M4 Mac Mini Review – 6 Months Later

By Josh Teder

M4 Mac Mini Review – 6 Months Later

When the M4 Mac Mini was announced last year, it somehow already looked like an iconic design. It looks like the little brother of the Mac Studio, which has been the best Mac I’ve owned thus far. And now that I’ve had a Mac Mini for 6 months, I’m going to take you through who this device is for and whether I’d recommend getting one.

Design and Build Quality

First up, it’s design. Unlike a device like the MacBook Air, which has two USB-C ports, the Mac Mini comes with five USB-C ports. Additionally, the Mac Mini is designed for better thermal performance, eliminating issues with thermal throttling. It uses a fan as an active cooling system to draw the air in through the bottom and then expel it out the back, also through the bottom.

And I haven’t noticed the issue of dust getting sucked into the unit as much as I noticed that on the Mac Studio, where you can accumulate dust on the bottom of it and sometimes get dust blowing out the back, which isn’t ideal.

The new Mac Mini is 5 inches by 5 inches and takes up way less space than the previous version. It looks so tiny and cute just sitting there on your desk. This thing just looks stunning with its aluminum enclosure. It has that nice sleek Apple aesthetic you’d come to expect.

Now, even though it has a fan like with the Mac Studio that I reviewed, you’ll never hear it on the Mini. Even with high-intensity workloads, this thing is pretty darn silent.

And unlike an iMac, the display is actually separated out from the computer. This makes it much easier later on to swap out the computer while keeping the same great display, just like you can do with the Mac Studio or Mac Pro and Apple’s Studio displays, which I’ve reviewed.

Just note, unlike the iMac, the Mac Mini doesn’t come with any mouse, keyboard, or trackpad. And I’ll leave the ones that I’ve used with my Mini and Mac Studio in our products link. I’m not particularly fond of the ergonomics of Apple’s current Magic Mouse, so I use a Logitech one instead, along with a Logitech keyboard, which makes it easy to switch between my Macs and PC.

The one Apple accessory, for me at least, that is a must is the Magic Trackpad. macOS is full of these nice multi-touch gestures that I think make it a joy to use, so I really like having the trackpad for those.

Performance and Configuration

Now, one thing to keep in mind with the Mac Mini is that while I got the base configuration, which has worked well, you can configure it with way better performance, especially compared to something like the M4 MacBook Air that I reviewed. For example, you can opt for an M4 Pro chip.

However, like with many Apple products these days, you will hit a threshold where, when configuring this Mac Mini, it’ll come close to the price of just getting a base Mac Studio, which starts at $2,000. But you’ll get one more USB-C port, two USB-A ports, an SD card slot, plus 36 gigs of memory, a 512-gig SSD, a standard 10 Gbps port, and an M4 Max chip, which is better than the M4 Pro chip.

“Overall, even with the base configuration, when I’ve used it as my main computer for the day, I’ve had no performance issues whatsoever.”

Overall, even with the base configuration, when I’ve used it as my main computer for the day, I’ve had no performance issues whatsoever. And yes, even with that configuration, it can handle basic video editing and apps like Affinity or Adobe Creative Cloud. Though if you want to use this machine that you’re buying for those types of workloads and apps, I would recommend at least speccing up the RAM, probably the storage as well, especially for video. And then you’ll definitely want a better performing chip, which is why, at that point, you’re probably just looking at getting a Mac Studio.

Some other specs to note are that if you do go for that M4 Pro chip, it comes with Thunderbolt 5, which has transfer speeds up to 120 Gbits per second, which is crazy fast. You can connect it up to three separate displays. It has Wi-Fi 6E, not Wi-Fi 7, which is the latest Wi-Fi standard that Apple has started to roll out into its devices.

Software and Ecosystem Features

Moving on, let’s talk about software. That’s another big reason to get a Mac. Not only is it often aesthetically more pleasing to use than Windows, but the hardware and software are deeply integrated and optimized for each other, which is why Macs typically have such great performance.

And then, of course, there are the ecosystem software features that you get. You can get features like iPhone mirroring, where you can access your entire iPhone from your Mac’s display. Continuity Camera. Continuity itself allows you to pick up from where you left off in an app on your iPhone and open it up on your Mac. AirDrop for wireless file transfers from your Apple devices to your Mac. Sidecar, where you can use your iPad as a secondary display for your Mac.

You can make any Safari website into a web app. AirPlay for streaming music to different speakers. AirPods seamlessly switch between your Apple devices. And then, of course, you get iCloud, which brings over all of your saved settings and preferences. It also allows for iMessage, contacts, passwords, and more to be available to you as soon as you log into your Mac with your Apple ID.

