Now it’s time for Apple’s big guns, and by “big” we mean incredibly tiny. The rumors were true on a redesigned M4 Mac mini, and the size is shocking — announced during Apple's Mac Week. A 5-inch square packs either M4 or M4 Pro power, and makes one of my personal favorite mini PCs even smaller and better than ever.
Now, Apple is quick to tell you just how this system compares to M1 and Intel Mac minis, or to “AI PCs” (read: Snapdragon X Elite, AMD and Intel-based Copilot+ PCs). But if you have the M2 Mac Mini already, is this worth the upgrade? I think this is worth a closer look. Here's all the biggest differences you need to know between the M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini.
M4
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Mac mini M4 | Mac mini M4 Pro |
| Price | From $599 | From $599 |
| CPU | Apple M4 (up to 10-core GPU and 10-core GPU), or M4 Pro (up to 12-core CPU and up to 16-core GPU) | Apple M2 (8-core GPU and 10-core GPU), or M4 Pro (up to 12-core CPU and up to 19-core GPU) |
| Memory | 16-64GB | 8-32GB |
| Storage | 256GB-8TB | 256GB-8TB |
| Ports | 2x USB-C (10Gb/s) & 3.5mm headphone jack on front, 3x Thunderbolt 4 (or Thunderbolt 5 with M4 Pro), HDMI 2.1, Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10 Gigabit) on back | Up to 4x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-C ports, HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10 Gigabit), 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Size | 5 x 5 x 2 inches | 7.8 x 7.8 x 1.4 inches |
| Weight | Up to 1.6 pounds | Up to 2.8 pounds |
M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini: Price and availability
Just like iMac M4, the pricing is staying the same. The standard M4 Mac mini will set you back $599, whereas the M4 Pro variant will come in at a starting price of $1,399. Pre-orders are available now, with a launch date of November 8.
Now, when we get into Pro chip territory, I like to play a game called “how many times will I have to remortgage the house to afford the maxed out spec.” This year, it’s a doozy. If I was to get the M4 Pro Mac mini with 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 64GB of Unified Memory (RAM), an 8TB SSD and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, you’re looking at a bill of $4,699.
M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini: Design
I’ll be honest. I saw the rumors on the Mac mini, but I still didn’t expect the new Mac mini to be this small.
| System | Dimensions | Weight |
| Mac mini M4 | 5 x 5 x 2 inches | Up to 1.6 pounds |
| Mac mini M2 | 7.8 x 7.8 x 1.4 inches | Up to 2.8 pounds |
In terms of aesthetics, the Mac mini M4 is still that solid block of aluminum adorned with ports on the front and rear. But, as you can see, it’s smaller and impressively lighter — in fact, that means it is Apple’s first ever carbon neutral Mac. Manufacturing, transporting and using this machine emits over 80% less greenhouse gases than before.
However, there is one point of potential frustration that I’d like to bring up with the M4 Mac mini. If you’ve seen me write about the iMac already, you’ll know that I’m more than a little annoyed that Apple has continued to put the USB-C port on the underside of the Magic Mouse. Hiding important things on the underside of devices just seems a bit silly to me.
So why oh why is the power button on the bottom of the Mac mini? I get the clean aesthetic, but we’re talking about probably the most important part of any desktop computer — the power switch — and that’s now in an awkward position!
M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini: Performance
This is where it gets juicy. The new Mac mini comes either with the M4 or M4 Pro chipsets, which both collectively deliver some bonkers performance potential through their 3-nanometer transistors.
As we’ve already seen from M4 iPad Pro benchmarks, the standard M4 is capable of some zippy performance — packing 1.8x faster CPU performance and 2.2x faster GPU performance than the M1 Mac mini.
| Device | Geekbench 6 single-core | Geekbench 6 multicore |
|---|---|---|
| M4 iPad Pro | 3,700 | 14,523 |
| Mac mini M2 Pro | 1,957 | 15,038 |
But the real intrigue (and the one I’m more curious to sink my teeth into) is M4 Pro. The Neural Engine is now 2x faster than the previous generation chip; the GPU’s improved architecture is capable of 2x faster ray-tracing; and Apple is touting the industry’s best single-threaded performance in its performance cores.
Not only that, but M4 Pro gives you Thunderbolt 5 support for super fast data transfer speeds, and the memory bandwidth for its RAM runs at a spicy 273 GB/s. That’s ludicrous bandwidth for loading and running apps fast under heaving multitasking — twice as much as any AI PC chip according to Apple.
And this will all contribute to some breakneck speeds in AI workloads, alongside lightning quick Apple Intelligence.
M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini: Should you upgrade?
With the M4 iMac, the answer to this was simple. If you already have the M3 iMac, the spec bump may not be worth it. But with this being a drastic redesign, the answer is a little unclear.
- For those with an Intel or M1 Mac mini: Absolutely yes! What are you still doing looking at this? Go and pre-order one!
- For those with an M2 Mac mini: If you can wait just a while longer for M4 Mac mini review, then I definitely would. However, I don’t think you’d feel any buyer’s remorse in pre-ordering this new mini monster.
And what a mini monster it is. Apple has truly upped its game here and we can’t wait to get our hands on one to review. Stay tuned!
More from Tom's Guide
- iMac M4 vs iMac M3 — biggest upgrades explained
- Windows 11 24H2 update disaster — it’s now crashing Intel motherboards
- Thunderbolt 5 vs Thunderbolt 4: Everything you need to know
