Abstract

• The M4 Mac Mini boasts spectacular efficiency, incredible construct high quality, and a minuscule footprint.
• The bottom mannequin’s $599 price ticket affords immense worth, however steep reminiscence and storage improve prices are main drawbacks.
• After two months of utilization, my M4 Mac Mini is as snappy because it was on the primary day, and whereas macOS does have its share of quirks, its stability is praiseworthy.

The M4 Mac Mini is tiny, mighty, and whisper quiet. After utilizing it for about two months, I’ve fallen in love with this wee machine regardless of macOS-related quirks. Whereas it is an ideal entry level for Apple newcomers, it does have a number of dings that, fortunately, do not imperil its excellence.

Worth and Availability

The bottom M4 Mac Mini variant prices $599/£599/€699. For that amount of cash, you are getting the M4 chip, which has 4 efficiency cores and 6 effectivity cores, a 10-core GPU, 16GB of LPDDR5X reminiscence working at 7500MT/s, and a 256GB SSD. The whole reminiscence bandwidth is 120GB/s, and the built-in SSD gives PCIe 3.0-like efficiency.

Different options you are getting with the bottom M4 Mac Mini variant embody a Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 3.2 Gen2 ports working at 10Gbps, and three Thunderbolt 4 ports topping out at 40Gbps. You may improve to 10 Gigabit Ethernet for $100, which is a bit dear however nowhere close to the insanely overpriced storage and reminiscence upgrades.

RAM and Storage Are Insanely Costly

The M4 chip additionally features a devoted, 16-core neural engine that gives 38TOPS of efficiency, which is a bit anemic in comparison with, as an illustration, the NPU discovered within the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Plus, which achieves 45TOPS.

It is nice to see 16GB of reminiscence on a base Apple Mac mannequin. We have got Apple Intelligence to thank for this improve, which might be Apple Intelligence’s best function by a protracted shot.

When you begin including extra reminiscence and storage, the value balloons to comically excessive quantities. Apple’s improve tax is ridiculously exorbitant. As an example, including 8GB of additional reminiscence or bumping up storage to 512GB will value you $200 every.

These days, when you may get an amazing 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD for $55, such because the TeamGroup MP44L, charging $200 for 256GB of comparatively gradual SSD storage is preposterous.

That stated, in case you’re mulling over whether or not to get a base or an upgraded mannequin, I strongly counsel choosing extra reminiscence over extra storage. You need to get an external SSD instead.

A completely specced M4 Mac Mini (32GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet) will set you again $1,899. When you’re able to pay that worth, I counsel choosing the M4 Professional model as a substitute, which packs a way more highly effective CPU and GPU.

The M4 Professional Mac Mini’s base mannequin begins at $1,399. It consists of the M4 Professional chip (8 efficiency and 4 effectivity cores, 16-core GPU, 16-core NPU), 24GB of reminiscence, 512GB of storage, and a ten Gigabit Ethernet port. The M4 Professional Mac Mini variant additionally consists of three Thunderbolt 5 ports as a substitute of the Thunderbolt 4 ports.

One of many Finest Mini PCs

The Mac Mini had sported the identical design for 15 years. Again within the day, the machine seemed futuristic and modern as heck. However over time the SFF (small kind issue) PC area of interest has begotten some critically compact designs. In the previous couple of years, the rise of the Mini PC kind issue has made the Mac Mini look a bit chonky, regardless of its objectively compact dimensions.

The M4 Mac Mini modifications that, and I’ve acquired to say that Apple nailed the redesign. Whereas it is not groundbreaking, the brand new M4 Mac Mini is tremendous compact, giving the present crop of mini PCs a run for his or her cash.

The visible design is trendy Apple to a T. It’s minimalistic with none element protruding, but enticing and well-suited for nearly any milieu. The rounded corners and the flat high that includes sharp edges give the machine a nice distinction between the 2 reverse tactile experiences.

Once you maintain it, you understand simply how dense the M4 Mac Mini is, regardless of its quite humble weight. The excessive density makes the machine really feel additional sturdy and well-made. Speaking about construct high quality, it is excellent. The aluminum chassis has a splendid end, the ports which can be seamlessly reduce into the physique increase the sensation of a well-made machine, and the underside, manufactured from high-quality plastic, is tightly related to the remainder of the physique.

