Why the M4 Mac mini Will Be My Best Mac Ever!

In this article, I want to do things differently. I will write about why the new M4 Mac mini is the most fantastic Mac ever and share my thoughts gathered during a week of Mac announcements. Let’s get down to it.

First thing first: I’m a Mac fan. I’ve been such a fan for quite some time and wrote about it extensively. I tried to use recent Macs in recent years because I spend so much time working with them that I want the best. I’ve been a longtime desktop fan with many iMac models (2005, 2007, 2010, 2017), but in recent years, thanks to the Apple Silicon chip, I made a turn and started adding Mac portables to my digital life. This article was written mainly using an M2 15-inch MacBook Air.

Sunday night, October 27th, 2024.

I’m rather excited for the upcoming week. Is it because I'm in for an updated Mac mini? Coming from a M1 Mac mini, Probably. Following this tease from Greg Joswiak last week, it's official: the week ahead is all about the Mac. The first announcement should arrive on Monday, probably around 9 AM EST. I'm wondering what is going to be announced first. Is Apple going to play the crescendo game with the Mac mini announced last? If so, the iMac could be the first to come out with updated accessories using a USB-C connection. Will Apple show off redesigned accessories, or will they play it safe and leave it as it is now? The maligned Magic Mouse should be tweaked with a more intelligent way of recharging it. I’ve been using the Magic Mouse for many years, and I think it is due for an ergonomic revisit. Anyhow, tomorrow can't come soon enough.

Monday, early morning, October 28th, 2024.

I’m just having my coffee, going through my RSS feeds, and looking for any last-minute news or rumours, but nothing is worth mentioning except this bingo card by the Basic Apple Guy. It's an entertaining read. He thinks Apple will start with the Mac mini announcement, but I disagree with this prediction. He seems to imply that there will be some videos, but I don't think so. I hope we will get more than a press release in the Newsroom. Will we get a $499 Mac mini configuration? Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath. Will we get a space black Mac mini? I doubt it. Apple is so predictable these days. A dedicated Apple Intelligence button on the new Magic Keyboard? We didn't have a Siri button. I don't think we will get a dedicated button for Apple Intelligence. The day is still young, but I’ll learn more very soon.

Monday, 9:10 AM, October 28th, 2024

Refresh the Apple Newsroom webpage in my browser. Refresh the Apple Newsroom webpage in my browser. Refresh the Apple Newsroom webpage in my browser. Nothing shows up yet. Maybe at 10 AM EST?

Monday, 11:30 AM, October 28th, 2024

I was busy at work and missed the announcement timing, which was at 11 AM EST.

The first press releases (with a video announcement, a stripped-down version of a keynote, or a glorified press release?) came out thirty minutes ago, and as expected, the iMac was the first to receive the M4 treatment. Comparisons are made against the M1 iMac, which I find questionable, but they yield great numbers. Compared to the Intel-based iMac, this is even more questionable, but I guess Apple sees that many iMac owners are still using such old iMacs and wish for them to upgrade. This iMac is the best all-in-one design, but it's not for me anymore. I prefer having a separate screen, a bigger one for that matter. I'm using an Apple Studio display, which I really like.

The keyboard and mouse now have USB-C ports, too, but there is no word on where the USB-C port is located on the Magic Mouse. A nano texture option comes to the iMac, a first and pricey option. There is no significant change of colours. Meh.

Yet, for people like me who use an M1 Mac, the M4 represents a giant leap forward.

Of course, Apple touts Apple Intelligence as the most beneficial workflow for getting M4 processing power. That’s not surprising. They have a dedicated press release for iOS 18.1 et al. that sports the first Apple Intelligence features.

Monday, 5:30 PM, October 28th, 2024

Reactions are favourable for the beefed-up iMac, which includes new capabilities like better support for a two-display setup. Pricing for the now USB-C-only peripheral also increased slightly, at least in Canada, reaching new heights and near-obscene levels.

Still, the iMac is a super-looking computer.

I am turning my attention to tomorrow morning, 11 AM EST.

Monday, 8:04 PM, October 28th, 2024

I’m still digging into today’s news. I found this information tidbits about the low-end iMac configuration encouraging: the 10-code M4 CPU configuration will support two external displays, which could have been possible only for higher-end configurations. This bodes well for the M4 Mac mini.

