Apple Mac mini (M4) review

Our Mac mini (M4) review reveals how Apple’s newest mini desktop performed in our expert tests. Find out if it’s worth your money and if it’s suitable as a MacBook laptop replacement.

Apple’s new Mac mini (M4) is the biggest redesign of the Mac mini since 2010, and it's a lot smaller than before – just 5 inches square and 2 inches thick. Do these new portable-friendly dimensions make it suitable as a laptop replacement, and how does it perform compared to MacBooks? 

Our expert tests provide the answers in our Apple Mac mini review.

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Mac mini (M4, 2024) review: what you need to know

The new Mac mini launched in October 2024. Its miniaturised rounded square shell measures 5cm x 12.7cm x 12.7cm (H x W x D) and weighs just 0.67kg (0.73kg for the top-end M4 Pro version). The main power supply is also built into the miniature unit, so there is no need for an external power brick.

Like Apple’s latest MacBooks, the mini sports Apple’s new M4 chip (the M4 Pro in the top-end version). This features the M4 Neural Engine - Apple claims this can perform up to 38tn operations per second, more than double the advertised performance of the M3. This means the Mac mini is capable of running the Apple Intelligence AI software on-device. It uses unified memory, meaning there isn’t dedicated graphics memory, and graphics use a portion of the computer’s Ram.

On the front, there are two USB-C ports and a headphones socket. On the back, the M4 versions have three fast Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports while the top-spec M4 Pro has three even-faster Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports. On the back, there’s also a gigabit ethernet port and HDMI port.

Mac mini specs and prices

At launch, there are four specifications of the 2024 Mac mini to choose from, starting from £599:

Mac mini memory and storage

As is usual with Apple computers, if you feel you need more storage than the base spec, Apple charges a premium for upgrades that greatly exceeds the cost of the parts. Doubling the storage to 512GB, for example, costs £200 more (£599 vs £799). 

That said, while the cost for Ram upgrades is not cheap, the Mac mini offers unified memory. So you’re getting more usable bang for your buck than separate, dedicated normal Ram, video Ram and GPU Ram. This is because the mini's memory can be fully used across a diverse range of tasks, rather than being reserved for any specialist area (such as a video game graphics card).

What monitors does the Mac mini support?

You have plenty of options, including very high-resolution displays (up to 8k, which is very high-end, even for TVs). 

The M4 versions support connecting:

• Up to three displays: two displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, or 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI, or
• Up to two displays: one display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI

The M4 Pro supports:

• Up to three displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI, or

• Up to two displays: one display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI

Mac mini (M4, 2024) review

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Can I use a Mac mini as a laptop?

Since the Mac Mini is a portable size, you might consider carrying it in your bag between screens set up at a workplace and a home office. You will need a monitor, keyboard and mouse. 

But what if you need to do any work on the move?

We connected it to a £100 portable monitor touchscreen (HDR 1920x1200) using an HDMI to USB-C video capture card (around £16) to try it out. The display measured 21.3cm x 31.5cm x 1.6cm (H x W x D) and weighed a light 0.5kg.

The experience proved pretty substandard. At just under 500g, the display was light and portable, but it wasn't very bright. Screen images lagged a bit when moving windows around, and text appeared rather large. This isn't the fault of the Mac mini, though, as we know it works well with standard monitors (those typically around £200).

You could connect your Mac mini to an iPad, but we found this disappointing. An alternative solution would be to use a portable display and an iPad together - either as a duplicate image or an extended display.

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Can a Mac Mini be connected to an iPad?

Technically, yes, if you’re persistent. But not really. Unfortunately, using an iPad as a portable screen isn’t officially supported by Apple -- the iPad will not plug in and boot up as a screen for a desktop computer. You can only use the iPad as a second screen extension for the Mac Mini.

There are workarounds to use an iPad as your primary screen, but the experience is pretty impractical. 

