New Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024)

I’ve been excited to buy this new Mac mini since I heard the announcement of its arrival. I got on AO and purchased this mainly for music production work at home. I already had the TV, keyboard and mouse so plugged these in and got started immediately. The first thing to note is the speed of start-up and set up. I’m visually impaired so was pleased to have VoiceOver which is a screen reading program for Mac computers start up immediately and give me the option to set up my Mac whilst using the assistive software. This made it a breeze for me and in no time at all I was signing in and getting the computer set up in the way I like it. I’ve had Mac computers before, but the speed and power of this is really quite outstanding. Add to this the tiny size of the new M4 Mac ... MoreI’ve been excited to buy this new Mac mini since I heard the announcement of its arrival. I got on AO and purchased this mainly for music production work at home. I already had the TV, keyboard and mouse so plugged these in and got started immediately. The first thing to note is the speed of start-up and set up. I’m visually impaired so was pleased to have VoiceOver which is a screen reading program for Mac computers start up immediately and give me the option to set up my Mac whilst using the assistive software. This made it a breeze for me and in no time at all I was signing in and getting the computer set up in the way I like it. I’ve had Mac computers before, but the speed and power of this is really quite outstanding. Add to this the tiny size of the new M4 Mac mini and you really have a device that can go anywhere and sit silently on your desk just doing the job in the background. There are plenty of connection possibilities with the ports on the device And. I also like the fact that it doesn’t look Shouty on the desk. Just classic Apple minimalism and quality.This was all made possible by the speedy AO delivery time and I would definitely purchase a product from here again

A perfect replacement for my aging Mac Pro 5.1

I've upgraded from a fully loaded 2009 Mac Pro 5.1 tower, which consumes over 400 watts, to a sleek, 2.5-inch tall Mac Mini with a maximum draw of just 65 watts. Unlike the NUC mini-PC I also own, the Mac Mini integrates its power supply, eliminating the need for an external power brick. This elegant design offers plenty of ports, which can be further expanded with a port expander. I suspect we'll see port expanders hitting the market soon, possibly including an M.2 slot, as with the previous Mac Mini.For my current needs, I opted for the higher-end 16 GPU model, paired with an external Thunderbolt M.2 enclosure and a 2TB SSD, delivering around 3,200MB/s read and write speeds, almost comparable to the 5,000MB/s from the internal SSD.Setting up my wireless mouse ... MoreI've upgraded from a fully loaded 2009 Mac Pro 5.1 tower, which consumes over 400 watts, to a sleek, 2.5-inch tall Mac Mini with a maximum draw of just 65 watts. Unlike the NUC mini-PC I also own, the Mac Mini integrates its power supply, eliminating the need for an external power brick. This elegant design offers plenty of ports, which can be further expanded with a port expander. I suspect we'll see port expanders hitting the market soon, possibly including an M.2 slot, as with the previous Mac Mini.For my current needs, I opted for the higher-end 16 GPU model, paired with an external Thunderbolt M.2 enclosure and a 2TB SSD, delivering around 3,200MB/s read and write speeds, almost comparable to the 5,000MB/s from the internal SSD.Setting up my wireless mouse and keyboard was a breeze when I powered up the Mini for the first time. I repointed my home directory to my M.2 drive, which I transferred from my Mac Pro, making the upgrade process smooth. I just needed to reinstall apps like Office 365 and Photoshop, then sync my Apple account to get my passwords.I have this connected to two Eizo 27-inch displays. While one supports Thunderbolt, the other is an older self-calibrating display with DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI. Windows 11 can daisy-chain to the second display with this setup, Sequoia cannot. It's not a big deal though as I used the Mac Mini's HDMI port for one display and Thunderbolt for the other, effectively preserving my remaining Thunderbolt ports.Contrary to some opinions, I haven't noticed the fan being loud. My NUC mini PC, on the other hand can become very noisy.If you've seen teardown videos of this machine, you'll appreciate its thoughtful design, including the antenna placement, materials used, compact form factor, and the slim possibility of upgrading internal storage.Compared to my NUC, while the Mac Mini may not be as upgradeable in terms of memory and storage, it's a much more solid, reliable product. If you go with the base model, it's an absolute steal for an entry-level computer.

