You may probably hint the beginning of the small pc development 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 deal with some severe workloads. And whereas we anticipated it to incorporate Apple’s M4 chip, it can be configured with an much more highly effective M4 Professional mannequin, which can also be being introduced immediately. Take that {hardware} along with a regular 16GB of RAM (similar to the brand new M4 iMac), and you have got a reasonably compelling Mac mini beginning at $599 ($499 for schooling prospects).
Why, precisely, did Apple shrink down the Mac mini? It isn’t as if the earlier case, which has been round for years, was very giant (it measures 7.75-inches by 7.75-inches, and it is 1.41-inches thick). After I reviewed the the M2 Mac mini early final 12 months, I used to be nonetheless impressed by how slim and smooth it seemed, 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 need.
It’s possible you’ll not want it, however one have a look at its diminutive body, and also you would possibly begin discovering causes to present it a loving dwelling.
Apple claims the M4 chip makes the brand new Mac mini as much as 1.8 occasions quicker than the M1 model, and as much as 2.2 occasions quicker with regards to graphics. (The truth that Apple is not immediately evaluating it to the M2 mannequin makes it clear this is not a serious 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 encompasses 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 must 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 serious 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 mentioned this immediately, I would wager AI can also be a serious purpose why the Mac Mini now begins with 16GB of RAM. Apple Intelligence requires at the very least 8GB of RAM to perform, however the firm has admitted that will not be sufficient to run Xcode 16’s AI options. As all the time, having extra RAM is best for future proofing, particularly when you may’t add extra reminiscence down the road.
Apple has additionally lastly given us a number of entrance ports on the Mac mini, as a substitute of the clear facade of the previous few 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 bounce drives and headphones. On the again, you may discover one other three Thunderbolt USB-C ports, HDMI, and Ethernet. Whereas it could be good to see an built-in SD card reader, Apple at present reserves that for the dearer Mac Studio.
You may preorder the brand new M4 Mac mini immediately beginning at $599 ($499 for schooling 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 worth distinction could seem excessive, but it surely’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 in opposition to different expensive desktops.
