The M4 Pro Mac mini is possibly the best deal in computing in late 2025, boasting an impressive amount of power for pros that rivals the Mac Studio and Mac Pro in a tiny package.
Mac Mini M4 Pro
The M4 Pro Mac mini is possibly the best deal in computing in late 2025, boasting an impressive amount of power for pros that rivals the Mac Studio and Mac Pro in a tiny package.
When it comes to desktop Mac models, the Mac mini is always considered the entry-level and cheap option, while the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are performance beasts. With the introduction of the M4 Pro Mac mini, Apple has flipped the script — at least for now.
We’ve already looked at the entry-level M4 Mac mini. The M4 Pro Mac mini is a reasonably priced upgrade for people who desire great performance, all in a tiny package.
Mac mini M4
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The Mac Studio and Mac Pro are still stuck on M2. Upgrades to both aren’t expected until halfway through 2025, so the New Mac mini with M4 Pro could be the interim upgrade for a Pro that needs power now and can’t wait for M4 Ultra.
M4 Pro Mac mini review – Design and dimensions
Part of Apple’s overhaul of the Mac mini design, the M4 Pro version has the same external appearance as its M4 counterpart. The 7.75-inch rounded flat square has transformed into a 5-inch rounded square, shrinking its desk presence.
At 2 inches, it’s also a little taller than the 1.41-inch previous Mac mini design. It’s still made of aluminum, though, and has a round base section that handles ventilation.
The recomposition of the Mac mini has also forced a few interesting changes.
For a start, Apple couldn’t fit all of the ports on the back of the Mac mini simply because there wasn’t enough room. As a compromise, some USB-C connections have been brought to the front alongside the headphone jack.
It’s a compromise and a massive departure from the usual Mac mini design philosophy.
The height increase and width decrease also make it resemble a Mac Studio but in miniature. One larger compromise is with power, in that the power button is now located underneath the Mac mini.
This sounds like a bad design idea, as you have to lift it up to access the button. But even so, most users will be putting the Mac mini to sleep, rarely needing the physical power button at all.
How much this matters really depends on how often you shut down your machine. It’s aggravated somewhat by needing to use the Terminal to set startup and wakeup times, but it’s not really a major crisis.
M4 Mac mini review – Specifications, versus M2 Mac miniM4 Pro Mac mini review – Connectivity and Thunderbolt 5
As for the wireless side, there’s Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. These are fairly standard, but also connections that you will only really benefit from if you have the infrastructure or supporting peripherals that use it.
There’s no Wi-Fi 7 here as there is in the iPhone. We’re not sure why this was decided, especially on the higher-end Mac mini, but it’s not a huge crisis at the moment.
The position of ports isn’t the only change to the connectivity in the M4 Pro Mac mini. The selection has also changed to match the new design.
The back of the M4 Mac mini has an HDMI connection, a trio of Thunderbolt ports, and Gigabit Ethernet, which you can pay to upgrade to a 10-gig version.
Around the front are a pair of USB-C ports, offering USB 3 support and 10Gb/s speeds. There’s also the headphone jack, which supports high-impedance headphones, a now-standard feature change.
The pair of USB-A ports from the old Mac mini have been consigned to the trash can of history. If you really need them, your best bet is to take advantage of a Thunderbolt dock.
Thunderbolt 5 will be the star of the show — eventually
Speaking of Thunderbolt, the M4 Pro model improves here over the M4 Mac mini.