Tuesday, early morning, October 29th, 2024

What a spoiler this morning when Amazon leaked the next Mac mini on their website! Apparently, the leak occurred yesterday night after I went to bed, but it has been fixed this morning. MacRumors still has the information. A comparison of different Mac models was briefly available, showing the new Mac mini design, which I include here. Oops.

Visually, if images are at scale, the Mac mini is much similar to the Mac Studio and comes with two USB-C ports in the front on the left and something else on the right, but it’s hard to see. It might be a headphone jack because it is a black circle. The only finish available is silver, which is disappointing; a space black version would have been fantastic.

The Mac mini’s spec sheet suggests it is much more powerful than its predecessor. It shows a maximum of 64 GB of RAM, 20 GPU cores, and 8TB of storage. However, we don’t know about the entry-level configuration yet, which is much closer to what I’ll get.

Even with this last-minute leak, I’m more excited about the new Mac mini. I can infer some pricing guesses and see the price going upward in the $2K CAN range for a configuration I will buy. Ouch.

Tuesday, 11 AM, October 29th, 2024

The mighty M4 Mac mini is now officially announced! From what I’m reading, what a machine this is: compact, beautiful, but powerful, with all the right ports at the right place. I’ll be ordering one in mid-November. Reactions are overwhelmingly positive, if not enthusiastic. It's probably the best Mac mini ever to ship.

The video segment for this announcement is slightly more than 12 minutes long. I particularly like the use of the tilt-shift effect during the introduction. The Apple headquarters building seems like a miniature replica. The following shots illustrate the video’s particular visual vibe.

In the following image, we expect the reveal of the new Mac mini, but instead, we are presented with the current one quickly followed by the new Mac mini, which is much smaller. I like this sense of humour. I also think it references the old-style reveal on stage by Steve Jobs back in the day.

This is my desktop Mac for the next five years: M4 Pro Mac mini with 12 CPU cores, 16 GPU cores, 16 Neural Engine cores, 24 GB of RAM and 2TB SSD. Compared to the M1 chip, the M4 is a significant leap forward. According to the Geekbench website, the M1 is rated at 8661, while the M2 Pro is rated at 12726 and the M3 Pro at 14042 in the multicore benchmark. We are close to a 2x increase here. I can’t wait to experience the difference.

Since I’m using a RODE wireless microphone for video and podcast recording, the receiver plugs into a headphone jack on the back of my current Mac mini. It’s not very convenient. Now, being on the front, it is. There is a little controversy about the power button placement. It can’t be worse than the current design, and I would argue it is better. Looking at the videos, I think the power button is not entirely flush with the button case, which will help locate it with the touch of a finger.

Now, the only question is: when should I place my order? I’ll probably wait until mid-November, when I return from my one-week vacation.

Tomorrow, it’s Wednesday, the third and last Mac-related announcement. MacBook Pro is next, but I’m surprised the Mac mini announcement came before. I would have thought that Apple would keep the newly redesigned Mac for last. The sequence seems tied to the Apple Silicon chips, not the Mac model itself. Anyway, there might be an even more significant announcement tomorrow. Who knows?

Wednesday, 7:10 AM, October 30th, 2024

This morning, I tried configuring the M4 Mac mini on the Apple Store app that I will order to see if shipping dates have started to slip. It’s not the case. Apple probably has good inventories. I’ll keep an eye on this over the next few weeks. Also, I’ve been testing buying through the university store for better pricing, and I could save $200 CAN. If I apply a trade-in value for my M1 Mac mini (a $225 CAN value), the final price would be $2,219 CAN. That’s a lot of money.

Wednesday, 11:05 AM, October 30th, 2024

As expected, the MacBook Pro with the M4 chip was announced. The video segment is the longest of the three, at 16m33s. For the first time, the nano-texture display option is available on the MacBook Pro, adding another set of price points.

All Macs now come with 16 GB of base memory, including the MacBook Air, a surprise move. This could also mean an M4-based MacBook Air might come later, like next Spring.

My wife is looking to get a Mac for the first time. She’s looking at the MacBook Pro and will probably settle for the 14-inch, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD version. She plans to use two external displays. She’s a Windows laptop user, and she is in for a shock.

It was an excellent week for the Mac in general. I feel that Apple is excelling on all counts. The Mac lineup is straightforward, with the Air and Pro for laptops and the iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro lines for desktops. A plethora of configurations are available for each line at various price points. The message around Apple Intelligence is loud and clear. I counted 14 references to Apple Intelligence on the MacBook Pro mini website alone, 16 on the iMac mini website, and 16 on the Mac mini website. That’s a lot.