Simple, small, & powerful

Technology evolution pushed me to update my desktop computer. My 2013 Mac Pro with an Intel processor was no longer supported by Apple's newest operating systems.Since I had a monitor, keyboard and some external USB HDDs, the Mini seemed like the easiest way to go. I am beyond happy!This tiny computer packs more power, generates less heat (virtually no fan noise), and is very connectable! I purchased the base model with 16 Gb of Ram & a 250 Gb HDD. Apple charges a ridiculous amount for Ram & HDD the factory upgrades, but Thunderbolt HDDs can be easily added to give more storage.Configured this way, the Mini has more than enough processing power for the tasks I do (some photo & video editing) and I haven't found that the base Ram limits multitasking.The only ... MoreTechnology evolution pushed me to update my desktop computer. My 2013 Mac Pro with an Intel processor was no longer supported by Apple's newest operating systems.Since I had a monitor, keyboard and some external USB HDDs, the Mini seemed like the easiest way to go. I am beyond happy!This tiny computer packs more power, generates less heat (virtually no fan noise), and is very connectable! I purchased the base model with 16 Gb of Ram & a 250 Gb HDD. Apple charges a ridiculous amount for Ram & HDD the factory upgrades, but Thunderbolt HDDs can be easily added to give more storage.Configured this way, the Mini has more than enough processing power for the tasks I do (some photo & video editing) and I haven't found that the base Ram limits multitasking.The only drawback is a lack of USB-A ports, which I remedied by purchasing a 5 pack of USB-A to C adapters, and there are multiple USB-C dongles that will do the trick, too.My order from B&H was easy, and shipping was fast, although the delivery was a day late (going back & forth across the US two times!). Not the fault of B&H, so no ding there!

Wicked fast computer, great form factor

I’ve only had it for a few days, but the pluses and minuses of the new Mac mini are pretty evident already. On the plus side, a great form factor, and the ports in the front are a real boon over the previous model. Also, the speed is amazing; fastest computer I’ve ever owned. On the minus side, the decision to put the start button underneath the computer is really stupid, unless you just leave your computer running all the time. I prefer to shut mine off at night, and having to lift up the computer (just a bit because the start button is near the back left edge) is not smart on Apple’s part.. The other negative is the small capacity of the base model drive; they should give you at least twice the 256gb drive for the price they are charging. You can buy more, but ... MoreI’ve only had it for a few days, but the pluses and minuses of the new Mac mini are pretty evident already. On the plus side, a great form factor, and the ports in the front are a real boon over the previous model. Also, the speed is amazing; fastest computer I’ve ever owned. On the minus side, the decision to put the start button underneath the computer is really stupid, unless you just leave your computer running all the time. I prefer to shut mine off at night, and having to lift up the computer (just a bit because the start button is near the back left edge) is not smart on Apple’s part.. The other negative is the small capacity of the base model drive; they should give you at least twice the 256gb drive for the price they are charging. You can buy more, but even a 512gb drive costs you $300 extra! My solution is to use an external SSD for additional storage; much cheaper than Apple’s solution and you get more capacity to boot. This caused me a minor headache when I went to transfer the files from my old iMac. I used Apple’s migration assistant software to transfer the base files and then I copied my picture, music and data files directly from the iMac to the external SSD.

[Rewarded Review] Absolutely the best Apple product of 2024

This is my first non laptop Apple computer. I used a Macbook for years, it was all I needed at the time. I never considered the older Mini, either the Intel based or M1/2 based ones, they were ok for what they were but they lacked normal priced upgrade options...seriously $200 for 256GB of additional storage is nuts!This new one still suffers from Apples delusional upgrade pricing, but they at least start you off with more ram (16GB) instead of a measly 8GB, and the M4 chip in the base model is plenty powerful enough for even heavy editing work. I got around the idiotic upgrade pricing for the storage by adding a Thunderbolt 4 external enclosure (around $50) and added my own 4TB NVMe ssd from Crucial. It's VERY fast storage, you wont miss having overpaid for it ... MoreThis is my first non laptop Apple computer. I used a Macbook for years, it was all I needed at the time. I never considered the older Mini, either the Intel based or M1/2 based ones, they were ok for what they were but they lacked normal priced upgrade options...seriously $200 for 256GB of additional storage is nuts!This new one still suffers from Apples delusional upgrade pricing, but they at least start you off with more ram (16GB) instead of a measly 8GB, and the M4 chip in the base model is plenty powerful enough for even heavy editing work. I got around the idiotic upgrade pricing for the storage by adding a Thunderbolt 4 external enclosure (around $50) and added my own 4TB NVMe ssd from Crucial. It's VERY fast storage, you wont miss having overpaid for it internally at all.The size is truly tiny, like palm of your hand tiny, and it's not getting too hot in my pretty hard usage of it today, I'm really impressed with that last part.All told, if you are in the Apple ecosystem, or even if you want to break into it, this is the lowest cost device they sell to allow you to have a truly powerful desktop at your disposal. Apple hit it out of the park with this one, if you're on the fence, hop over to the dark side and give this puppy a try out, you will not be disappointed!

