Mac mini M4 Pro review: Mac Studio power, miniaturized

The M4 Pro Mac mini stands out as one of the best computing deals of late 2024, delivering impressive power for professionals that rivals the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, all in a compact form factor.

Historically, the Mac mini has been known as Apple's entry-level desktop, with the Mac Studio and Mac Pro positioned as the high-performance options. However, with the launch of the M4 Pro Mac mini, Apple has redefined the game — at least for now.

We've already explored the entry-level M4 Mac mini, but the M4 Pro version offers an affordable upgrade for those seeking top-tier performance in an incredibly small package.

The Mac Studio and Mac Pro are still stuck on M2. Upgrades to both aren't expected until halfway through 2025, so the New Mac mini with M4 Pro could be the interim upgrade for a Pro that needs power now and can't wait for M4 Ultra.

M4 Pro Mac mini review - Design and dimensions

Part of Apple's overhaul of the Mac mini design, the M4 Pro version has the same external appearance as its M4 counterpart. The 7.75-inch rounded flat square has transformed into a 5-inch rounded square, shrinking its desk presence.

At 2 inches, the new Mac mini is slightly taller than the previous 1.41-inch design. It retains its aluminum construction and features a round base for ventilation.

The redesign of the Mac mini has also led to some notable changes.

To start, Apple couldn't fit all the ports on the back of the Mac mini due to space constraints. As a solution, some USB-C ports have been relocated to the front, along with the headphone jack.

This marks a significant departure from the traditional Mac mini design philosophy.

The increased height and reduced width give it a miniaturized resemblance to the Mac Studio. One notable compromise, however, is the repositioning of the power button, which is now located underneath the Mac mini.

At first glance, this might seem like a poor design choice, as you'll need to lift the Mac mini to access the power button. However, most users will likely put the Mac mini to sleep, rarely needing to use the physical power button.

How much this matters depends on how often you shut down your machine. It's slightly more inconvenient due to the need to use Terminal for setting startup and wakeup times, but it’s not a significant issue.

Specifications: M4 Mac mini

• Chipset: Apple M4 chip (with enhanced CPU and GPU performance)

• CPU: 8-core CPU (4 high-performance cores + 4 high-efficiency cores)

• GPU: 10-core GPU (up from the 9-core GPU in the M2)

• RAM: 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of unified memory

• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD

• Ports: 4x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x headphone jack

• Display Support: Up to two 6K displays at 60Hz

• Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6E

• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.3

• Power Supply: 150W power supply

• Dimensions: 7.7 inches x 7.7 inches x 2.0 inches

• Weight: 2.6 pounds

Performance Enhancements Over M2

1. CPU and GPU: The M4 chip brings significant performance gains over the M2, especially with its new 10-core GPU. While the M2 featured a 9-core GPU, the M4 offers smoother graphics performance, making it more suitable for professional workflows such as video editing, gaming, or 3D rendering. The 8-core CPU, with 4 high-performance and 4 high-efficiency cores, gives users a balance of power and energy savings.

2. Faster Memory: The M4 Mac mini offers faster unified memory compared to the M2, resulting in improved multitasking and handling of demanding applications. This is especially beneficial for users working with large datasets or running multiple applications simultaneously.

3. Storage and Bandwidth: Apple’s new M4 chip includes support for faster storage, making file access and transfers quicker. With support for up to 2TB SSDs, users can enjoy more storage for large media files and applications.

4. Energy Efficiency: Despite the performance improvements, the M4 Mac mini remains extremely energy-efficient, with a 150W power supply that supports high performance without significant power draw.

5. Connectivity: The M4 Mac mini comes with the latest Wi-Fi 6E, providing faster wireless connectivity and better overall performance for internet-heavy tasks.

M4 Mac mini vs. M2 Mac mini

• Performance: The M4 Mac mini offers a substantial boost in both CPU and GPU performance. For everyday tasks, the M2 will still handle things well, but if you’re working with more demanding applications such as video editing, game development, or 3D modeling, the M4 is the clear winner.

• Graphics: The M2 Mac mini has a 9-core GPU, which is decent for light graphics work, but the M4’s 10-core GPU brings a noticeable improvement in handling more graphics-intensive tasks like rendering and gaming.

• RAM and Storage: Both models support up to 32GB of unified memory, but the M4 offers faster RAM, resulting in better overall performance in memory-heavy tasks. The M4 also comes with faster storage, which can be a game-changer for workflows that require frequent file access.

