Apple Mac mini (M4 Pro) review: A compact powerhouse

Note: This review was first published on 29 November 2024.

Good things come in small packages

The first thing you need to know about the redesigned Mac mini is that it’s very small. With a footprint of 12.7cm by 12.7cm, it almost fits in the palm of my hand. It’s much more compact than the last-generation Mac mini. In terms of absolute volume, the new Mac mini only takes up about 58% of the space that its predecessor did. Though it’s positively tiny, its features and performance potential are astonishing, and leaves no doubt in my mind that it’s the best value-for-money product that Apple currently makes.

The TL;DR version:



The Mac mini may be Apple’s smallest and most affordable Mac, but it delivers big performance and value.



Note: You can find the Mac mini on Lazada, Shopee, and the Apple Online Store.

Apple’s redesign of the Mac mini was inevitable given the sheer amount of unused space in the last-generation model. It’s also deeply impressive. Numbers alone do not paint an accurate picture of just how compact this thing is – you have to see it for yourself in the flesh.

The new Mac mini looks more like a shrunken version of the Mac Studio than the last-gen Mac mini – it’s more of a square than a long rectangle. I think this decision was the right one since it means it takes up less space on a desk. It’s not a heavy thing at all too at just a little over 700g. This does mean some care needs to be taken when connecting or removing peripherals because it’s easy to inadvertently move the Mac mini in the process.

The only issue with the Mac mini’s design is the position of the power button. For some inexplicable reason, Apple decided to position it at the bottom. It’s not a dealbreaker by any means since you won’t be needing it often. However, it begs the question why, especially since they could have just put it at the back like the Mac Studio.

Despite its size, connectivity is good. To start, there are now two USB ports on the front – these support USB speeds of up to 10Gbps. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack in the front too. Behind, you’ll find another three USB-C ports that support either Thunderbolt 4 or 5 depending on the processor you choose for your system (more on that later). At the back is also a full-size HDMI port and a Gigabit Ethernet port that can be upgraded to support 10Gb Ethernet. That said, there are no USB-A ports and there is no SD card reader.

External display support has also been improved. All Mac minis – even the base model version – can drive up to three displays. Furthermore, all models can support at least one 8K display.

Inside the Mac mini, you can have Apple’s newest M4 or M4 Pro chips. These chips contain Apple’s fastest-ever CPU and GPU cores that deliver better performance, higher memory bandwidth, and support for graphics technologies like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading. And at last, Apple is giving out 16GB of memory as standard for all Mac minis – even the base model.

The M4 chip features 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores and can be spec’ed with up to 32GB of memory. On the other hand, the M4 Pro comes in two configurations: one with 12 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores, and another with 14 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores. Both M4 Pro configurations can be equipped with up to 64GB of memory. Maximum storage for both M4 and M4 Pro Mac minis is 2TB. As ever, you can’t upgrade your Mac mini after the fact, so carefully consider how much memory and storage you need.

The unit I’m testing comes with the full-fat M4 Pro chip – that means 14 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores. It’s important to note that the M4 Pro’s core configuration is very different from the standard M4. The M4 has four performance cores and six efficiency cores, while the M4 Pro has 10 performance cores and four efficiency cores – that’s more than double the number of performance cores.

As you’ll see from the results on the next page, the M4 Pro’s multi-core performance was nearly double that of the standard M4. It’s more correct to think of the M4 Pro as a cut-down M4 Max rather than a beefed-up M4. What’s also remarkable is how the M4 Pro sometimes outperforms and comes close to the performance of a Mac Studio with a fully decked-out M2 Ultra chip.

In the real world, the performance improvements are perhaps less dramatic. The M4 Pro Mac mini is fast, but so is the last-generation Mac mini – it might be powered by the older M2 chip, but it remains very capable. As I said, the performance limits of modern Macs with Apple Silicon are so high that few professionals and even fewer casual users can find them. Unless you are a professional who deals with multiple streams of high-res footage, complex 3D models, or music that consists of hundreds of tracks, the Mac mini – even the one with the standard M4 chip – will deliver more performance than you’ll ever need. Another impressive thing about the new Mac mini is how quiet it is. Even under heavy loads, the fans are but a mere whisper, which is a testament to the performance of Apple Silicon.

I didn’t have an M4 Mac mini to test, but I did test the new iMac which also has the M4 chip and it could easily edit 40MP photos and 4K videos. It also ran Baldur's Gate 3 just fine, though I had to turn down the settings a tad to keep frame rates reasonable.

Performance aside, Mac minis with the M4 Pro chip have rear USB-C ports that support Thunderbolt 5. This enables data transfer rates of up to 120Gbps – three times faster than Thunderbolt 4. Though Thunderbolt 5 accessories are rare and pricey, users who demand the best should be pleased that the Mac mini supports it. Mac minis with the standard M4 chip have rear USB-C ports that support Thunderbolt 4.

One minor disappointment is the lack of support for Wi-Fi 7. I thought Apple’s newest Macs would support Wi-Fi 7 like the iPhone 16 series, but they still only support Wi-Fi 6E. It’s certainly a disappointment given the shortcomings of Wi-Fi 6E and the fact that Wi-Fi 7 is indubitably the networking standard of the future.

Like all other Macs running Apple Silicon, the new Mac mini also supports Apple Intelligence. Despite all the hype and buildup, I’m afraid Apple Intelligence doesn’t dramatically change the Mac user experience. There’s no question that some features like Writing Tools and Clean Up are nice to have, but there are already apps for that. I’m not saying Apple Intelligence is redundant, but it’s not as helpful as you might imagine it to be – at least not in its current state.

The Mac with the best value

With prices starting at S$849, the Mac mini is the cheapest way you can get into a Mac. You’ll need your own monitor, keyboard, mouse, and possibly speakers, but even an older M2 MacBook Air is S$1,399. That S$550 price difference is enough to get you a decent monitor and other accessories.

The base model Mac mini is better value than ever, especially since it now has 16GB of memory as standard. Only having 256GB of storage is probably a little mean, but you can make it work with cloud storage services or by getting an external storage drive. The crucial thing is that even the base Mac mini with the M4 chip will run just about any app and do just about any and everything you need.

Upgrades, as ever, are pricey and must be carefully considered. For example, upgrading to a 512GB SSD in the base model costs an extra S$300, which is ridiculous since that same amount can easily get you a 2TB M.2 SSD in Sim Lim with spare change. My advice as ever is to stay lean on the options.

The unit I tested with a full-fat M2 Pro chip, 48GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD is S$3,199. Still, considering the performance of the unit I tested, it can and should be thought of as a cut-price mini Mac Studio – at least until Apple updates the Mac Studio with M4-class chips.

Going small used to mean making concessions, but the new Mac mini seems to have compromised on very little. It’s one of the most stunning systems I’ve tested in years, and will likely go down in history as one of the most important Macs Apple has ever made.

Benchmark results

Here are the results of the benchmarks I ran. The system I'm testing is a Mac mini with an M4 Pro chip that has been upgraded with a 14-core CPU, 20-core-GPU, 48GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD. This configuration costs S$3,199.

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