The underside incorporates a barely elevated central floor encircled with air intakes. At its heart, you have acquired an imprinted Mac Mini emblem with the facility button positioned within the high proper nook, which strikes to the rear left nook whenever you place the machine on a floor.

The location of the facility button raised eyebrows, and for good cause. Not solely do you need to attain for the rear of the machine whenever you need to flip it on, however you even have to select it up, which is a ache in case you maintain the Mini underneath your desk or some other hard-to-reach place.

That stated, whereas it’s a nuisance, it is minor. Within the two months I have been utilizing the machine, I’ve solely reached for the facility button two occasions, not counting turning it again on after taking photographs for this evaluate. I normally maintain it on 24/7 because it sips only a few watts of energy and is inaudible on standby.

The brand new chassis is 5 inches lengthy, 5 inches deep, and a couple of inches tall (12.7 x 12.7 x 5.1cm), making the Mac Mini as compact as any mini PC. This lets you place the machine nearly wherever: on a desk, subsequent to or in entrance of your monitor, on a shelf underneath the desk, behind or underneath the TV, or inside a cupboard. So long as you have acquired at the very least 5 inches of free house, you are golden.

Personally, I maintain the Mini on a shelf under my desk, and it matches its environment completely. Its unimposing but chilly, grey steel end is maybe a tad too sterile. Nonetheless, the visible design, particularly the embossed Apple emblem on high, is distinct sufficient that the Mac Mini does not simply really feel like a plain, grey field at a look. In different phrases, it is tucked away under the desk however nonetheless a definite a part of my desk setup.

Ports-wise, the entrance has two USB-C 10Gbps ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a small LED mild that emits white mild when the Mac Mini is turned on.

The rear of the machine homes three Thunderbolt 4 ports with 40Gbps bandwidth, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and an HDMI 2.1 port. The M4 Mac Mini helps as much as three displays—two 6K@60Hz and one 5K through Thunderbolt or 4K through HDMI. Alternatively, you possibly can run two displays, one 8K and one 5K@60Hz. My 34-inch, 1440p, 100Hz ultrawide monitor has been working completely over the HDMI port.

Whereas having even a single port on the entrance is new for the Mac Mini, I would like it if Apple positioned a few USB-A ports on high of the 2 USB-C ports or if a few USB-A ports on the again changed one Thunderbolt port. In any case, each earlier Mac Mini featured USB-A ports; having them gone is a transparent downgrade. USB-C is nice, however contemplating that the majority keyboards and mice use USB-A ports, you will have to make use of dongles, which isn’t an optimum answer.

One other omission I am irritated with is the dearth of an SD card slot. I perceive that the Mac Mini lineup ditched the SD card slot again in 2018, but it surely’s baffling {that a} machine standard amongst creatives and professionals does not include one.

I exploit each a USB-A mouse dongle and a USB-A card reader, so I needed to get two USB-C-to-USB-A adapters and hook them on the entrance of the machine, which appears quite messy, as you possibly can see within the photograph under. I might’ve positioned the mouse dongle on the rear of the machine, however since I would like the SD card reader on the entrance for straightforward entry, I made a decision to hook each to the entrance USB-C ports.

Including an exterior SSD makes the setup much more ugly, however hey, it is kind earlier than operate and all that jazz. Apart from, I maintain the Mini under the desk, so I haven’t got to take a look at the dismal sight whereas working.

Serviceable Thermals and Boatloads of Efficiency

The M4 chip within the newest Mac Mini impressed me in the course of the first few days of possession, and it continues to dazzle me. It is an outstandingly environment friendly powerhouse. The 4 efficiency and 6 effectivity cores combo offer you boatloads of efficiency irrespective of the use case.

It is exemplary underneath heavy hundreds, like when enhancing photographs or movies or working benchmarks, and phenomenal throughout on a regular basis use. Browser tabs open immediately, I change between open apps within the blink of a watch, and I’ve by no means encountered a stutter or a freeze.

As you possibly can see from the benchmark numbers under (larger is best), the M4 outperforms each the Ryzen 5 5600X powering my desktop PC and the Z1 Excessive inside my ASUS ROG Ally.

