M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini compared: Leaner and meaner

In its October week of Mac announcements Apple made a big change to the Mac mini. Along with updating the cheapest Mac to use the M4 and M4 Pro chips, it also redesigned the model completely.

Historically the cheapest and smallest physical Mac you could buy, the Mac mini was a gateway for people switching over to Apple's ecosystem for the first time. But, while it's a compact lump of computing, it's not really undergone that many physical changes over the years.

With the M4 launch, the rumor mill insisted that the Mac mini would get even smaller, with a new design that could reinvigorate the long-time model. That new design has arrived, and did, in fact, make the Mac mini more mini.

Following Apple's launch of the new model, here's everything spec-wise that you should know about it, and how it compares against its predecessor, the M2 editions.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini - Specifications

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini - Design, weight, size

The M2 Mac mini has used the same design for many iterations over the years. This has made it an unmistakable Mac for many people, but one that has been awaiting change for a considerable amount of time.

The design of the M2 model is the same as it was at the end of the Intel Mac period. It's a thin rounded aluminum enclosure, with a circular base and a rear section that contains all of the ports and connections.

At 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thick, it is practically a unit of measurement by now.

For the M4 release, the Mac mini is now in a much smaller design. At a mere 5 inches by 5 inches, the New Mac mini has even less of a footprint compared to the previous model.

It's a little bit taller at 2 inches.

Another big change is that Apple is borrowing the front-facing ports from the Mac Studio, This means you can access dual USB-C ports without reaching around to the back of the Mac mini.

Back when the Mac Studio was introduced, it was likened to a Mac mini that had grown in height. Now, the Mac mini looks like a scale model of the Mac Studio.

Weight-wise, the M2 Mac measures 2.6 pounds, while the M2 Pro edition tipped the scales at 2.8 pounds. Thanks to its shrinkage, the M4 counterparts are much lighter, at 1.5 pounds and 1.6 pounds respectively.

One oddity of the redesign is the power button. While it was on the back corner of the M2 Mac mini, the M4 doesn't have space at the back for it, so it's underneath in a corner, near the base vent ring.

You will have to lift the new Mac mini to turn it on, which will be annoying. At the very least, you will have to be conscious to not put anything on top of the Mac mini, as you will have to move it every time.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini - Performance

The M2 chip used in the previous Mac mini was an 8-core CPU with four performance and four efficiency cores. It also had a 16-core Neural Engine, a 10-core GPU, and 100GB/s of memory bandwidith.

There was also a Media Engine, which was able to deal with video encodes and decodes on behalf of the CPU. This included video decode and encode engines, a ProRes encode and decode engine, and support for ProRes RAW among common codec types.

Unified Memory started at 8GB, with 16GB and 24GB options.

The M2 Pro was similar in some respects, but very different in others. For a start, its base CPU had ten total cores including six performance cores, though you could also get a 12-core version with 8 performance cores.

The memory bandwidth also doubled to 200GB/s. Memory capacity started at 16GB, with a 32GB option also available.

Meanwhile, the GPU was a 16-core version with the 10-core CPU, 19 cores for the 12-core CPU.

Once again, Apple has gone down the M4 and M4 Pro route, with the latter getting the higher specifications.

The M4 has a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. The M4 Pro starts with a 12-core CPU with eight performance cores and four efficiency cores, but you can get a 14-core version with ten performance cores and four efficiency cores.

For the GPU, the M4 has a 10-core version. The M4 Pro starts with a 16-core GPU, but the upgraded chip has a 20-core GPU available to use.

Like before, there's the Media Engine, as well as a 16-core Neural Engine. This time, Apple claims the Neural Engine in the M4 Pro is three times faster than the M1's equivalent version, which will further aid the use of Apple Intelligence.

The memory bandwidth of the M4 chip is 120GB/s, up 20% from the M2. The M4 Pro has 273GB/s of memory bandwidth, a 36% increase over the M2 Pro.

Memory quantities have also jumped this time around. The M4 starts at 16GB, with 24GB and 32GB capacities also available.

The M4 Pro goes even better, once again. Starting at 24GB, you could get an upgrade to 48GB, or if you really need it, 64GB.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini - Benchmark estimation

Discussing benchmarks for the new Mac mini models is a bit tricky, since there aren't any actual benchmarks for a Mac using M4 at the moment, let alone M4 Pro. Further compounding matters is Apple's preference to refer to the M4's power based on the M1 chip, not the M2.

While it would be possible to use the M4 models of iPad Pro to give some level of comparison, it is also not a fair one to make. While the upper-capacity models have a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, the nature of tablet computing means it won't have the thermal management nor power advantages that a Mac has.

Instead, until Mac benchmarks actually become available, we have to compare with Apple's claims and extrapolate.

Apple claims the M4 Mac mini has 1.8 times the CPU performance and 2.2 times the GPU performance of the M1.

Annoyingly, there's no analog comparison for the M4 Pro to work from, but it's likely that the single-core result could match the M4. As for multi-core, the extra cores will help get a much higher score.

We will be leaving the M4 Pro's CPU score out for the moment due to Apple's lack of a direct comparison to work from.

Apple does say the 20-core GPU is twice as powerful as the M4's GPU.

Working using Geekbench results, the M2 and M2 Pro score 2,641 and 2,658 for single-core performance, and 9,802 and 14,475 respectively for multi-core. Based on the M1 Mac mini's scores, the M4 is estimated to get 4,250 for the single-core result, and over 15,200 for the multi-core.

