Delve into the details before deciding between the latest Mac Pro and Mac Studio.
Since the advent of the company’s ‘M’ series of chips, Apple users have enjoyed blisteringly fast computing speeds on their devices making them some of the best workstations available.
The Mac Mini was a latecomer to the ‘M2’ party, as the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro were launched with M2 chips in 2022. Still, as of January 2023, Mac Mini users can enjoy the same desktop experience as portable users. Currently, Apple has both the ‘M2’ and ‘M2 Pro models.
The Mac Studio debuted in March 2022, and the M2 was released in June 2023 as the ‘Max’ and ‘Ultra’ models, capable of high-performance tasks.
However, if you own neither of these extraordinary Apple artifacts, which is best for you? In this guide, we’ll delve into the details comparing the Mac Mini M2 and the Mac Studio M2 ‘Max’ to help you decide which best fits your needs and budget.Mac Mini vs Mac Studio : Price and Availability
The Mac Studio M2 went on sale on June 13 2023. The base model starts at $1,999. As we’re writing on the release day, Apple may offer one of its signature discounts on more expensive equipment so that this number may decrease further.
A base model Mac Mini M2 will only set you back $599, though naturally, this comes at the cost of slower specs (see below).
On checking the Apple website, we found that both these machines are available in stores in the USA and for online orders, though we encourage you to check with your local Apple retailer if you’re in another country.Mac Mini vs Mac Studio : Specs
There’s little to recommend one device over another in terms of size. The base of the Mac Studio is the same size: 7.75 x 7.75 inches (19.7cm x 19.7cm) as the Mac mini, but the Mac Studio is slightly taller: 3.7 inches (9.5cm) rather than 1.41 inches (3.58cm).
The Mac Mini M2 lives up to its name at just 2.6 pounds (1.18kg). The Mac Studio weighs a much heftier 5.9 lb (2.7kg), though neither machine will break anyone’s back if carried.
If you’re comparing base hardware specifications, the Mac Studio M2 Max is a clear winner compared to the Mac Mini M2.
It comes with a 12-core CPU and 30-core GPU vs. the Mac Mini’s count of 8 & 10, respectively. This is one time when upgrading won’t make much difference, as even adding $300 to a Mac Mini M2 Pro ($1299) will ‘only’ net you a 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU.
Both models sport a 16-core neural engine. The Mac Studio M2 Max comes with a base unified memory of 32GB vs. the base model Mac Mini M2’s 8GB, but you can even this out by adding $400 to the cost of your Mac Mini. This still costs almost $1,000 less than the Mac Studio M2 Max.
The Mac Mini M2 has 100GB/s memory bandwidth versus 400GB/s for the Mac Studio M2 Max.
The base model Mac Mini M2 has a 256GB SSD versus the Mac Studio M2 Max’s 512GB. Again, you can customize your Mac Mini order to upgrade to a 512GB for an extra $200.
Overall this means you can have virtually the same specs (excluding CPU/GPU) on the Mac Mini for around $1200: around $800 less than the cost of a Mac Studio. It’s down to you to decide if it’s worth paying that much extra for four extra CPU cores and 20 extra GPU cores.Mac Mini vs Mac Studio : Ports
As these are both desktop devices, we have high expectations regarding ports.
The base model Mac Mini M2 is no slouch in this area: it comes with two Thunderbolt 4 ports. two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, A Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The Mac Studio M2 Max lives up to its name in maximizing its ports.