• Design and Ports: While both models have a similar design with an aluminum finish, the M4 Mac mini has some small tweaks, including the relocation of certain ports. The port configuration remains similar, but the M4 has an edge with better overall thermal efficiency to handle the increased performance.

• Price: The M4 Mac mini is priced higher than the M2 model, with the base model starting at $699. The M2 Mac mini starts at $599, making it a more budget-friendly choice for those who don’t need the extra power of the M4.

M4 Pro Mac mini review - Connectivity and Thunderbolt 5

On the wireless front, the M4 Mac mini includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. While these are solid and reliable connections, you'll only see their full benefits if you have the necessary infrastructure or compatible peripherals.

Unlike the iPhone, there’s no Wi-Fi 7 here. It’s unclear why Apple made this choice, especially for the higher-end Mac mini, but it’s not a major issue at this time.

The M4 Pro Mac mini brings more than just a shift in port placement; the overall connectivity options have been updated to align with the new design.On the back, you'll find an HDMI port, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and Gigabit Ethernet, with the option to upgrade to 10-gigabit Ethernet.On the front, there are two USB-C ports supporting USB 3 and 10Gb/s speeds. Additionally, the headphone jack now supports high-impedance headphones, a welcomed feature that has become standard.

The pair of USB-A ports from the old Mac mini have been consigned to the trash can of history. If you really need them, your best bet is to take advantage of a Thunderbolt dock.

Thunderbolt 5 will be the star of the show — eventually

The M4 Pro Mac mini sees an upgrade in Thunderbolt technology compared to the M4 model. Instead of Thunderbolt 4, the M4 Pro is equipped with three Thunderbolt 5 ports.

Thunderbolt 5 offers several advantages, with the most significant being increased bandwidth. While Thunderbolt 4 tops out at 40Gb/s, Thunderbolt 5 doubles that to 80Gb/s for bi-directional connections. For asynchronous tasks, it can reach up to 120Gb/s.

Additionally, Thunderbolt 5 expands video capabilities. While Thunderbolt 4 supports a single 8K display or two 4K 60Hz monitors, Thunderbolt 5 takes video output to a whole new level.

Thunderbolt 5 takes video output even further, supporting multiple 8K displays or up to three 4K screens at 144Hz. For a single 4K display, it can push up to 540Hz.

It also boosts power delivery capabilities. While Thunderbolt 4 supports up to 100W, Thunderbolt 5 can deliver up to 240W, with 140W of that being mandatory.

While this offers impressive future-proofing, it's challenging to fully test at the moment. We’ll revisit this as Thunderbolt 5-compatible enclosures, docks, and accessories become more widely available.

M4 Pro Mac mini review – M4 and Other Internals

The standout feature here is the M4 Pro chip, which represents a significant two-generation leap from the M2 Pro in the previous model.

This time, the M4 Pro comes with more cores than the M2 Pro in both configurations. With Apple boasting that it features the "world's fastest CPU core," the performance gains are certainly intriguing.

The base version of the M4 Pro features a 12-core CPU, with eight performance cores and four efficiency cores, paired with a 16-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine optimized for Apple’s AI tasks. It also includes a Media Engine for efficient video encoding and decoding.

The higher-end version steps up with a 14-core CPU, comprising ten performance cores and four efficiency cores, along with a 20-core GPU.

Memory has seen significant improvements as well. The base configuration now offers 24GB of unified memory, with options to upgrade to 48GB or 64GB—double the maximum capacity of the previous model.

Additionally, memory bandwidth has increased from 200GB/s in the M2 Pro to 273GB/s in the M4 Pro, further enhancing the chip's performance.

M4 Pro Mac mini review - Performance

Apple trumpeted the speed of the M4 during its announcement. They gave vague promises of two times that, three times this, but they never really benchmark things.

When compared to the previous models of Mac mini in Geekbench, it's clear that the M4 Pro is considerably more powerful. With a single-core score of 3,509 in testing, almost 900 points clear of the M2 Pro version.

In multicore performance, the M4 Pro models show a noticeable improvement. This is largely due to the increased core count, but even the 12-core M4 Pro, with a score of 20,195, significantly outpaces the 12-core M2 Pro, which scores 14,483.

This continues on with the Metal benchmark, as the top-spec version of the M4 Pro finally breaks the 100,000 score barrier.

In the single-core test, the M4 Pro easily outperforms the M1 Mac Studio models, scoring 3,500 compared to 2,400. This marks a significant boost in the speed of everyday tasks.

