Lengthy awaited: An improved Mac Mini is the second M4 Mac that Apple launched this week, and a brand new MacBook Professional will possible observe within the coming days. Marking the primary main Mac Mini overhaul in almost 15 years, the brand new mannequin debuts with the M4 Professional chip and is the primary Mac Mini to help Thunderbolt 5.
Pre-orders are actually open for 2 new Mac Mini variants with the M4 and M4 Professional processors, and shipments will start on November 8. Costs begin at $599 for the M4 mannequin and $1,399 for the M4 Professional variant, and college students are eligible for a $100 low cost. in every mannequin.
The bottom mannequin options the M4 chip, beforehand launched within the newest iPads and within the up to date iMac revealed earlier this week. In comparison with final 12 months’s Mac Mini with the M2 chip, the M4 gives two extra effectivity cores, for a complete of 10 cores, and features a 16-core Neural Engine able to 38 TOPS for improved efficiency, notably with Apple’s new generative AI toolchain.
Apple IntelligenceNow obtainable on any Mac or iPad with an M-series chip, in addition to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Professional, it turned publicly obtainable this week. Apple GenAI You possibly can summarize textual content choices, mechanically set up notifications, edit photos, right a person’s writing, and extra.
The brand new Mac Mini additionally follows Apple’s latest development of launching units with 16GB of unified RAM as a substitute of the earlier 8GB. Prospects can configure the M4 mannequin with as much as 32GB of RAM, whereas the M4 Professional model helps as much as 64GB. Storage choices vary from 256GB to 2TB on the bottom mannequin, whereas the M4 Professional gives between 512GB and 8TB.
The M4 Professional variant of the Mini stands out with 10 efficiency cores, in comparison with the M2 Professional’s eight, bringing the overall to 14 cores. Moreover, the GPU now has 20 cores, up from 19, and contains hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Reminiscence bandwidth has additionally elevated, from 200 GB/s to 273 GB/s.
Apple claims that Logic Professional can now help as much as 1.8 occasions extra audio results plugins on the M4 Professional in comparison with the M2 Professional, and that Blender renders will be accomplished nearly 3 times quicker.
Wired connectivity marks one other vital change for this 12 months’s Mac Mini. Each fashions now have two USB-C 3.0 ports and an audio jack positioned on the entrance. The M4 mannequin options three rear Thunderbolt 4 ports, whereas the M4 Professional upgrades them to Thunderbolt 5, bringing the 80Gbps connection protocol to the road for the primary time.
Apple marks the event by promoting a brand new one-meter Thunderbolt 5 cable for $69. The Cupertino big is thought for charging a premium for equipment, however a cursory search on Newegg finds half-meter cables for round $30, roughly in step with Apple’s value.
Nevertheless, OWC gives a one-meter Thunderbolt 5 cable for $40. As Thunderbolt 5 expertise turns into extra widespread, pricing choices are anticipated to develop.
The brand new Mac Mini additionally brings a significant {hardware} redesign from the 2010 M1 mannequin. Measuring 2x5x5 inches, the up to date mannequin is barely taller however considerably shorter, thinner and lighter, and resembles an Apple TV.
