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After being ignored in the third-generation M-series computers, the Mac mini has returned to provide the most profitable entry point for Apple. M4 line of chips. Keeping its starting price at $599, Apple is also increasing its starting configuration to 16GB of unified memory as a benchmark.

This has two effects: First, it finally dispels any negativity surrounding Apple’s use of 8GB of memory in boot configurations without costing anyone any extra money. Secondly, combined with the M4 processor, it allows the ideal version of Apple Intelligence AI tools to launch in the macOS Sequoia Update 15.1. (AI tools such as this are known to be memory intensive on all CPU platforms.)

Apple is now accepting pre-orders for the Mac mini ahead of its November 8 launch.

Macro size changes inside and out

In a surprise move, Apple updated the Mac mini’s design to make room for more useful connections, leading to a more Mac Studio-appearance similar to this. Measuring 5 inches on each side horizontally and 2 inches tall instead of 1.4 x 7.7 x 7.7 inches (HWD) as before, the new Mac mini gains two 10 Gbps. USB-C 3.1 ports and an audio jack on its front panel.

At the rear, the desk, less puck-shaped, houses three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an Ethernet jack and an HDMI port. This is bad news for anyone still clinging to USB-A accessories, as these ports have been put out to pasture.

While it’s a bit down on ports compared to before in some respects, it’s by no means down on display support: the new Mac mini powers up to three 6K resolution displays from its Thunderbolt 4 matrix.

Apple also touts that it’s the first fully carbon-neutral Mac product. It uses less aluminum in its chassis design and more fiber-based packaging than ever before.

The fan-cooled 3-nanometer M4 chip inside is an eight-core CPU paired with an eight-core GPU (with an optional 10-core portion) and a 16-core Neural Engine coprocessor to handle processing tasks. Embedded AI. This is paired with doubled 16GB memory and a 256GB SSD, starting at $599. Mac mini supports up to 64 GB of memory and up to 8 TB of SSD space.

Apple claims this model is 1.6 times faster than the M2 Mac mini in the Affinity Photo app and 1.4 times faster than its predecessor when running World of Warcraft. Overall, Apple says the M4 processor houses the fastest CPU core of any computer chip to date, and the company claims 1.8x faster CPU performance and 2.2x GPU speeds times faster over the period. Mac mini M1.

Presentation of the Apple M4 Pro processor

The latest Mac mini is the first step in the first advanced M4 processor, the M4 Pro, a higher-level configuration option. It’s a 14-core CPU with up to a 20-core GPU and the same 16-core Neural Engine as the base chip. Apple’s new GPU also specifically doubles ray tracing performance for better real-time lighting details in 3D games and modeling applications.

Overall, Apple says this version of the improved Mac mini is twice as fast as the previous model with the M2 Pro. The M4 Pro also unlocks 120 Gbps Thunderbolt 5 ports for the Mac mini, which is the latest in connection standards.

Looking specifically at the M4 Pro, Apple boasted about its improved memory bandwidth, now 273 GB/s. According to Apple, this improved bandwidth improves the performance of AI workloads and is twice that of any competing AI PC.

Instead of just a basic refresh of the internal silicon, Apple improved almost everything about the Mac mini with this revision, including its starting memory configuration. That and the more practical design represent a lot of value for the same $599 starting price, although we’ll really miss the USB-A ports. We will save any further judgment for our final review.