To do this, you need to buy an HDMI to USB-C video capture card (around £16), and then:

1. Download the Orion app from the app store.
2. Connect the iPad to the HDMI to USB-C video capture card, then connect the capture card to a HDMI cable with the other end connected to the Mac Mini.
3. Once connected, open the Orion app and select view manual. The app will open another window where is asks you to pull to open from left to right of the screen.
4. Once this is done a load up screen will appear. This then tells you what is required for this to work (i.e. the video capture card you’re using or other devices such as select Apple Macs, PCs and various other devices).
5. When you press Continue, this will bring up another load-up screen and then the iPad will ask you to allow notifications followed by asking for permission to use the camera.

When using the Mac mini, the Mac mini system is not able to control the camera in the iPad - therefore there is no video calling, such as Skype or Facetime functionality, available to the Mac Mini user. Photo Booth is, likewise, unable to take a picture using the iPad camera.

The iPad Pro, once connected as a monitor, displays at a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. Text appears rather small and thin and the display appears to be resized - so at the top and bottom of the usable iPad screen there are thick black borders taking up around 20% of the usable space. The motion when using the mouse and moving the windows appears slightly laggy and not as smooth as an Apple Studio Display.

 The iPad touch display can’t be used to control the Mac mini, so you need a separate keyboard and mouse.

Another inconvenience is that, with the iPad being connected via the HDMI cable to the HDMI to USB-C video connector, the iPad can't be charged at the same time. Meaning using the iPad in this manner will deplete its battery unless you have the iPad mounted into the Apple iPad keyboard and stand, which has a separate USB-C port for charging.

You could also use a portable display and iPad together as either a duplicate image or as an extended display.

Best iPads - find out which is the best iPad to buy, plus which reputable retailers have the best prices.

Can I use a Mac mini with an external hard drive?

You can hook up any external hard drive via the USB-C or Thunderbolt connection. The drive will appear in the mini's MacOS filing system. 

You can then use this as extra storage or as a backup. Either way, it's worth doing as the Mac mini's storage is stingy. The basic spec gives you only 256GB and even the most expensive £1,399 M4 Pro Mac mini still only comes with 512GB.

If you want to use it as a backup, MacOS comes with TimeMachine. This takes a real-time image of your folders - you can set it up so it saves to your external hard drive. You can find out more about how to do this on the Apple website. Apple recommends that you buy an external drive that's at least double the size of your Mac's hard drive. 

You will also have access to Apple's iCloud service. Find out why Which? has filed a landmark legal claim against Apple for failing to provide a choice of cloud storage providers and steering customers towards its own iCloud service.

Many apps allow you to choose where to save your content. For example, Apple Logic Pro lets you move your sound library onto an external drive. Be sure to back up your data regularly.

Mac mini vs MacBook Pro

Which? members can log in to reveal how the Mac mini compared to the MacBook Pro. Not yet a Which? member? You can join Which? to unlock the member-exclusive content on this page plus all of our expert online reviews.

Our lab tests compared the Mac mini's performance with the more expensive £1,599 Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro M4, £1,699 14-inch MacBook Pro M3, £2,599 16-Inch MacBook Pro M3 and the very expensive £2,280 Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro

Keen on buying a MacBook? Find out which is the best MacBook for your budget, plus which retailers have the best prices.

Mac mini vs MacBook Air

Which? members can log in to reveal our Mac mini review to find out how it compared to the MacBook Air. Not yet a Which? member? You can join Which?.

We compared the Mac mini's performance in our lab tests with the £1,099 Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3, 2024) and £1,299 Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M3, 2024).

Mac mini - how to save if you're a student or teacher

Are you a higher education student or a parent buying for a higher education student? Maybe you're a teacher or lecturer? Provided you can verify this via student offers website Unidays, you can qualify for an educational savings discount with Apple.

This means you can buy the base spec Mac Mini M4 for £499 - saving £100. Go to the Apple Education Store to find out more.

Need something more portable? See our expert pick of the best laptops for students.