Apple has unveiled a redesigned Mac mini, featuring the M4 and M4 Pro chips, a smaller form factor, front-facing ports, and Apple Intelligence. The new Mac mini is also Apple’s first carbon neutral Mac.
The new Mac mini is smaller than ever, measuring just 5 by 5 inches, less than half the size of the previous generation. Despite its size, the new Mac mini delivers impressive performance thanks to the power efficiency of Apple silicon and an innovative thermal architecture.
New Mac mini: Smaller Size, Powerful Performance
The new Mac mini is powered by the M4 and M4 Pro chips, delivering significant performance gains over the M1 model. The M4 chip boasts a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, providing up to 1.8x faster CPU performance and 2.2x faster GPU performance compared to the M1 model. For those who need even more power, the M4 Pro chip delivers up to 14 cores, including 10 performance cores and four efficiency cores, along with a 20-core GPU, which is twice as powerful as the GPU in the M4 chip. The M4 Pro also supports up to 64GB of unified memory and 273GB/s of memory bandwidth, making it ideal for demanding workloads.
Enhanced Connectivity and Display Support
The new Mac mini features a wide array of ports to drive any setup. The front-facing ports include two USB-C ports that support USB 3, and an audio jack with support for high-impedance headphones. On the back, Mac mini with M4 includes three Thunderbolt 4 ports, while Mac mini with M4 Pro features three Thunderbolt 5 ports. Mac mini comes standard with Gigabit Ethernet, configurable up to 10Gb Ethernet for faster networking speeds, and an HDMI port for easy connection to a TV or HDMI display without an adapter. With M4, Mac mini can support up to two 6K displays and up to one 5K display, and with M4 Pro, it can support up to three 6K displays at 60Hz for a total of over 60 million pixels.
A New Era with Apple Intelligence on the Mac
Apple Intelligence is a new personal intelligence system that brings powerful generative models to the Mac. Combining powerful generative models with industry-first privacy protections, Apple Intelligence harnesses the power of Apple silicon and the Neural Engine to unlock new ways for users to work, communicate, and express themselves on Mac. It is available in U.S. English with macOS Sequoia 15.1. Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools allow users to refine their words by rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text nearly everywhere they write. The newly redesigned Siri can move fluidly between spoken and typed requests to accelerate tasks, and can answer thousands of questions about Mac and other Apple products. Apple Intelligence will receive additional capabilities in the coming months, including Image Playground for creating fun original images, and Genmoji to create custom emoji in seconds. Siri will also become even more capable, with the ability to take actions across the system and draw on a user’s personal context to deliver intelligence that is tailored to them. In December, ChatGPT will be integrated into Siri and Writing Tools, allowing users to access its expertise without needing to jump between tools.
The First Carbon Neutral Mac
Apple is committed to environmental sustainability and the new Mac mini represents a major step in this journey. It is Apple’s first carbon neutral Mac, marking a significant milestone toward Apple 2030, the company’s goal to be carbon neutral across the entire carbon footprint by the end of this decade. The new Mac mini is made with over 50 percent recycled content, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled gold plating in all Apple-designed printed circuit boards, and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. The electricity used to manufacture Mac mini is sourced from 100 percent renewable electricity. To address 100 percent of the electricity customers use to power Mac mini, Apple has invested in clean energy projects around the world. Apple has also prioritized lower-carbon modes of shipping, like ocean freight, to further reduce emissions from transportation. These actions have reduced the carbon footprint of Mac mini by over 80 percent. For the small amount of remaining emissions, Apple applies high-quality carbon credits from nature-based projects, like those generated by its innovative Restore Fund.
An Unrivaled Experience with macOS Sequoia
macOS Sequoia completes the new Mac mini experience with a host of exciting features, including iPhone Mirroring, allowing users to wirelessly interact with their iPhone, its apps, and notifications directly from their Mac.7 Safari, the world’s fastest browser,8 now offers the Highlights feature, which quickly pulls up relevant information from a site; a smarter, redesigned Reader with a table of contents and high-level summary; and a new Video Viewer to watch videos without distractions. With Distraction Control, users can hide items on a webpage that they may find disruptive to their browsing. Gaming gets even more immersive with features like Personalized Spatial Audio and improvements to Game Mode, along with a breadth of exciting titles, including the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Easier window tiling means users can stay organized with a window layout that works best for them. The all-new Passwords app gives convenient access to passwords, passkeys, and other credentials — all stored in one place. And users can apply new, beautiful built-in backgrounds for video calls, which include a variety of color gradients and system wallpapers, or upload their own photos.
The M4 Mac Mini: A Smaller Footprint, But A Powerful Presence
The new Mac mini is a testament to Apple’s commitment to innovation and sustainability. With its smaller size, powerful performance, enhanced connectivity, and the arrival of Apple Intelligence, it’s more capable and versatile than ever before. The new Mac mini is available to pre-order today, with availability beginning November 8.
