M4 Pro Mac Mini: Mac Studio Capability In Miniature

With an astounding level of power for professionals that matches the Mac Studio and Mac Pro in a small compact, the M4 Pro Mac mini is perhaps the finest offer in computing until late 2024.

While the Mac mini is consistently considered the entry-level and least-priced option, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are performance-driven desktop Mac models. Apple has turned the tide, at least temporarily, with the release of the M4 Pro Mac mini.

The Mac Studio and Mac Pro will remain stalled on M2. Since these upgrades aren’t anticipated until midway through 2025, a Pro who wants power right away and can’t wait for M4 Ultra may find that the New Mac mini with M4 Pro serves as a temporary solution.

M4 Pro Mac mini: Dimensions and Design

As part of Apple’s redesign of the Mac mini, the M4 Pro model shares the same exterior look as the M4 model. A 5-inch rounded square has replaced the 7.75-inch rounded flat square, making it smaller on the desk.

It’s also somewhat higher than the previous Mac mini design, which was 1.41 inches, at 2 inches. Nonetheless, it still includes a spherical base piece that manages airflow and is constructed of aluminium.

It also looks like a Mac Studio in tiny due to the rise in height and drop in breadth. The power button is now situated beneath the Mac mini, which is a bigger compromise.

M4 Pro Mac mini: Connectivity & Thunderbolt 5

Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are available on the wireless side. Although these connections are pretty typical, you won’t profit from them unless you have the systems or supporting devices that use them.

Thunderbolt 5 will be quite helpful for people who want connections with much bandwidth. The connection of the M4 Pro Mac mini has changed in more ways than just port placement. In keeping with the new look, the selection has also been altered.

The back of the M4 Mac mini has three Thunderbolt ports, an HDMI port, and a gigabit Ethernet (you can upgrade to a 10-gig version at an extra charge).

Two USB-C ports with 10Gb/s speeds and compatibility for USB 3 are located on the front.

Another now-standard feature is the headphone jack, which can accommodate high-impedance headphones.

The primary benefit of adopting Thunderbolt 5 over Thunderbolt 4 is its increased bandwidth. Thunderbolt 5 doubles Thunderbolt 4’s maximum speed of 40Gb/s for bi-directional connections. It increases even further to 120Gb/s for asynchronous applications.

Then there are the technology’s enhanced video capabilities. One 8K panel or two 4K 60Hz monitors may be managed by Thunderbolt 4, which is respectable in and of itself.

However, Thunderbolt 5 can support up to 144 Hz on three 4K displays or triple 8K panels. The Thunderbolt 5 standard enables a single 4K panel to operate at up to 540 Hz.

Thunderbolt 5 can offer up to 240W of power, with 140W of support required, while Thunderbolt 4 can deliver up to 100W.

M4 Pro Mac mini RAM: M4 and Internal Components

The M4 Pro processor, which is a two-generation jump over the M2 Pro in the former model, is the main draw here. In both versions, the M4 Pro has an additional core count than the M2 Pro.

Eight performance cores and four efficiency cores make up the 12-core CPU of the M4 Pro basic edition. A 16-core Neural Engine is prepared for Apple Intelligence, while the Media Engine is utilized for video encoding and decoding in conjunction with a 16-core GPU.

The top-tier model’s 14-core CPU consists of 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. Additionally, the 20-core GPU has been improved.

There are other strategies to enhance memory as well. First, there is the unified memory capacity, which starts at 24GB and increases to 48GB and 64GB, which is double the maximum of the previous model.

The M4 Pro’s memory bandwidth is 273 GB/s, up from the M2 Pro’s 200 GB/s. Even this boost contributes to the M4 Pro’s improved performance.

M4 Pro Mac mini: SSD Frequency

The M4 Pro unit has a 512GB SSD. Compared to the M4 mini, it boasts a speedier SSD. Instead of purchasing an expensive SSD from Apple, it is advised to utilize network-attached storage or external local storage. For desktops, external storage is nearly always a superior and far more affordable choice. However, the speed is not the same for all Thunderbolt 4 enclosures on the M4 Pro Mac mini.

When examining the Mac mini M4, it’s important to take your work description into account. There won’t be much of a performance difference between the M4 and M4 Pro versions if you’re mostly working on business-related tasks, such as Office.