“Simply put, if you have an iPhone or other Apple devices, you get so much more utility with a Mac and macOS that it’d just be crazy to go with a Windows PC over a Mac in that use case.”

Simply put, if you have an iPhone or other Apple devices, you get so much more utility with a Mac and macOS that it’d just be crazy to go with a Windows PC over a Mac in that use case. Though if you’re curious about my thoughts on how Mac compares to Windows, I’ll leave the comparison I did between the two platforms here.

Price and Value

All right, next up is price, which is another highlight and often not a highlight for Apple products in general, but it’s a highlight here because the Mac Mini starts at $599, which is the most cost-effective way to get into the Mac ecosystem if you already have a display. And often you can find it on sale for $499 or even less via Apple’s refurbished store.

And be sure to check out our products link to see the current prices for all of the devices I’ve talked about in this video ,and price compare between multiple retailers, including the Apple refurbished store that I talked about. Link to all of that is in the description and the pinned comment.

My Use Case

So, those are all of the highlights I’ve had with the Mac Mini. But what have I been using mine for, you might ask? Well, outside of using it as a casual computer for web browsing, email, and general productivity, the main reason I actually purchased one was to have an always-on Mac that I could run as a server for specific applications and workloads.

Specifically, I’m running Blue Bubbles on it, which allows me to more easily sync iMessages across all of the Android phones I use to review. For my professional needs, I haven’t used the Mac Mini as an editing workstation for photos or videos, mainly because I prefer the Mac Studio I already have, which still offers excellent performance and is superior to the Mac Mini I purchased.

Downsides to Consider

Alright, now let’s discuss some downsides. The first and only real downside I’ve found with the Mac Mini is actually that its $599 starting price can be somewhat misleading depending on your use case. It’s not always going to be cost-effective to upgrade the Mac Mini with things like the M4 Pro chip, max out its RAM, or go with higher storage capacities. At that point, you’re approaching Mac Studio pricing, and the Studio just gives you way more for your money.

However, another area where the Mac Mini’s price can be a bit tricky is when it comes to displays. If you want to pair it with Apple’s monitor, the Studio Display, which, yes, I recommend for any screenless Mac because of its excellent 5K resolution and color reproduction—and the build quality is also excellent, you’re really getting what you pay for—you are paying a lot when it comes to the Studio Display.

It’ll drive up the total cost of a base Mac Mini plus that display combined to like $2,000 or more, which might make you question whether or not you went with a really budget-friendly choice to get a Mac.

Who Should Get a Mac Mini?

So, who should get a Mac Mini?

First, if you want good performance that won’t significantly impact your wallet compared to some of Apple’s other, more professional high-end computers, such as the Mac Studio and MacBook Pro, the Mac Mini is a great option. You’re getting desktop-class performance at a price point that’s way more accessible.

Second, this is for somebody who likes the ability to detach their computer from the display. If you get a Studio Display with a Mac Mini, yeah, that’ll be a higher upfront cost compared to going with something like an iMac, but it could actually save you money in the long run since the display should last you at least a decade, maybe more.

And the third reason someone should get a Mac Mini is if you don’t need to move your Mac all that often. While the Mini is tiny, which technically makes it pretty portable, it’s still not going to be the right choice for someone whose workflow and use involve more work on the go, like a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro would provide.

Should You Get a Studio Display?

So, if you don’t already have a Studio Display, should you get one? Generally, yes. It is expensive, but you can find refurbished models or used ones, or sometimes they do go on sale. But I’ve yet to see a better monitor that you can pair with a Mac that has this great color reproduction, resolution, build quality, and features like True Tone and pretty decent speakers that are built in, like you get with the Studio Display.

And I’ll leave links to the various retailers for the Studio Display in our products link and link to the review I did of it as well.

Final Thoughts

Now, rumors suggest an updated Studio Display is on the way, so consider checking for deals on current models before a new one is released. And make sure you’re subscribed to the channel or follow this site to stay updated on my review of the next version.

And if you need a new computer but you cannot wait a few months, it is likely Apple will refresh the Mac Mini with an M5 chip by mid-2026. Though that also means you’re likely to find some good discounts on the Mini for the 2025 holiday season.

So, those are my thoughts on the M4 Mac Mini. And if you want to see more of my Apple reviews and comparisons, like my Mac Studio review or my comparison between Mac and Windows, you can check those out. And you can see all of the products I recommend at any time by visiting 6monthslater.net/shop.