Apple Mac Mini M4: Is it worth it?

I've always had a thing for Mac mini. Tiny, quiet, capable of doing incredible things without being noticed. And with the M4 Apple decided to go even further.

Result? It's more compact, more powerful and — spoiler — even harder to ignore.

Design: very small but pissed off

Apple decided that the old design was too big and cut out everything superfluous.

The new Mac mini It is 42% more compact, it weighs half as much and it still has that minimalist look that makes it perfect for any desk.

It's not as small as an Apple TV, but it takes up very little space.

Oh, and the power button? It ended up downstairs.

Why? You don't know, but you'll never turn it off anyway.

Porte: we're almost there

Finally, two USB-C and a headphone jack are in front of us (thanks Apple, it was about time).

Behind, the usual equipment with HDMI, Ethernet and two other USB-C, which, however, are Thunderbolt 4.

The SD reader is missing and a couple more ports would have been nice, but now Apple is like this: minimalist to the extreme.

The good news?

The power supply is still integrated, so no external bricks on the desk.

Performance: fly!

The M4 chip is a splinter. You turn it on and in a moment you're up and running.

Browsing, streaming, office work? Perfect.

Programming, photo editing and even some light video editing? Even better.

Single-core performance is among the best on the market and the responsiveness of the system is impressive.

It doesn't have the raw power of the Pro and Max models, but for everyday use it's spatial.

Gaming? Ni

With Apple we always hope so, but the Mac mini it's not a gaming PC.

It works with optimized games (Resident Evil Village and Lies of P are great at 1080p/1440p), but if you want to play seriously, you'd better look elsewhere.

The GPU does its job, but don't expect miracles: the absence of dedicated graphics is felt.

Too bad, because with a little boost, it could become a screaming mini-console.

Quiet and thrifty

The great thing about Apple Silicon is that you can push the Mac mini for hours without it becoming an oven.

The fan is barely spinning and the consumption is ridiculous: even under stress, it stays cool and quiet.

The only problem? The cooling system is a bit tight and in extreme situations the temperature rises a bit too high.

Nothing critical, but they could have done better.

Price and conclusions: best buy?

At 729€ it's a bargain. The Mac mini M4 It is the perfect machine for 90% of users: small, fast, quiet and with ridiculous consumption.

The only real flaw is the 256GB SSD in the base model, which is now ridiculous in 2024.

But if it's enough for you, or if you add an external drive, it's the best mini PC out there. Apple has done it again.

If I were to buy it for myself, I would probably choose the version with 512GB SSD.

The starting 16GB of RAM is fine for most users, and the absence of the 8GB configuration is a big step forward.

Apple has come up with a solid product, improved in everything, with an almost unrivaled quality-price ratio.

PRO

✔ Even more compact design
✔ Top performance for everyday use
✔ Quiet and energy efficient
✔ Finally two front USB-C
✔ Built-in power supply
✔ Very competitive price, on Amazon It is often on offer

AGAINST

✖ 256GB SSD in the base model, in 2024 it's a joke
✖ Rear doors still few
✖ Power button below: Apple, why?!
✖ Upgradable cooling system