You possibly can seemingly hint the beginning of the small pc pattern again to the unique Mac mini, which debuted in 2005 with a easy pitch: What if desktop, however tiny? Now Apple goals to take that idea even additional with its newest Mac mini, a five-inch by five-inch field measuring a mere two inches tall, that may sort out some critical workloads. And whereas we anticipated it to incorporate Apple’s M4 chip, it will also be configured with an much more highly effective M4 Professional mannequin, which can be being introduced at present. Take that {hardware} along with a typical 16GB of RAM (identical to the new M4 iMac), and you have a reasonably compelling Mac mini beginning at $599 ($499 for training prospects).
Why, precisely, did Apple shrink down the Mac mini? It is not as if the earlier case, which has been round for years, was very massive (it measures 7.75-inches by 7.75-inches, and it is 1.41-inches thick). Once I reviewed the the M2 Mac mini early final 12 months, I used to be nonetheless impressed by how slim and modern it appeared, particularly in comparison with small type issue Home windows programs. However by trimming down its footprint (on the expense of constructing it a bit taller), Apple can as soon as once more painting the Mac mini as an object of want.
It’s possible you’ll not want it, however one have a look at its diminutive body, and also you may begin discovering causes to provide it a loving dwelling.
Apple claims the M4 chip makes the brand new Mac mini as much as 1.8 instances sooner than the M1 model, and as much as 2.2 instances sooner in the case of graphics. (The truth that Apple is not instantly evaluating it to the M2 mannequin makes it clear this is not a significant year-over-year improve.) Whereas the M4 chip tops out at 10 cores, the M4 Professional reaches as much as 14 cores (10 efficiency and a couple of effectivity cores). It additionally includes a 20 core GPU, double the quantity within the base M4 chip. M4 Professional delivers Thunderbolt 5 connectivity for the primary time on a Mac, which affords as much as 3 times the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 3, in addition to as much as 64GB of RAM. There’s additionally 273 GBps of reminiscence bandwidth, which needs to be an enormous assist for AI processing.
Provided that Apple Intelligence formally launched this week with the discharge of iOS 18.1, it is also a significant promoting level for the brand new Mac mini. The M4 chip sports activities 38 TOPS (tera operations per second) of AI processing energy, whereas the M3 topped out at 18 TOPS. Whereas Apple hasn’t stated this instantly, I would guess AI can be a significant cause why the Mac Mini now begins with 16GB of RAM. Apple Intelligence requires a minimum of 8GB of RAM to perform, however the firm has admitted that might not be sufficient to run Xcode 16’s AI options. As at all times, having extra RAM is healthier for future proofing, particularly when you’ll be able to’t add extra reminiscence down the road.
Apple has additionally lastly given us a couple of entrance ports on the Mac mini, as a substitute of the clear facade of the previous couple of fashions. There are two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm jack up entrance, which is able to make it far simpler to plug in soar drives and headphones. On the again, you will discover one other three Thunderbolt USB-C ports, HDMI, and Ethernet. Whereas it will be good to see an built-in SD card reader, Apple presently reserves that for the dearer Mac Studio.
You possibly can preorder the brand new M4 Mac mini at present beginning at $599 ($499 for training prospects), and it will be stocked in shops on November ninth. The M4 Professional mannequin, in the meantime, begins at $1,399 ($1,299 for colleges). That value distinction could seem excessive, nevertheless it’s the identical because it was for the M2 fashions. And as we noticed from our M2 Mac mini assessment, it actually held its personal towards different dear desktops.