Whereas each CPUs are removed from the flagship, even high-end, class, they’re nonetheless pretty succesful processors providing a lot of energy. Probably the most placing facet of the M4 is its single-core performance, because of which the M4 Mac Mini feels so snappy throughout common use.

Relating to the GPU, it is not as excellent because the CPU, however contemplating its humble design, the numbers are removed from disappointing.

I acquired 45 frames per second on common within the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark at 1080p and with the Excessive preset utilized. Nothing to jot down residence about, however greater than strong for integrated graphics that makes use of about 15W when working demanding 3D video games.

Within the two months I have been utilizing the M4 Mac Mini, I’ve heard the fan solely on a few events. The primary time was in the course of the first week of possession after I tortured it with all types of benchmarks, with solely Cinebench having the ability to push the fan sufficient to make it audible. Whereas I had thought that the fan did not spin in any respect throughout mild utilization, I’ve came upon that it all the time runs at about 1,000 RPM, however I merely can’t hear it even after I put my head proper subsequent to the chassis.

That stated, my workflow does not embody extraordinarily heavy hundreds. I exploit Google Docs to jot down articles, maintain Chrome and Firefox open always, every with at the very least a few dozens of tabs open, and edit photographs in Lightroom and (very not often) Photoshop. If that is much like your day-to-day workflow, you possibly can relaxation assured that you simply will not hear a peep from the M4 Mac Mini.

Final however not least, thermals are positive however removed from spectacular. That’s comprehensible, contemplating the factor’s dimension and the cooling fan’s dimensions. I noticed the CPU temperature attain about 85 levels Celsius in the course of the Cinebench multi-core benchmark, with the new spot normally staying under 95 levels Celsius. It is a bit excessive for my style however contained in the protected vary.

I observed that the thermals have been decrease after I ran Cinebench and Blender on the identical time, displaying that the fan can maintain the M4 underneath 90 levels Celsius when it ramps up, but it surely appears like Apple favors silent operation over decrease thermals. I do not thoughts it. I am positive with decrease fan pace and whisper-quiet fan efficiency so long as the CPU does not go above 100 levels Celsius.

Relating to different parts, the SSD reaches PCIe 3.0-like learn and write speeds. It’s removed from distinctive however greater than quick sufficient for each day duties.

16GB of reminiscence is sufficient for my workflow. As an example, I normally maintain Chrome and Firefox open on the identical time with 50+ tabs throughout the 2 browsers, with Finder, Lightroom Traditional, Spotify, and a few different apps additionally open within the background, and I’ve by no means lacked reminiscence.

As you possibly can see under, the quantity of reminiscence used sits at round 12.5GB. This offers me a good quantity of respiratory room when batch-editing photographs in Lightroom, throughout which the Mac Mini can use virtually 15 gigs of reminiscence. This, fortunately, doesn’t trigger hiccups, freezes, or efficiency points.

The Wi-Fi 6E chip features completely, and I’ve not encountered any Wi-Fi-related points. I commonly get about 400Mbps in Google Pace Check. This aligns with the numbers I am getting on my ROG Ally and S21 FE, which include Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 6, respectively.

As for the Ethernet port, I maxed out my 500Mbps connection throughout testing, and I did not have any issues when my Mac Mini was related to the net through cable. That stated, I desire utilizing Wi-Fi as a result of I do not want a wired connection on the Mac Mini, not like on my Home windows PC, the place I would like Ethernet for gaming and local game streaming.

Bluetooth efficiency has been near-perfect over the past two months. I’ve my keyboard (Lofree Flow84) and audio system (Edifier R1700BT) related through Bluetooth to the Mac Mini, and I’ve but to come across points. The sound high quality is not inferior to that of my Home windows PC, which has the identical pair of audio system related through cable. I can even say that the audio lag is low sufficient to not discover it when watching movies.

Final however not least, the Mac Mini’s built-in speaker is tinny with only a teeny trace of bass, but it surely’s surprisingly loud and helpful in a pinch. Any decent pair of computer speakers will greatest it, but when you have no, the built-in speaker is greater than usable.

Home windows Customers: Be Not Afraid

Now, the {hardware} right here is exemplary, however as a veteran Home windows consumer, macOS was the most important hurdle I needed to surmount with the intention to maintain having fun with this tiny powerhouse. Which I did, after I “broke in” macOS.

