The original Mac Studio still offers a lot of performance, but a comparatively-priced M4 Pro Mac mini offers a better deal. Here’s what $1,200 could get you in either Mac flavor.
The original Mac Studio still offers a lot of performance, but a comparatively-priced M4 Pro Mac mini offers a better deal. Here’s what $1,200 could get you in either Mac flavor.
Introduced in March 2022, the Mac Studio promised high performance in a compact casing. Effectively a Mac mini on steroids, the Mac Studio aimed high with its performance, while still sticking to the concept of a small block of computing power.
The Apple Silicon chip generations have flown by, with the newest Mac models sporting an M4 chip. This may be a three-generation difference, but the original Mac Studio is still showing its worth to consumers.
You can still pick up an M1 Max Mac Studio for around $1,400, if you know where to look.
A new Mac buyer seeking a Mac Studio may potentially find the latest Mac mini to be a better purchase. Especially if they were to invest a similar amount of money into the configuration.
Here’s how a base M1 Max Mac Studio compares against $1,399 of modern M4 Pro Mac mini.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio — SpecificationsM4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio — Design, weight, size
When the Mac Studio was introduced, it earned commentary of being a much taller Mac mini. In many respects, that’s quite true, but not anymore.
For a start, it used the same 7.7-inch by 7.7-inch rounded square footprint the Mac mini was known for. Except here, it’s over twice as tall, at 3.7 inches.
It’s still made with an aluminum enclosure, though with an overall package size tipping the scale at 5.9 pounds.
To the rear Apple included a strong selection of ports as usual. Around the front, Apple included two more ports, with the M1 Max including a pair of USB 3 Type-C connections while the Ultra used Thunderbolt 4 again.
An SDXC card slot at the front also made it useful for videographers and photographers.
The Mac mini, for the M4 and M4 Pro launch, has been given a considerable facelift. Its redesign includes a much smaller body, with a footprint of 5 inches square and a two-inch height.
This does make it less flat and more squat than before, and could be likened to a tiny Mac Studio.
Adding to the comparison is the extra ports on the front of the Mac mini, borrowing the idea from the Mac Studio. Those ports are USB-C with support for USB 3 speeds, so up to 10Gbps.
One other big difference is the sheer amount of venting on the rear of the Mac Studio. It’s a tall enclosure, so it made sense to take advantage of the lesser-seen space.
There is no such venting on the rear of the Mac mini, since it’s too small and occupied with ports. The venting is in the base, as usual.
There is one more unusual change for the Mac mini, in that the power button is now in the base of the device. While this will mean you’ll have to pick up the Mac mini to power it on, you can still reach around the rear to power the Mac Studio.
There’s obviously going to be a big difference in weight. The Mac Studio comes in at 5.9 pounds, while the M4 Pro Mac mini is a petite 1.6 pounds.
Mac mini m4
Save up to $50, plus $20 off AppleCare, with promo code APINSIDER at Adorama.M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio — Processing
Powering the M1 Max Mac Studio was, as the name indicates, an M1 Max chip. This consists of a 10-core CPU, using eight performance cores and two efficiency cores.
It was paired with a 24-core GPU, though it was configurable to 32 cores if you wished.
