M4 Mac mini Review: Great things come in small packages

I’ve always been a fan of the Mac mini. Its small footprint and low upfront cost made it seem impossibly cool. Compared to large Windows desktops, its minimalism is second to none, and the new model takes that to new heights.

In the age of tech refinement, Apple has finally given the Mac mini the attention it deserves, and the new form factor is stunning. If you ever felt the need to walk around with a desktop in your jacket pocket you finally can, even if there is no need to do it. On top of that, the M4 chipset continues Apple’s legacy of lightning-fast chips, and since the company’s computers now start with 16GB of RAM, there has never been a better time to buy a Mac.

The Mac mini comes with two distinct chipsets, making it suitable for two types of buyers: the M4 version is great for entry-level computer users and people who just need a family computer, while the M4 Pro is fantastic for working professionals who want to upgrade their desktop setup with a stronger graphics processing unit (GPU).

Which mini is right for me?

It’s always hard to nail down which computer is perfect for every buyer, but the rule of thumb for me with Apple Macs with the M-series of chipsets (pretty much anything since 2021) is not to over spec. Apple Silicon has been wildly impressive since it launched with the M1, and since then, the base-level chips have just gotten better and better.

If you don’t know what kind of computer user you are and you’re just worried about having a bunch of Chrome tabs, apps or spreadsheets open, you are going to be well served by the M4 version of the Mac mini. If you think you need a bit more power, you could upgrade the RAM, but for the majority, I’d recommend buying the base model and upgrading the storage to 1TB. I expect most people who buy a mini to use it for a lonnnnng time since there is no battery to degrade over time, so having ample storage will be handy in the long run.

If you are a video editor, 3D artist, game developer, graphic designer, or any other career that needs a lot of GPU power, you’ll benefit more from the M4 Pro version. That said, I’ve done a ton of photo editing on my M3 Air, and I’ve seen Alex do lots of social media vertical video edits on an M2 Air with only 8GB of RAM. It wasn’t perfect, but it does illustrate just how powerful Apple’s base-model chips have been since the launch of Apple silicon.

The Mac mini next to an Apple TV 4K and a Mac Studio.

The M4 Pro Mac mini is also better for gaming thanks to its more powerful GPU, offering 16 cores (upgradeable to 20, which is what I had in my review unit), compared to 10 cores on the M4. However, even as Apple gets more games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3 on Mac, the gaming library that it supports is pretty slim. You can use third-party tools like Whisky and the game porting toolkit to play some Windows games on Mac, but it’s still hit-and-miss, so it’s not something I’d bank on.

Basically, it comes down to this: If you use a highly specific creative app professionally, it’s likely worth it to get the M4 Pro since that option has more GPU power and 24GB of RAM. If you just want a home desktop or if you’re just a casual creative, you’ll be fine with the base model. No matter what option you go with, I’d recommend getting as much storage as you can afford.

The new design is perfect

It’s a lot easier to turn on the Mac mini than the internet would have you believe.

There has been some controversy online about the placement of the power button, and I’m happy to report that it’s overblown. Sure, it would have been more straightforward to place it on the front, but compared to the iMac and the Mac Studio, I find the Mac mini easier to turn on—not that I turn it on and off very often.

It’s actually in a nice spot that I can reach over and grab the computer on my desk with one hand, tip it up a bit, and push the button easily. Unlike the Mac Studio, the mini’s button is dimpled, so it’s quite easy to feel with just a touch. If you’re the type to turn off your Mac every night, I think you’ll easily adapt to this placement, even if it is a bit unorthodox.

Moving past that, the mini now looks like a tiny Mac Studio, which is awesome. Its 12x12cm footprint is super tiny and will easily fit into any desk setup. It’s so small, I bet you could use double-sided tape to stick it to the underside of your desk if you really want to. The front of the device has two USB C ports with support for up to 10Gbps and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This is great for headphones, but I think a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter out of the back is your best option if you want to use AUX speakers. These can be found on Amazon for as low as $8, so while it might be annoying, it won’t eat into your wallet very much. Surprisingly, there’s also a speaker in the mini, and while it’s not as good as the iMac or any MacBook, it’s better than you’d expect from such a small device. I actually think it sounds better than the Mac Studio, which says a lot since it’s less than half the size.