I switched to macOS as a result of I needed a secure OS for work, and whereas macOS has its share of quirks, it is as secure as a fortress. That stated, the primary few weeks of utilizing it have been a bit rocky, however after I accepted that it wasn’t Home windows, my expertise began to enhance.

After I spotted that I haven’t got to shut apps after I’m performed with them, that the Dock is extra helpful when hidden, that Mission Control is a killer function when you map it to a hot corner, and that I haven’t got to reduce each app I am not actively utilizing, I began to get much less pissed off with my new work OS and even started to get pleasure from it.

In comparison with Home windows, macOS is in one other league when it comes to stability. I’ve encountered zero restarts and freezes over a interval of two months, throughout which I’ve had about 5 or 6 restarts on my Home windows PC I exploit for gaming and through off-work hours.

Additionally, nearly each app I’ve used has been bug-free, with solely Finder and Preview giving me common troubles. The previous does crash sometimes and generally refuses to let me choose any of the tabs on the left facet. The latter sometimes refuses to shut the Regulate Shade tab and has points saving my edits.

I nonetheless recreation on my Home windows PC and change to it after work as a result of I need to proceed utilizing the Mac Mini and macOS as my devoted work machine and OS. It would sound foolish, however utilizing macOS just for work did enhance my productiveness.

Extra Worth Than Any Home windows Mini PC

Relating to the competitors, the Home windows mini PC market is in an amazing place proper now, with a pleasant number of mini PCs. You will get a equally highly effective mini PC working Home windows (or Linux, in case you desire) for about $600. The kicker is that these PCs include extra reminiscence and storage, however you can not get a Home windows mini PC for round $600 that matches or surpasses the M4 Mac Mini in efficiency or energy effectivity.

The Beelink SER8 might be one of the best Home windows various. It affords extra RAM and storage and a Ryzen 7 8745HS CPU that is barely slower in multicore hundreds and has noticeably inferior single-core efficiency. The SER8 can be louder underneath load, and the 8745HS makes use of far more energy throughout heavy workloads (greater than 60W). The SER8 additionally has a poorer port choice and desires an exterior energy brick.

The GMKtec M2 Pro is one other $600 Home windows Mini PC, however this one packs a a lot much less potent Intel Core i7-1195G7 and has much less spectacular construct high quality, larger energy utilization and noise, and fewer ports. Lastly, there’s the Minisforum UM690 Slim, which additionally comes with an inferior CPU, guzzles extra energy, is louder, and may’t match the M4 Mac Mini when it comes to construct high quality.

However, mini PCs that includes the most recent and best cell CPUs from Intel and AMD are a lot pricier. As an example, each the GMKTec EVO-X1 and the Beelink SER9 Pro pack the superb Ryzen AI 9 HX370 but in addition value north of $1,000.

You must also remember the fact that the M4 Mac Mini goes on sale on third-party websites, resembling Amazon (it is discounted to $569 on Amazon whereas penning this evaluate), and you may also snag it for $499 with a scholar low cost. In different phrases, the M4 Mac Mini gives extra worth at $600, not to mention at $500, than equally priced Home windows mini PCs.

Ought to You Purchase the Apple M4 Mac Mini?

I discover the M4 Mac Mini a wondrous machine for each day use. It has a tiny footprint, efficiency to spare, and whisper-quiet operation. It isn’t excellent, but it surely gives tons of worth and may deal with something you throw at it.

macOS took a few weeks to get used to, however as soon as the adjustment interval ended, I discovered that I fairly preferred Apple’s OS. It is ridiculously secure and performs near-flawlessly. Whereas it is acquired its share of quirks and bugs, I’ve managed to repair and circumvent most of them with third-party apps and a few tinkering in Terminal.

I can wholeheartedly suggest the most recent Mac Mini to everybody on the lookout for a strong and environment friendly mini desktop laptop appropriate for mild use but in addition for heavier hundreds resembling photograph and video enhancing. My solely recommendation is to keep away from paying for extra storage and get an exterior SSD as a substitute. It is higher to spend your money on extra reminiscence since an NVMe SSD packed inside a Thunderbolt M.2 enclosure can provide you an identical degree of efficiency to the built-in SSD for much less money.