Apple Mac mini (M2 Pro) review: Small but mighty

Note: This review was first published on 16 March 2023.

Want a taste of Apple Silicon?

A Mac is many things but it is not cheap. And Apple very rarely drops the price of its products. But with the latest Mac mini – which is powered by the fresh M2 and M2 Pro chips – Apple has, surprisingly, made the Mac mini faster but cheaper, making it easier than ever for people to get into a Mac.

The TL;DR version:



A more powerful and capable Mac mini but at a lower price? What’s not to like? This is a no-brainer if you are looking for the most affordable way into a Mac.

The big news for many people is that the price of the Mac mini now starts at S$849, which is S$130 lower than the starting price of the last-generation M1-powered Mac mini. And with that you get the full-fat M2 chip with 8 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores paired with 8GB of memory and 256GB of SSD storage. And Apple ain’t cutting any corners here, the last-gen entry-level Mac mini also came with the same amount of memory and storage.

The Mac mini will come in three off-the-shelf configurations and here they are and how much they cost.

Choice of M2 and M2 Pro

The M2 series of chips is Apple’s latest and the Mac mini would be available with either an M2 or M2 Pro chip. I’ve written about it in greater detail in my M2 13-inch MacBook Pro review so I suggest heading over if you want to find out more. But in a nutshell, here are the high-level highlights of the M2 chip.

• Built on a second-generation 5nm process
• Over 20 billion transistors in M2, and up to 40 billion transistors in M2 Pro
• 8 CPU cores in M2, up to 12 CPU cores in M2 Pro
• Up to 10 GPU cores in M2, and up to 19 GPU cores in M2 Pro 
• Up to 24GB memory in M2, up to 32GB memory in M2 Pro 
• Next-gen 16-core Neural Engine, up to 15.8 trillion operations per second
• Unified memory architecture

The unit I received, however, is a custom order unit with an M2 Pro chip but customised with a 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU, 32GB of memory, and a 2TB SSD. Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the most expensive Mac minis you can spec out. Configured this way, the Mac mini costs S$3,817.20. 

I wish I had the most basic model to test but the upside is at least we’ll know how powerful a fully decked-out Mac mini with the M2 Pro chip is. 

What are the differences and similarities?

The main differences apart from the processor are the ports and video connectivity. Because of the limitations of the M2 chip, you’d only get two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports. The M2 Pro models will get two more for a total of four USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports. All Mac minis will have two USB-A USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. And for an extra S$151.40, you can upgrade that Gigabit Ethernet port to a 10GbE port. 

Video connectivity is also different. Mac minis with M2 chips will only be able to drive up to two external displays simultaneously, while units with M2 Pro chips can drive up to three. Also, only Mac minis with M2 Pro chips will work with 8K displays (at up to 60Hz). The M2 chip only supports up to 6K displays at 60Hz. Wireless connectivity has been improved with support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

What would have really made the Mac mini better is if we had an SD card reader and ports on the front like the Mac Studio. The ports are all on the back and that makes connecting and removing flash drives and headphones a pain. 

Physically, these models are identical to each other and also the last-generation Mac mini. Crucially, this means they are really small – roughly the size of a typical TV set-top box – and should fit on most desks easily. Alternatively, you could get a VESA mount and mount them behind a monitor. Build quality is high. Though the chassis is 100% recycled aluminium, it feels absolutely bombproof. 

One thing to note is that the Mac mini only comes with a power cable in the box. You’d need to provide your own monitor, keyboard, and mouse. And although it does have built-in speakers, they sound awfully tinny. You’ll need speakers or, at the very least, some kind of headphones.

Performance analysis

As I mentioned earlier, the unit I’m testing comes with the M2 Pro chip with 12 CPU cores, 19 GPU cores, 32GB memory, and a 2TB SSD.

I wish I had the most basic Mac mini to test but I think we can draw some good comparisons by looking at the results of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is also powered by an M2 chip and has active cooling. And if you want to see how the M2 chip stacks up against an M1 chip, check out my review of the M2 13-inch MacBook Pro. Interestingly, this is also the first time I'm testing a Mac with the M2 Pro chip, so now we can see how it stacks up against the other M2 and M2 Max Macs that I’ve tested previously.

As you can see from the charts below, the performance of the M2 Pro in the Mac mini is impressive. In terms of CPU performance, it’s just as fast as the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max, which is to be expected since they both have 12 CPU cores. What’s worth pointing out is how much quicker it is compared to an M1 Max. Overall, we are seeing CPU performance improvements of around 18%. 

Graphics performance is good too. A 14-inch MacBook Pro with the older M1 Max is still quicker because it has more GPU cores (32 vs the M2 Pro’s 19) but we can see that a fully spec’ed out M2 Pro leaves the regular M2 for dead. The additional 9 GPU cores really make their presence felt as it was nearly twice as fast – particularly in games. While the M2 struggled to get playable frame rates, the M2 Pro didn't have the same problems and came close to getting 60fps. If you intend to use the Mac for gaming or intensive graphics work, it might be worthwhile coughing up the extra money to get an M2 Pro for its extra GPU cores.

In the real world, unless you are going to be doing very heavy video editing or super intensive photo editing, most Macs with Apple Silicon are going to feel more or less the same. If all you are going to do is browse the web, reply emails, work on spreadsheets, and do the occasional light photo and video editing, they are going to feel super snappy, super responsive, and generally feel like they have more performance than you’d need. They are also incredibly quiet. Not once did I hear the fans spin in normal daily use.

Conclusion & buying advice

Go light on the options and the Mac mini is remarkable value. Some will lament that 8GB of memory is too little and I’d agree. I’d recommend upgrading the memory to 16GB to future-proof your investment (memory cannot be upgraded once it leaves the factory) even if it means bumping the price up to S$1,151.80. If 256GB of storage isn’t enough, you can spend another S$300 and bump it to 512GB. This would set you back S$1,451.80, which, in my books, is still good value for money and a complete no-brainer for a desktop system for casual use and productivity work.

If you go any further, then its value proposition starts getting hazy. Because at that point, you can get into a MacBook Air. I know they are not directly comparable, but for casual users, its portability can be hugely appealing.

Professionals who work on a Mac should definitely consider the Mac mini with the M2 Pro chip. The entry-level M2 Pro spec is decent and is good value at S$1,849. A 14-inch MacBook Pro with similar specs is over a grand more. Some might be tempted by the Mac Studio, which is an excellent choice, but then it’s also over a grand more. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that a new high-end workstation-class desktop Mac is rumoured to be on its way.

If everything I’ve just said is confusing to you, then just know this: this is a more powerful Mac mini at a lower price. If you don’t care for portability and are looking for the most cost-effective way to get into the Mac ecosystem, this is it. Just remember to stay light on the options.

You can find the new Apple Mac mini on Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, and the Apple Online Store.

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