For the non-Pro models, single-core performance remains the key metric.

Multicore testing shows a much narrower gap, partly because the M1 Ultra features a 20-core CPU compared to the 14-core and 12-core M4 Pro models. Despite its higher core count, the M1 Ultra still struggles to keep pace with the M4 Pro, even the 12-core version.

In terms of Metal performance, the GPUs in the M4 Pro and M1 Max models are quite similar. The exception is the M1 Ultra, which stands out due to its massive number of GPU cores. The sheer quantity of cores makes it difficult for other chips to match its GPU performance.

If you rely on CPU power and have an M1 Ultra Mac Studio, it might be worth holding onto it a bit longer.

M4 Pro Mac mini review - SSD speeds

Our review unit of the M4 Pro comes with a 512GB SSD, which delivers faster speeds compared to the M4 Mac mini.

In our BlackMagic Disk Speed test, the M4 Pro showed read speeds of around 6.3GB/s and write speeds consistently around 5.2GB/s.

For comparison, our M4 Mac mini review saw symmetrical read and write speeds of approximately 3GB/s.

As always, I recommend opting for external or network-attached storage rather than paying Apple’s high SSD prices. External storage is not only more cost-effective but also a better option for desktops. However, note that with the M4 Pro, you won’t get the same speed across Thunderbolt 4 enclosures.

If you're considering an upgrade, it’s probably better to spend your money on extra RAM—Apple’s RAM prices are steep too, and in a desktop setup, that’s money better spent than on internal storage.

You can find 1TB high-speed external Thunderbolt or USB4 SSDs for around $160, or 2TB drives for about $250. These will offer around 2.7GB/s read and write speeds, which should be plenty for most tasks.

We’ll revisit this when Thunderbolt 5 enclosures become more widely available.

M4 Pro Mac mini review - The tiny machine to beat in December 2024

As time progresses, so does computing power. While Moore's Law may be a thing of the past, Apple Silicon's annual updates continue to deliver impressive improvements, even at the entry level, like with the Mac mini.

When considering the Mac mini M4, it’s important to think about your typical workload. For tasks like business work in Office apps, the performance difference between the M4 and M4 Pro models will be minimal.

However, for more demanding tasks like rendering, video editing, and similar activities, the improved multicore performance and GPU speeds in the $1,200+ M4 Pro model will provide a noticeable boost over the $599 base version.

My History with the Mac mini

I’ve been a fan of the Mac mini since its early days. There's been at least one in the house since the G4 version was released, and as I count right now, there are five. One is a souped-up G4 model for when I get nostalgic for OS9, while another serves as the core of my home network, handling content and Time Machine backups for various machines. And now, I have the M4 Pro Mac mini.

The Next Step in Upgrades

With this review wrapped up, it’s time to start upgrading. The M4 will be overkill for my home server, while the M2 mini will replace a M1 mini as a general-purpose computer. The M1 mini will be passed down to a family member for everyday use.

What It Won’t Replace — Yet

It won’t be replacing my M1 Ultra Mac Studio today, and for those who own one, it probably shouldn’t. However, the next iteration might. As it stands, the M4 Pro Mac mini is faster than nearly everything else in Apple’s lineup.

Time to Migrate

As mentioned in our M4 mini review, if you're still using Intel-based Macs, it might be time to make the switch, regardless of your power needs.

M4 Pro Mac mini Review - Pros

• About the power of the M2 Mac Studio, at half the price

• More USB-C and overall USB ports compared to the previous design

• Thunderbolt 5 promises incredible speeds, though...

M4 Pro Mac mini Review - Cons

• Thunderbolt 5 accessories aren’t widely available yet, and it will take until 2025 for them to become common

• High pricing for SSD and RAM upgrades

Rating: 5 out of 5

Save on the retail M4 Pro model with 24GB unified memory and 512GB storage at Amazon with an on-page coupon, or opt for a configure-to-order (CTO) model at up to $200 off with promo code APINSIDER at Apple Authorized Reseller Adorama.

Should You Upgrade?

The M4 Mac mini offers a compelling upgrade for users who need enhanced performance, particularly in graphics and memory-heavy tasks. If you're running an M2 Mac mini and your workload has evolved to require more power—whether it's for media creation, gaming, or professional software—the M4 chip is a great investment. On the other hand, if you're a casual user with basic computing needs, the M2 Mac mini will still serve you well without breaking the bank.