On the rear, there are three USB-C ports. If you have the M4 chip, these support speeds up to 40Gbps, and if you have the M4 Pro, they’re Thunderbolt 5 ports, which support speeds up to 120Gbps if you have any Thunderbolt 5 accessories. These are pretty rare since Thunderbolt 5 is a new spec, but it’s nice to see that Apple has added them since, as I said above, anyone buying a Mac mini this year will likely have it for a long time. Both models also have an HDMI port and a gigabit Ethernet jack that can be upgraded to 10Gb speeds if you need that. However, for most people, the default will be more than enough.

The new design also allows the mini to intake cool air from the front, circulate it through the computer, and expel it out of the bottom rear, which is a pretty intelligent design that should help keep it cool. In my experience, the computer can handle a lot of tasks, and even when playing games, I never had the fans kick on. It wasn’t until I ran Cinebench’s multi-core benchmark that I heard the fans start spinning. While they were noticeable, if you have some audio playing, the fans are at such a low frequency that they’d quickly fade into the background. Running Geekbench 6, on the other hand, didn’t turn the fans at all.

Other specs

Speaking of benchmarking, the M4 pro unit I tested hit really high scores, as you can see below, and during my tests of running games, some video editing, and lots of apps at once, it never really slowed down. It wasn’t a gaming powerhouse like an M-Max chip with a ton of RAM might be, but I was able to play the third act of Baldur’s Gate 3 at 1440p with frames bouncing between 20-30fps, I was using FSR Ultra Quality mode, and I found it smooth enough for a game like that. Plus, since it was at 1440p, that meant that I had a decent amount of headroom to turn it down if things got too intense for the little computer to handle.

The Mini also supports Wi-Fi 6E, and I found it to be really snappy when downloading games and other big files. When I downloaded Metro Exodus (78GB) it took maybe 40 minutes and was peaking at download rates of around 450Mbps. If I plugged it into Ethernet, it would have gone even faster, but with speeds like that, I find the need for Ethernet pretty unnecessary unless I needed to upload a ton of high-res video files extremely quickly or wanted to tap into some form of wired shared storage drive.

Sadly, there is no SD card reader on the mini, which is understandable given its tightly packed form factor, but I would have loved for the M4 Pro chipset to include one since I think this little computer is likely going to be a big seller amongst photographers and videographers who shoot for YouTube and still likely use SD cards. That said, Since there are ample USB-C ports on this machine, it’s pretty easy to just buy a UHS-II SD card reader for around $35 on Amazon and stick it to the top of the mini with some double-sided tape if you need to use one every day.

Compared to the older Mac mini design and the Mac Studio, the one thing you lose is the USB-A ports on the back. Apple did add an extra USB-C port on the new one, so you have a total of five ports, but anyone with older peripherals may need to get an adapter for that too. However, most modern Bluetooth keyboards and mice I tried worked great, but unless you have an Apple Magic Keyboard, you’ll need to have a keyboard and mouse that plugs in or uses a wireless dongle to get through setup.

You can connect up to three displays to the new mini, which is nice if you want to build out a considerable workstation. Apple says you can run two displays at 6K and one at 4K, but those will all be limited to 60Hz. Personally, I think that’s fine, but if you want to run at higher frame rates, you’ll need to stick with all 4K monitors to avoid some hassle. Either way, this is a nice improvement over the two displays that the older Mac mini supported.

Small computer, big heart

At the end of the day, I think this is the perfect desktop for me and likely for most people too. The chipset is incredibly capable no matter what option you choose, and there’s just something special about having this much power in a computer this small. It’s a minimalist’s dream, and while that can fade if you have to jack in a bunch of adapters to it, it's still pretty great. Compared to my Mac Studio, it fits in on my desk so much better.

If you need a new home computer, the Mac mini is perfect, especially if you already have a monitor, mouse and keyboard. If you’re just starting a creative career and you want to start somewhere without spending a ton of money, the M4 Pro version is also a great deal.

Overall, I’ve fallen for this little computer, and I think you will, too. The M4 Mac mini starts at $799 in Canada, and the M4 Pro starts at $1,899. But remember, no matter what unit you get, you’ll need to get accessories if you don’t already own some, and that will be an added cost.