Opinion: Mac mini M4 – from bottom to top

For a long time, the Mac mini was obviously Apple's unloved child: the graphics of the computing gnome were lame, the RAM was scarce – the space on the sluggish hard disk anyway. "The Mac mini is basically an iBook in cuboid form, and you shouldn't expect any performance miracles," my colleague Johannes Schuster attested to the first model in the c't test back in 2005. This was a calculated move, as Apple pushed the price of the basic model down to less than 500 euros to make it more attractive for newcomers. No wonder the company skimped where it could: Apple consequently cut out all peripherals and advertised the mini as "BYOKDM – Bring your own Keyboard, Display and Mouse". Loosely translated: Put a few extra bills on top for the accessories.

An opinion by Holger Zelder

Holger Zelder has been writing for Mac & i since 2016. In addition to Apple hardware ranging from AirPods to the Watch, the media scholar focuses on topics such as 3D modeling, smart home, and security. The right to repair and its background are also among his areas of expertise.

But despite - or perhaps because of - its economical features, the mini found its fans. For many young customers, it was their entry into the Apple world. The computing power of later (Intel) models was completely sufficient for surfing, office work and streaming. The mini worked unpretentiously in schools, universities and data centers, as a file server in small offices or as a media center on the TV.

Alongside the increasingly popular notebooks and the larger, ever faster desktop Macs, the mini played a minor role for Apple and probably only accounted for a tiny proportion of Mac sales. The company lost interest in special server versions after a short time. Industry observers repeatedly shook their heads and even conjured up the end of the mini, which had to make do without any product maintenance for four years in between. The last Intel version with its space gray unibody housing was stylish, but at a hefty 900 euros starting price it was too expensive and still slower than the rest of the portfolio.

A Mac in the three-digit price range

The fact that the mini was one of the first Macs to switch to Apple Silicon surprised experts, but gave the computer a revival: the M chip sped up the mini than many Intel computers and put it on a par with the MacBook Pro and iMac. In 2023, Apple gave it a chip for the first time with the M2 Pro, which was actually reserved for professional devices. Even cloud operators such as AWS took a liking to the nimble midget Mac and are now cramming it into server racks in droves to virtualize macOS.

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The latest update is once again full of surprises: With the new M4 chip, the mini plays in the top league, with a fresh design to boot. With the entry-level device for a moderate 700 euros, you get a fast computer that will work well for years. Our colleague Schuster has again checked whether the more expensive and faster model with M4 Pro will also satisfy demanding customers. You can read his verdict on the new M4 Macs in our review of the Mac mini M4.

The editorial first appeared in Mac & i 6/2024 (hze)