You may probably hint the beginning of the small laptop 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 may also be configured with an much more highly effective M4 Professional mannequin, which can also be being introduced right now. Take that {hardware} along with an ordinary 16GB of RAM (similar 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 giant (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 yr, I used to be nonetheless impressed by how slim and glossy it regarded, particularly in comparison with small type issue Home windows techniques. 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.
You could 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 residence.
Apple claims the M4 chip makes the brand new Mac mini as much as 1.8 occasions sooner than the M1 model, and as much as 2.2 occasions sooner in relation to 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 pair of effectivity cores). It additionally contains 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 provides as much as thrice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 3, in addition to as much as 64GB of RAM. There’s additionally 273 GBps of reminiscence bandwidth, which ought to be an enormous assist for AI processing.
On condition 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 mentioned this instantly, I would guess AI can also be a significant 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 is probably not sufficient to run Xcode 16’s AI options. As all the time, having extra RAM is healthier for future proofing, particularly when you possibly can’t add extra reminiscence down the road.
Apple has additionally lastly given us just a few 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 leap 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 costlier Mac Studio.
You may preorder the brand new M4 Mac mini right now 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 faculties). That worth 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 evaluation, it actually held its personal towards different expensive desktops.