[Rewarded Review] If you took an iPhone, iPad and MacBook and smoosh

Tiny yet powerful. Uses almost no energy in standby mode. Add any screen with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and you have an amazing machine. If you have multiple Apple products this mini Mac integrates seamlessly between all of them. Buy the cheapest model you can afford. You can always add a thunderbolt 4 usb c external drive in 2-4tb size and still come out ahead. Buy the highest ram if you plan to run 3 screens with editing and multi tasking in mind. For everyone else 16gigs of ram is plenty for multi screens and basic day to day functions. The new sequoia os is a breeze to use. If you have an Apple Watch you can use it to unlock and make purchases on your Mac if you want to bypass entering passwords all day. You can use an iPhone as a 4k video camera. Copy ... MoreTiny yet powerful. Uses almost no energy in standby mode. Add any screen with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and you have an amazing machine. If you have multiple Apple products this mini Mac integrates seamlessly between all of them. Buy the cheapest model you can afford. You can always add a thunderbolt 4 usb c external drive in 2-4tb size and still come out ahead. Buy the highest ram if you plan to run 3 screens with editing and multi tasking in mind. For everyone else 16gigs of ram is plenty for multi screens and basic day to day functions. The new sequoia os is a breeze to use. If you have an Apple Watch you can use it to unlock and make purchases on your Mac if you want to bypass entering passwords all day. You can use an iPhone as a 4k video camera. Copy something on the Mac and it will paste on your connected iPhone. Transfer files seamlessly. AirDrop. iPhone mirroring. The most powerful and portable pc. It comes with one hdmi output and 2 thunderbolt 4 ports in the back to allow for triple monitor. You can also use an iPad as a monitor or any iPad and Mac as extended or main monitors. If you plan to go double or triple monitor you will need some usbc adaptor cables. You can use an hdmi cable to connect one monitor and a usb c to display port or usb c to hdmi cable found for 8$ online. You can also connect a usb c hub if you already have one to power more monitors or external devices. You will need a usb c to usb a adaptors or hubs if you have multiple non blue tooth accessories to connect. The best accessory for this Mac mini would be the new magic track pad. Enjoy your purchase.

[Rewarded Review] LOVE MY MINI!!

I didn't buy mine through Best Buy due to getting the education discount through Apple (otherwise, I buy pretty much everything through Best Buy.) I replaced a 2017 27" Intel iMac, and good grief, this thing flies in comparison. I've got an M1 MacBook Air and an M1 Mac Studio on my desk at work as well and this Mini is simply the fastest computer I've ever owned, even at its base spec. (My advice, unless you are a hardcore 3D renderer or After Effects artist, the base model is fantastic. And allows an upgrade path in a few years as specs inevitably improve. It's a bit too easy to double the cost in these units with only marginal returns. Just my personal opinion, but if I get to a point where it makes financial sense to upgrade, I'll save the money now and just ... MoreI didn't buy mine through Best Buy due to getting the education discount through Apple (otherwise, I buy pretty much everything through Best Buy.) I replaced a 2017 27" Intel iMac, and good grief, this thing flies in comparison. I've got an M1 MacBook Air and an M1 Mac Studio on my desk at work as well and this Mini is simply the fastest computer I've ever owned, even at its base spec. (My advice, unless you are a hardcore 3D renderer or After Effects artist, the base model is fantastic. And allows an upgrade path in a few years as specs inevitably improve. It's a bit too easy to double the cost in these units with only marginal returns. Just my personal opinion, but if I get to a point where it makes financial sense to upgrade, I'll save the money now and just upgrade later. But at these speeds, it's hard to see myself doing that.)I really struggled whether to go M4 iMac or this Mini, and I have zero regrets about this upgrade. It allowed me to move to a 34" curved Dell monitor and I just love it all. The only problem I have is that the Mini is fast enough to really see huge benefits from using external SSD vs. external HDD. So I'm going to end up dropping some $$ down the road upgrading my external storage solutions to all SSD except my Time Machine backups.

