5 by 5 inches. With M4, Mac mini delivers up to 1.8x faster CPU performance and 2.2x faster GPU performance over the M1 model. With M4 Pro, it takes the advanced technologies in M4 and scales them up to tackle even more demanding workloads. For more convenient connectivity, it features front and back ports, and for the first time includes Thunderbolt 5 for faster data transfer speeds on the M4 Pro model. The new Mac mini is also built for Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that transforms how users work, communicate, and express themselves while protecting their privacy.
When it was introduced during the white plastic heyday of peak iPod-era Apple, the Mac mini was pitched as the cheapest way to buy into the Mac ecosystem.
But the entry-level models always left a lot to be desired. The first Mac mini launched with just 256MB of RAM, a pretty anemic amount even by the standards of the day. The first Intel Mac mini in 2006 came with a single-core Core Solo processor, literally the last single-core Mac Apple ever released and the only single-core Intel Mac. The 2018 Mac mini’s Core i3 processor left a lot to be desired for the price. The 8GB of RAM included in the basic M1 and M2 Mac minis was fine for many things but left very little headroom for future growth.
The point is that I’m not sure Apple has ever sold an entry-level Mac mini that I, a discerning but not particularly demanding information worker, could actually buy without dropping a couple hundred dollars on upgrades.
But the new $599 M4 Mac mini is easily the fastest and most capable Mac that Apple has sold for this price, and it’s good enough that it doesn’t just feel like a cheap way to buy into the Mac ecosystem. It’s a capable mainstream PC with few notable compromises, and the M4 Pro version is a proper workstation that can fit in the palm of your hand. It sounds like hyperbole, but that’s how good the M4, M4 Pro, and the 16GB RAM boost are.
MacDailyNews Note: Amazon is currently selling the 2024 Mac mini with M4 chip (10‑core CPU and 10‑core GPU), built for Apple Intelligence, with 16GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, and Gigabit Ethernet for $579.99.
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