As part of Mac announcement week, Apple today unveiled an even smaller and more powerful Mac Mini desktop computer. The new product is equipped with the latest M4 processor, supports ray tracing and comes with at least 16 GB of RAM. It also has support for Apple Intelligence AI functions. And the new product starts at $599.
Image source: Apple
The first thing you’ll notice is the new design. As expected, the Mac Mini has shrunk significantly in size, although previous versions were already quite small. Now the computer has become very small – 127 mm in length and width, and 50 mm in height. It is noted that it was possible to keep cool, despite the compact body, both due to the efficiency of the M4 chips and with the help of “innovative cooling architecture that directs air to different levels of the system, and all ventilation is done through the base».
Mac Mini is available in Apple M4 and Apple M4 Pro versions. In the first case, 10 cores of the central and graphic processor are offered, and in the second – a 12- or 14-core CPU and a 16- or 20-core graphics accelerator, respectively. Both chips’ GPUs feature hardware-accelerated ray tracing support, and both chips can also offer a 16-core neural engine.
The amount of RAM can be 16, 24 or 32 GB on systems with the regular Apple M4, and 24, 48 or 64 GB on the M4 Pro model. For data storage, a solid-state drive with a capacity of 256 GB to 8 TB is provided.
Despite its compact dimensions, Apple has equipped the Mac Mini with a large number of ports: on the front panel there are two USB-C ports and a 3.5 mm audio jack. On the back you’ll find Ethernet (gigabit standard, 10 gigabit optional), HDMI, and three USB-C/Thunderbolt ports (Thunderbolt 4 on M4-based models and faster Thunderbolt 5 on M4 Pro-based models). But Apple has said goodbye to traditional USB-A. Note that you can connect up to three 6K displays to a Mac Mini with an M4 Pro.
A Mac Mini with a standard M4 chip will still cost $599, while the more powerful M4 Pro will cost at least $1,399. Like the updated iMac that was announced yesterday, the Mac Mini is now available for pre-order and will hit stores on November 8th.