This is a considerable jump from M2, and one that should also mean a big increase again for M4 Pro's multi-core.

On the Metal benchmark, the M2 and M2 Pro score 46,174 and 81,088 respectively. The M4 is estimated to hit 72,000, and the M4 Pro around 144,000.

Again, these are considerable jumps in performance. That is, if the real-world benchmarks match up to Apple's claims.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini - Storage, connectivity, audio

For storage, the Mac mini with M2 starts with 256GB of capacity, with upgrade options including 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. For the Pro model, it starts from 512GB, and runs through 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB to 8TB.

The M4 releases follow the same path when it comes to storage capacities.

The physical connectivity on the M2 Mac mini was the same as the M1, with it having a HDMI port, two USB-A connections, two Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C connections, Gigabit Ethernet, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The M2 Pro added another two Thunderbolt 4 ports, bringing the total up to four ports, while retaining the rest of the port selection as the M2.

The back of the M4 models is constrained, but still highly useful for consumers. There's still an HDMI port, three Thunderbolt connections, and a Gigabit Ethernet connection to the rear.

However, while the M4 Mac mini uses three Thunderbolt 4 connections, the M4 Pro version has three Thunderbolt 5 connections. This raises the data rate from 40Gbps on Thunderbolt 4 to 120Gbps on Thunderbolt 5 at its peak.

This will be extremely useful for some high-data applications in the future, such as accessing high-speed storage. However, it does mean investing in Thunderbolt 5 peripherals and accessories to take advantage of the throughput increase.

The front of the new Mac mini adds another two USB-C ports for ease of access. They are USB 3 ports using Type-C connections in both M4 variants, offering speeds of up to 10Gbps.

For both M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini models, there was a Gigabit Ethernet port on the rear by default. You could upgrade to a 10Gig connection at the time of purchase. This is also the case for the M4 generation.

Wireless connectivity hasn't changed, consisting of of Wi-Fi 6E support along with Bluetooth 5.3.

The audio capabilities of the Mac mini in the M2 era largely relied on external audio devices, such as multichannel audio support on the HDMI port. The headphone jack on the rear also included support for high-impedance headphones, which benefits audiophiles.

There is, as typical for the model, a built-in speaker, but it is usually best described as an adequate audio source if nothing else is available. It works and is entirely usable, but you'd be better off with proper speakers.

There's no change here at all for the M4 and M4 Pro. The advice is also the same: count on external audio devices where you can.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini - Pricing

The base M2 Mac mini costed consumers $599, and had the 8-core CPU with 10-core GPU, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage.

Upgrading the memory to 16GB cost an extra $200, or $400 to get you to 24GB. Storage upgrades started at $200 for 512GB, $400 to get 1TB, or $800 for 2TB.

The M2 Pro shipped with the 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage for $1,299. Upgrading to the 12-core CPU version raised the price by $300.

The memory upgrade from 16GB to 32GB was $400. Raising the storage to 1TB cost $200, 2TB was $600, 4TB was $1,200, and 8TB was a sweltering $2,400.

The Gigabit Ethernet to 10-gig upgrade was $100, regardless of model.

The base M4 Mac mini is priced at $599 with the 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB of memory, 256GB of storage, and Gigabit Ethernet.

Going from 16GB to 24GB of memory costs an extra $200, with 32GB another $200 on top. Storage upgrades cost $200 from 256GB to 512GB, another $200 to get to 1TB, and another $400 for 2TB.

The M4 Pro's base configuration with the 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 24GB of memory, 512GB of storage, and Gigabit Ethernet costs $1,399.

The chip upgrade to the 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU is $200. Memory from 24GB to 48GB is $400, while 64GB is another $200 again.

Storage upgrades from 512GB to 1TB costs $200, rising by another $400 for 2TB, another $600 for 4TB, and another $1,200 again to hot 8TB.

Gigabit Ethernet, once again, can be upgraded on the M4 models for $100.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini - Which to buy?

The new M4 Mac mini is a rare overhaul for Apple, and especially for the Mac mini line. It's a considerable step away from the well-worn seven-inch-square design for a smaller puck that looks like a more aggressive Apple TV.

Add in that Apple moved some ports to the front for easy access, and we have a somewhat more user-friendly Mac design. That power button location may be a pain, but if you're putting the Mac to sleep instead of shutting it down daily, it's less of an issue.

The real star of the show is the M4 chip. The claimed improvements over the M2 counterparts make it a very powerful option for anyone wanting a lot of processing capacity on their desk. At least, if they're not prepared to wait for a Mac Studio update at some point in the future.

It may not necessarily be a straight upgrade for owners of the M2 Mac mini, since it's ultimately a performance play. But, there's a lot here to consider for would-be switchers and owners of older Mac mini generations.

The Mac mini is still Apple's smallest, cheapest, and most welcoming Mac in its range to newcomers. Now it's even more mini, and a lot more mighty.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini - Where to buy

The 2024 M4 Mac mini is available for preorder at Apple resellers, with Adorama knocking up to $50 off the new models with promo code APINSIDER. The APINSIDER code also knocks $20 off three years of AppleCare for the new Mac mini. You can find a breakdown of the offers in our M4 Mac mini Price Guide.

You can also find discounts on the (now) last-gen M2 models in our M2 Mac mini Price Guide. At press time, prices start at $499, with the best Mac mini deals at your fingertips in our dedicated guide.