Simply in time for Halloween, Apple has delivered a brand new model of its smallest Mac, which you would in all probability even match into a type of plastic pumpkins.
As a present Mac mini person (and somebody who’s owned three or 4 of them over time), I eyed at the moment’s announcement with curiosity and, if we’re being painfully trustworthy, no small quantity of envy. This M2 Professional Mac mini sitting on my desk? It’s high quality. Properly, honestly, it’s higher than high quality: it’s nice. I exploit it daily and it by no means bats a watch at any process I throw in its path. It’s only a yr and a half outdated, and as we all know with Apple Silicon Macs, these items final. (Simply ask my M1 MacBook Air.)
However the siren track of the brand new and glossy is at all times alluring, and I’d be mendacity if I mentioned I hadn’t already priced out a brand new M4 mannequin inside a couple of minutes of its announcement. However in true Halloween trend, there are some spoooooky elements to contemplate that make a swap not fairly easy as you may assume.
Deal with: The mini-est Mac ever
It’s jut so wee. At 5 inches sq., the M4 Mac mini is greater than a 3rd smaller in each width and depth than its 7.75-inch predecessor—in reality, it’s nearer in footprint to the three.66 inches of the Apple TV 4K. (Though at 2 inches, it’s a bit taller than each the M2 mini and the Apple TV.) I received’t say my desk area is at a premium—all you must do is take a look at the junk strewn throughout it—however the concept of releasing up some room is agreeable, as is the truth that the M4 fashions weigh a couple of pound lower than the M2 fashions—aluminum could also be mild, however it’s nonetheless metallic.
Trick: Reminiscence video games
My present M2 Professional Mac mini has 32GB of RAM; the M4 Professional Mac mini ships customary with 24GB of RAM, however the improve choices are 48GB for an additional $400 or 64GB for an additional $600. That’s not an insignificant value to fulfill (and, to be truthful, beat) my present specs. Would I select to pay the cash or downgrade? Now that’s a dilemma.
Deal with: USB-C what I did there?
I’ve been calling for this ever since Apple proved it might put ports on the entrance of its desktop Macs with the Mac Studio, and I’m happy as punch it delivered. No extra maneuvering behind my mini or Studio Show once I need to plug in a thumb drive or safety key. I might even plug within the audio interface on my desk with a shorter wire if I wanted to. Comfort! Operate over kind! Who would have thunk it!
Deal with/Trick: Audio port affront
…Wait, there’s an audio jack within the entrance too? Look, having simply extolled the virtues of front-mounted USB-C ports, I really feel that I might be a cad to ding the design for placing the headphone jack there too. In any case, should you’re plugging in headphones, you don’t need to root round in again of the mini each time.
Besides I exploit my audio port to maintain a pair of desktop audio system plugged in, which is a little bit awkward from a cable administration perspective. Positive, I might use a dongle, I assume, however then I’m consuming up a useful Thunderbolt 5 port for audio system. Possibly it’s time to—*gasp*—lastly ditch these desktop screens in favor of the Studio Show’s built-in ones.
Trick: Commerce-in shun
Sure, I did go forward and worth out precisely how a lot Apple would give me for my pristine Mac mini with a ten core CPU/16 core GPU M2 Professional, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It’s virtually model new, nicely, from April 2023. And the consequence was…$445.
Look, I’m not saying that’s nothing in comparison with the price of a model new pc, however it’s on the sobering facet. They are saying your pc loses half the worth if you drive it off the Apple Retailer lot, however that’s extra like two-thirds! I’d in all probability fare higher promoting it elsewhere.
Finally, I feel an M4 Professional Mac mini is sadly not in my future, although I hold getting misty-eyed once I take a look at the photographs. However excellent news: given the final design of the Mac mini lasted successfully fourteen years, this one’s not going anyplace quickly. So I assume there’s at all times the M5.
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His latest novel, the supernatural detective story All Souls Lost, is out now.]
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