Whether you’re tired of having a bulky desktop on your desk or just don’t want to be bothered with plugging in your laptop each night, one of the best mini PCs could be the answer. If you prefer macOS to Windows, then the Mac mini M4 just might be the perfect little computer for you and thanks to Cyber Monday sales, you can still pick up this brand new mini PC at a discount.
That’s right, Amazon still has the Mac mini M4 for $559. That’s $40 off its normal price but which is still quite good for a brand new Apple device that launched back in October. If you want to save even more on a more powerful device, then you’re in luck as the Mac mini M4 Pro is $1,299 at B&H Photo right now. This is 100 off its normal price and a good discount on a faster device with double the storage.
After testing out the Mac mini M2 for a week ahead of the launch of this new model, I can easily say the Mac mini M4 is a huge upgrade as it fixes many of our gripes with its predecessor. For instance, you now get 16GB of RAM on the base model which is double what you got with the Mac mini M2. Likewise, the Mac mini M4 is a lot faster thanks to the inclusion of Apple’s M4 chip.
In my Mac mini M4 review, I loved its absolutely tiny design and all of the other changes Apple made to its chassis to make this mini PC even better. However, you’ll probably need one of the best external hard drives to go with it as you still get just 256GB of storage with the base model.
A tiny powerhouse
The biggest and most significant change besides its smaller size is the fact that Apple finally put front ports on the Mac mini M4. Up until now, only the Mac Studio came equipped with front ports but with this new Mac mini, you get two USB-C ports and a headphone jack up front where you can actually reach them.
Personally, I have my Mac mini M4 review unit tucked under a desk shelf with the Studio Display on top. If I need to charge one of my devices or move some files off of one of them, these two USB-ports really come in handy. The same goes for that 3.5mm audio jack which is great when your wireless headphones run out of battery.
Even though it’s much smaller, you can actually power even more displays using the Mac mini M4. While the base model of the Mac mini M2 limited you to two, this one can drive three displays simultaneously which is great for multitasking.
While I have Apple’s Studio Display as my main display, I also have a touchscreen portable monitor underneath it which I use to stay on top of what’s going on in our work chat. To truly push the Mac mini M4 to the limit though, I added a dual-screen portable monitor next to it. After downloading a driver, I now have four instead of three external displays hooked up to and powered by just the Mac mini M4.
If you’re using an older Mac mini or even if you’re thinking about finally ditching Windows for macOS, the Mac mini M4 is one of the best mini PCs I’ve tested yet and it’s a great computer for both work and play.
