In a year when most of Apple’s new products received iterative updates — the newest Apple Watches, iPhones, MacBooks and most iPads all look identical to their predecessors — the M4 Mac Mini was a definite standout. Not only that, it physically personified what Apple’s silicon could do.
Nobody thought the previous M2 Mac Mini was that big, but the M4 chip’s performance and efficiency gains allowed Apple to shrink its newest desktop computer to basically half the size of its 2022-released predecessor. The 5 x 5 x 2 inch box is now closer in size to an Apple TV.
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Apple M4 Mac Mini
Specs
| Memory | 16GB RAM (base) |
| Processor | M4 or M4 Pro |
| Storage | 256GB (base) |
But it’s not just about size and power. Apple gave the M4 Mac Mini several quality-of-life improvements — such as moving two USB-C ports and the headphone jack to the front panel, as well as upping the base memory to 16GB (instead of 8GB) — all while keeping the starting price at $599.
This makes the base model of the M4 Mac Mini not only a great entry-level desktop computer but also incredible value. The only caveat is that if you configure it with more memory, storage or Apple’s beefed-up M4 Pro chipset, you can quickly double (or triple) the price.