[Rewarded Review] M4 plus minimum 16 GB RAM is a game changer!

<3 (Love This!)I traded in my Mac Mini M2 for this new Mac Mini M4.It is an easy decision since I am already set up with double screens and everything I need for a Mac Mini - on a standing desk for my home office.Back when I first began using computers I was one of those who was ALWAYS an early adopter. After a while, computer technology has advanced so much - that for the most part, most can do well buy buying refurbished items instead of buying the newest-latest-greatest.This is an exception. The improvement provided by the combination of the M4 chip and the new minimum 16GB RAM is STELLAR!!!It's so small to be so powerful!And the price for this is great if you work at home or use a desktop computer. I could see companies small and large installing ... More<3 (Love This!)I traded in my Mac Mini M2 for this new Mac Mini M4.It is an easy decision since I am already set up with double screens and everything I need for a Mac Mini - on a standing desk for my home office.Back when I first began using computers I was one of those who was ALWAYS an early adopter. After a while, computer technology has advanced so much - that for the most part, most can do well buy buying refurbished items instead of buying the newest-latest-greatest.This is an exception. The improvement provided by the combination of the M4 chip and the new minimum 16GB RAM is STELLAR!!!It's so small to be so powerful!And the price for this is great if you work at home or use a desktop computer. I could see companies small and large installing these small Mac Mini's in offices for their employees.It's close to 1/4 the size of the Mac Mini I'm replacing. The ports front and back are a plus, and useful for me since I also use a hub for expansion of the ports. Everything I've had before with my Mac Mini M2 works perfectly with the M4.The trade in value, plus Best Buy's $50 BLACK FRIDAY discount allowed me to step up to this model over the baseline model, and really fueled my decision to buy it from Best Buy and to buy it NOW.I'm also a MY BEST BUY TOTAL member, so the added free additional year of warranty included in the membership is one of the reasons I always check at BEST BUY first before making any tech or appliance purchase decisions. It always is a great benefit that outweighs the cost of the yearly "TOTAL" membership!!!I have a lot of peripherals. Two 24 inch screens, a CD/DVD player and expand connections with hubs designed for compatibility with the ports on most Mac Minis. I recently purchased a 1TB mini SD card to use specifically for storing videos - again at a deal price for the terabyte SD card due to an offer for My Best Buy Total members.--FIRST: The speed with the M4 and a 24GB processor is FAST!Moving forward the decision made by Apple to eliminate 8GB processors is great.(Last summer, I purchased a refurbished PC for my mother - from Best Buy - and specifically had criteria that it must have at least 16GB RAM and an ethernet port to replace her 8 RAM excruciatingly slower PC - so that I could plug her laptop directly into the mesh routers with Ethernet. THIS MAKES A DIFFERENCE NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE BUYING. No more 8GB processors! )--TWO: I also upgraded to the Magic Keyboard with Touch Key!I am PASSWORD WEARY so the touch keyboard was 'a must' even before this new M4 Mac Mini came out.I purchased the keyboard (an "open box" item at Best Buy) before considering the M4, but literally the day after I received the keyboard, I read the announcement about the upcoming release of this new Mac Mini! I'm just a few days into using this new keyboard. Yes.It's.LIT!!! GREAT DECISION. If you don't have the Touch Keyboard, yet, you should!I'm enrolled in classes for AI certification so the timing of this new release is perfect for my studies in this. I already recommended the new M4 to my classmates!Like many people I did some decent upgrades for a home office during the pandemic for the "working from home" life we had to get accustomed to in those years.I have NO issues with the M4 Mac Mini. I'm finding it to be smoother and faster than my M2 Mac Mini and EXCEEDINGLY faster than my much older MacBook Pro.I handled the migration from my old Mac Mini to the new one by myself, using an Ethernet Cable to connect both Mac Mini's. The transfer took much less time than I expected! I really appreciate finding the suggestion to do the migration with the use of an ethernet cable between the two.My friends consider me a "techie". My other items includean iPad Air with WiFi + Cellular, also purchased at Best Buy, and an iPhone 12 mini. I have a 10 year old Macbook Pro. It was due for an upgrade a few years ago but the timing for me was affected by the introduction of the M1 chip by Apple. I hesitated to upgrade when the M1 came out. I'm not fond of buying into brand new technology made by anyone - so I waited. And waited. My work life has changed with less travel/mobility, so the Macbook upgrade hasn't been a priority. For now at least, the iPad Air I own is enough.My mother currently has the HP PC I purchased for her from Best Buy.I also purchased an HP Chromebook - again at Best Buy and again on one of those great sales I get notified for by being a Total Prime member.I selected an HP Chromebook on a Best Buy flash half price sale, when I began taking AI classes so that I could keep that information isolated from my Mac/Apple system and away from my mother's PC - JUST IN CASE to be safe from things I don't understand. As my understanding about AI grows I now use it across my devices.In general as far as "use" goes I don't have preferences by platform except for this -- I absolutely love the "connections" that exist with Apple devices. I love the FIND MY capabilities, and Apple's constant innovations.The M4 is an exciting upgrade and added to the new minimum RAM speed these are the best improvements made by any company recently. The quality of the build of the device, it's special new features and new capabilities, combined with its affordability is why I love this new Mac Mini.It's a great value!With it's small size one could *almost* make this a portable device.I'd recommend this!

