As had been expected, Apple today unveiled its new Mac mini, boasting a much smaller size, M4 and M4 options, and two USB-C ports on the front of the machine, as well as three Thunderbolt ports around back.
Buyers of the new Mac mini will have a choice of M4 and new M4 Pro chips, all packed into a smaller 5-inch by 5-inch form factor, taking up less than half of the desk space of the previous model mini. While the mini is smaller than its predecessors, it’s more powerful, as Apple says the M4 Mac mini delivers up to 1.8x faster CPU performance and 2.2x faster GPU performance over the M1 model. (I guess I’ll finally have to upgrade.)
For the first time, the Mac mini offers ports on both the front and back of the machine, with Thunderbolt 5 for faster data transfer speeds on the M4 Pro model.
As you might expect, the new Mac mini is “built for Apple Intelligence,” fully supporting all of the new and upcoming features built into macOS Sequoia.
The Mac mini is Apple’s first carbon neutral Mac with an over 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across its materials, manufacturing, transportation, and customer use.
“The new Mac mini delivers gigantic performance in an unbelievably small design thanks to the power efficiency of Apple silicon and an innovative new thermal architecture,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “Combined with the performance of M4 and the new M4 Pro chip, enhanced connectivity on both the front and back, and the arrival of Apple Intelligence, Mac mini is more capable and versatile than ever, and there is nothing else like it.”
The the Mac mini with M4 features a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and now starts with 16GB of unified memory.
From Apple’s press release:
When compared to the Mac mini with Intel Core i7, Mac mini with M4:
- Applies up to 2.8x more audio effect plugins in a Logic Pro project.
- Delivers up to 13.3x faster gaming performance in World of Warcraft: The War Within.
- Enhances photos with up to 33x faster image upscaling performance in Photomator.
When compared to the Mac mini with M1, Mac mini with M4:
- Performs spreadsheet calculations up to 1.7x faster in Microsoft Excel.
- Transcribes with on-device AI speech-to-text up to 2x faster in MacWhisper.
- Merges panoramic images up to 4.9x faster in Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Mac mini with M4 Pro
Meanwhile, the Mac mini with M4 Pro features up to 14 cores, including 10 performance cores and four efficiency cores. With up to 20 cores, the M4 Pro GPU is up to twice as powerful as the GPU in M4, and both chips bring hardware-accelerated ray tracing to the Mac mini for the first time. The M4 Pro’s Neural Engine is also 3x faster than in Mac mini with M1, so it can handle on-device Apple Intelligence models at impressive speeds. The M4 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory and 273GB/s of memory bandwidth.
And M4 Pro supports Thunderbolt 5, which delivers up to 120 Gb/s data transfer speeds on Mac mini, and more than doubles the throughput of Thunderbolt 4.
From Apple’s press release:
When compared to the Mac mini with Intel Core i7, Mac mini with M4 Pro:
- Performs spreadsheet calculations up to 4x faster in Microsoft Excel.
- Executes scene-edit detection up to 9.4x faster in Adobe Premiere Pro.
- Transcribes with on-device AI speech-to-text up to 20x faster in MacWhisper.
- Processes basecalling for DNA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW up to 26x faster.
When compared to the Mac mini with M2 Pro, Mac mini with M4 Pro:
- Applies up to 1.8x more audio effect plugins in a Logic Pro project.
- Renders motion graphics to RAM up to 2x faster in Motion.
- Completes 3D renders up to 2.9x faster in Blender.
The new Mac mini features front-facing ports for more convenient access (two USB-C ports that support USB 3, and an audio jack with support for high-impedance headphones). On the back, the Mac mini with M4 sports three Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the Mac mini with M4 Pro boasts three Thunderbolt 5 ports.
Gigabit Ethernet is standard, configurable up to 10Gb Ethernet. An HDMI port makes it easy to connect to a TV or HDMI display without an adapter. The M4 Mac mini can support up to two 6K displays and up to one 5K display, and the M4 Pro Mac mini can support up to three 6K displays at 60Hz.
The new Mac mini is Apple’s first carbon neutral Mac and is made with over 50% recycled content overall, including 100% recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100% recycled gold plating in all Apple-designed printed circuit boards, and 100% recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. All electricity used in the manufacturing of the Mac mini is sourced from 100% renewable electricity. The mini’s packaging is now entirely fiber-based.
Pricing and Availability
- Customers can pre-order the new Mac mini with M4 and M4 Pro starting today, Tuesday, October 29, on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will start arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, beginning Friday, November 8.
- Mac mini with M4 starts at $599 (U.S.) and $499 (U.S.) for education. Additional technical specifications are available at apple.com/mac-mini.
- Mac mini with M4 Pro starts at $1,399 (U.S.) and $1,299 (U.S.) for education. Additional technical specifications are available at apple.com/mac-mini.
- New accessories with USB-C — including Magic Keyboard ($99 U.S.), Magic Keyboard with Touch ID ($149 U.S.), Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad ($179 U.S.), Magic Trackpad ($129 U.S.), Magic Mouse ($79 U.S.), and Thunderbolt 5 Pro Cable ($69) — are available at apple.com/store.
