[ad_1]
Mac Week continues with the all-new Mac Mini. The rumors were true: The M4 release finds the company shrinking the mini desktop down to a size not much larger than an Apple TV. The mini box measures 5 x 5 inches, versus 3.66 x 3.66 inches for the Apple TV 4K.
The much smaller size is made possible by the efficiency of Apple’s internal silicon. Despite its small size, there is still a fan on board, with heat vents at the bottom. Presumably, this is because the Mini comes with either the base M4 or the newly announced M4 Pro, the latter of which may need cooling, depending on how hard you push it.
Apple chose to compare performance with the original M1 model (versus the 2023 M2 Pro), noting that the standard M4 represents a 1.8x CPU bump and a 2.2x bump on the GPU side.
The M4 Pro makes its debut on the new Mini – with a big price bump. Apple is touting the new chip as the “world’s fastest” — take that as you will. Meanwhile, the new GPU lineup improves ray tracing by 2x, demonstrating Apple’s deep interest in bringing gaming to the Mac.
The M4 Pro is also the first Apple Silicon to support Thunderbolt 5 (the M4 model still rocks Thunderbolt 4). Apple also moved a pair of ports to the front of the desktop, bringing it more in line with Mac Studio. On the back, you’ll find three Thunderbolt/USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet ports.
Also worth noting is the fact that the new Mini is Apple’s first carbon-neutral Mac, another step towards the company’s plans to be completely carbon neutral by 2030.
The M4 Mini comes with 16GB of memory and starts at $599. Upgrading to the M4 Pro is a big upgrade: This model starts at $1,399. That’s significantly $100 more than the new M4 iMacs introduced on Monday.
Pre-orders for the Mini will open on Monday, and the device is scheduled to begin shipping on November 8.
[ad_2]