[Rewarded Review] Mixed Feelings

Product arrived quickly. Getting up and running has been a mess. I knew apple doesn't include cables and tried to be prepared but still didn't have all of what I needed. It's been weeks now and I'm still trying to make the transfer of files happen. Talked with apple support and they were of no help working through a common mac issues with storage files building over time or with getting me connected on the App store with a previously purchased app. I transferred files from my previous Mac which immediately used up 80% of my storage on the new system. Cleared all files on the new mac mini and tried to use the cloud to download final cut pro but is was not letting me without purchasing it for what would be the 3rd time now. Then I updated just the apps to bring over ... MoreProduct arrived quickly. Getting up and running has been a mess. I knew apple doesn't include cables and tried to be prepared but still didn't have all of what I needed. It's been weeks now and I'm still trying to make the transfer of files happen. Talked with apple support and they were of no help working through a common mac issues with storage files building over time or with getting me connected on the App store with a previously purchased app. I transferred files from my previous Mac which immediately used up 80% of my storage on the new system. Cleared all files on the new mac mini and tried to use the cloud to download final cut pro but is was not letting me without purchasing it for what would be the 3rd time now. Then I updated just the apps to bring over final cut pro from my previous purchase and the app store would not take the verification code to make the necessary update to work on the new mac mini. Finally, I found my way through that and now I cannot connect to iMusic with similar access issues between both macs and my iphone. Now I'm locked out for a week because the passwords I've updated through the process three times wouldn't work. Yikes; why does it always take so much time to get things connected on a new system? I would simply like to use the product rather than become the new IT specialist for the company.

[Rewarded Review] Upgraded from the Mac Mini M2

This is one of the best super compact computers released in years. I am very happy that Apple finally caved and upped the system RAM on this edition, because the M4 SoC wouldn't have been done justice had it been paired up with 8gb of ram again.Although the 256gb SSD is incredibly annoying (size wise), it gets the job done for installing app, at least. If Apple ever ups the base amount at the same price point then it will become the undisputed best computer for $499/599 in the Apple ecosystem. Progress has been made, now the storage side needs up to par. It's still $60-100 for a good TB4 external enclosure, plus the cost of extra SSD stick.The 5 ports finally being standard is the second best change this time around. And let's not understate a very welcomed ... MoreThis is one of the best super compact computers released in years. I am very happy that Apple finally caved and upped the system RAM on this edition, because the M4 SoC wouldn't have been done justice had it been paired up with 8gb of ram again.Although the 256gb SSD is incredibly annoying (size wise), it gets the job done for installing app, at least. If Apple ever ups the base amount at the same price point then it will become the undisputed best computer for $499/599 in the Apple ecosystem. Progress has been made, now the storage side needs up to par. It's still $60-100 for a good TB4 external enclosure, plus the cost of extra SSD stick.The 5 ports finally being standard is the second best change this time around. And let's not understate a very welcomed addition - High-Impendance supported headphone jack. I tested with 300 ohm headphones, and plenty of volume was provided. These are the little things that I do appreciate and use reguarly.Overall, this is the best Mac Mini ever released.