M4 Mac Mini Buying Guide: Here’s What You Need To Know

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There’s a corresponding YouTube video for this M4 Mac mini buying guide which was easily one of the worst filming experiences I’ve had to date. I spent over two hours battling with the piece to camera, getting myself tied in knots over specs, pricing, and opinion. Re-shoot after re-shoot, it was a hideous experience.

Then, I popped the footage into the computer and realised that the audio had an issue that made it totally unpublishable. You can imagine the words that followed.

However, I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. As it turns out, my failed attempt to film myself talking about how to buy an M4 Mac mini made me realise that it’s actually an incredibly simple process. More importantly, I keep landing on the same spec recommendation every single time.
Let’s keep this one simple, shall we?

M1 vs M2 vs M4

There are now three chips to choose from when you buy a Mac mini. Deciding between the M1 and M2 chips used to make this a more difficult decision, but the new M4 chip has changed the game.

Let’s start this off with a clear message; the M1 Mac mini is not worth buying anymore. That’s not to say if you own an M1 Mac mini it is now time to chuck it out the window and head straight to the Apple Store. But if you’re buying a Mac mini from scratch, then you should opt for an M2 or M4 model.

The new standard M4 Mac mini starts at that incredible base price of $599/£599. Unlike previous generations, this nets you 16GB of unified memory, up from Apple’s old standard of 8GB, and 256GB of storage. Whilst more storage space would have been nice for the base-level model, for the money, it is one hell of an entry point into macOS.

If you need more memory, it’ll go right up to 32GB of unified memory (an extra $200/£200 at each level) and 2TB of storage.

Is it still worth buying an M2 Mac mini?

Now that we’ve covered the rest of the Mac lineup (bar the Mac Pro, but… well, come on…) there’s one lingering question, isn’t there? Why don’t you just save yourself a bunch of money and grab a second-hand or Apple-refurbished M2 Mac mini?

It’s hard to argue against this logic and, to be honest if you’re not fussed about the new design of the M4 Mac mini and you have no interest in the M4 chip itself (remember – the M2 is still capable of running Apple Intelligence), the M2 Mac mini is a solid purchase.

Especially since comparing the M4 chip to the M2 reveals just how powerful the former is. For one, the M4 now supports 10 CPU cores compared to 8 on the M2. That means the M4 has more capacity to multitask and is generally more efficient.

Benchmarks show that the M4 chip is about 49% faster than the M2 chip and a 17% higher memory bandwidth. That is a large increase in performance. But there’s a caveat.

I can’t make this decision for you, obviously, but the performance differences between the M2 and the M4 will, once again, only be felt by a select group of users who work on very intense projects. This means that it really does come down to the desire – or otherwise – for that new design.

Which chip: entry-level M4, or M4 Pro?

There are basically three chip options for the M4 Mac mini, spread across two chips. Which is immediately confusing. But all you need to know is that the entry-level M4 only has one option (10-core CPU and 10-core GPU) and the M4 Pro has two (with more cores on both sides, obviously).

If you look at the benchmarks, you’ll probably conclude that the M4 Pro can be up to 50% faster than the standard M4. This sounds like a lot – and it is, depending on what you’re doing with your Mac mini. The ‘up to’ part of that conclusion is the most important thing to keep in mind; most people are never going to tap into the available power of the top-spec M4 Pro.

To illustrate this point, we can turn to my own benchmark. It won’t win any awards, but it does give you a good idea of the real-world performance these chips can offer. It involves exporting a 10-minute 4K video project from Final Cut Pro to an MOV file. This process was completed in three minutes and 38 seconds by the standard M4 Mac mini. That’s super fast and around 20 seconds quicker than my tricked-out M3 Max MacBook Pro. But it’s only ten seconds slower than the M4 Pro Mac mini.

Let me just reiterate that – the £599 M4 Mac mini was just ten seconds slower at a very common video editing task than my £2,899 M4 Pro Mac mini. Ten seconds. It is completely irrelevant.

