There is Shark Week, and then there’s Mac Week. It’s a little less exciting, but Apple announced a new iMac for the first time yesterday and today they offer us a new Mac Mini. Tomorrow, there’s a good chance you can expect a new MacBook Pro, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The Mac Mini is Apple’s smallest desktop computer and will receive its first redesign in decades. Apple updated this machine in early 2023 with the M2 chipset, but the latest entry is powered by the new M4 Pro, a processor that makes its debut today. The M4 line improves power efficiency and speed and, like its predecessor, can take advantage of the new Apple Intelligence that launched this week in macOS Sequoia 15.1.
Apple’s smallest desktop computer starts at $599 and is available to reserve now. Starts shipping on November 8th.
Photography: Courtesy of Apple
Small but more powerful than ever
Well, remember when Apple said the Apple Watch Series 10 had a completely new design and still looked pretty identical to any other Apple Watch? Yes, the small changes made the Series 10 more comfortable and pleasant to wear, but new The design is a bit exaggerated. It’s kind of like the Mac Mini. It hasn’t received a major redesign since 2010, but things are changing now.
The already small desktop computer is now even minor—reaching 5 x 5 inches. Despite taking up less space, it is a little taller and the base slopes downward with vents for airflow. It is still, for all intents and purposes, a metal cube.
Apple finally added ports on the front, making them easier to access. Two USB-C ports support USB 3.0 and there is a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the back, the M4-powered Mac Mini includes three Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the M4 Pro version has three USB-C Thunderbolt 5 ports (another first: Thunderbolt 5 is the latest standard to support data transfer speeds of up to 80 Gbps and is only available on very few devices at the moment). Both models also have an HDMI (to connect an external display), an Ethernet connection (configurable up to 10 GB) and a port for the power cable. Apple has completely removed the USB-A ports on this model.
Unlike the iPhone, which arrives exactly on time every September, Apple’s desktop hardware can be a little more sporadic, and naturally that means the processors powering these machines are not chronological. The last Mac Mini had the M2 chip, and no, this one does not have the M3, but the M4. There are two types to choose from: M4 or M4 Pro.