There are some users who will, of course, explore the nether regions of the M4 Pro’s capabilities, and it’s worth bearing in mind that you also get Thunderbolt 5 ports on the back of the Mac mini with that chip. But even the latter is a vastly untapped resource at the time of writing.

For everyone else – which is most people – there’s the base model M4 chip in the cheapest Mac mini. It is more than enough.

How much unified memory and storage?

Good news – you can’t buy an 8GB Mac mini anymore (at least, not the latest version). This is because the M4 Mac mini starts with 16GB of unified memory as standard and costs just £599/$599. That also nets you 256GB of internal storage, which isn’t much, but an additional £200/$200 will take that up to a more palatable 512GB.

The M4 Pro is a different beast, as you might expect. For £1,399/$1,399, you get 24GB of unified memory as standard and 512GB of storage. Which is even more than enough for most people.

The standard M4 can be configured with up to 32GB of unified memory and 2TB of storage, whereas the M4 Pro can enjoy up to 64GB and a ludicrous 8TB, respectively. Every memory and storage increase for both variants adds £200/$200 to the overall price of your Mac mini.

For those who need it, there’s also a 10-gigabit ethernet option for an additional £100/$100.

My advice? For most people, the standard M4 with 16GB of unified memory and a 512GB storage upgrade is a stellar choice and will only set you back £799/$799. As I always say, if you need more memory, you know you need more memory, and storage can be added externally for far less than Apple’s SSD pricing.

Which Mac mini accessories will you need?

You’ll need a display, obviously, and while the Studio Display is a rather lovely accompaniment to the Mac mini, it remains hugely expensive. If Apple’s monitor is out of your price range, I’d recommend BENQ, particularly the PD322OU. However, there are loads of great monitor options available.

You won’t get far without a keyboard, either, and while I’ve somehow become a huge fan once again of the Magic Keyboard, I’d recommend checking out some of the lovely clicky mechanical keyboards from the likes of Keychron and Nuphy.

Mouse-wise, there’s just one option – and, no, it isn’t the Magic Mouse. For the last few years, I’ve been using the Logitech MX Master 3 (or the 3S, which is the latest version) and it is quite simply the most ergonomic, satisfying input method I’ve ever used for any computing device. You can read about the best mechanical keyboards in our guide.

Just buy one.

You shouldn’t be tempted by the Mac Studio

The Mac Studio is a wonderful option for those who need that much power – which is a relatively small market compared to the Mac mini audience. Despite this, it’s easy to be attracted by the bright lights of Apple’s Mac mini on steroids – particularly when you start speccing up the mini during your buying research.

Don’t be tempted. As I always say, you know if you need a Mac Studio. And trust me, these are two very different computers.

Is the Mac mini the right device for you?

If you’re reading this guide, you’re obviously interested in buying the M4 Mac mini, but I’m pretty sure you’re asking yourself some other questions.

What about an iMac? Well, if you can deal with the fact that you only get the option of the built-in display and fewer ports, there’s nothing quite like the iMac. And it is a lovely display. But if you want more flexibility, the Mac mini is the one to go for.

Then, there’s the MacBook. Maybe an Air? Or perhaps the base model M4 MacBook Pro? Well, if portability is a factor, it’s an obvious swing towards the MacBook over the Mac mini, isn’t it?.

Conclusion

I noted at the start of this guide that I keep settling on one particular configuration for the M4 Mac mini which I think is perfect for most people.

A brilliant case in point: my dad messaged me last night to say that he needs to replace his 2015 Intel 27-inch iMac. My recommendation was immediate: get yourself the base model M4 Mac mini, upgrade it to 512GB of storage, and grab a Studio Display, I said. The latter, as noted earlier, isn’t necessary, but if you want a new Mac mini, I’d have a hard time suggesting that you go for anything above the spec I’ve recommended for my dad.

If you know you need more memory – add it. If you intend to put the Mac mini to work in a way that demands those extra cores (and you know exactly why – that’s the important part), grab the M4 Pro version.

Let me know in the comments which M4 Mac mini you’re buying and what you intend to do with it!