The Apple Mac Mini M4 is an affordable powerhouse that's perfect for any office desk – and it's also utterly adorable

Mini PCs are all the rage right now and have been for at least two years. The Apple Mac Mini M4 has taken the 'mini' part and truly run with it, for it is a tiny cube of a computer. Don't let that fool you, though, for it's a powerful little box with an M4 chip.

Such is the appeal of the mini PC, Apple has not only popped an M4 chip in (M4 Pro in higher spec models), it has also redesigned the mini, making it smaller and changing up the port array.

Before we get carried away, there is no bundle discount with Apple; it's best to look to channel partners and resellers for discounts. The company is looking at small businesses here, which are more likely to have all the peripherals already.

Apple Mac Mini M4: Design

There is very little to say about the design of the M4 Mac Mini that doesn't leave you feeling like you're describing a kitten or a novelty baby outfit, because it is the cutest little computer we've ever seen. A truly mini machine that fits so snugly in your hands that you endup cradling it. And with that minimalist design that runs through the whole Apple hardware range, it is just a lovely addition to your workspace.

Neatness is its biggest appeal; it's small and takes up next to no desk space, but also doesn't really leave anything out (aside from perhaps a USB-A port). You have five USB-C slots (two front, three rear), an HDMI port, a headphone jack, an ethernet slot, and the power socket. What's more, everything is set in a way to keep things neat – all the ports are lined up so that everything fits in, nothing has reason to be tangled. From the power socket to the USB-C slots, there is ample room, with no overlap. There's only really a strange placement of the power button to complain about, but that isn't strange to people who use Mini PCs for 1U racks.

Apple Mac Mini M4: Specs and performance

Our Mac Mini review unit houses an Apple M4 chip with a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and a 16-core neural engine. We also have 16GB of unified memory and 256GB of SSD – this is the base model of Mac Mini (£599-$499), and you can go up to 64GB RAM, 8TB SSD, and the M4 Pro chip but you'll be paying out well over a grand (£1,399-$1,299).

In Geekbench 6, the M4 chip shows consistent scoring across the board, with the Mac Mini in the same range as the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air – it's also similar to the M4 Pro chip in the more expensive Mac Mini, though the multi-core score is noticeably higher. For the base M4 model, we noted a single-core score of 3,496 and a multi-core score of 14,505.

The latest version of macOS (Sequoia) is as smooth as ever, even with intensive photo editing or some light gaming – the mini is also quiet, with virtually no sounds of strain, no matter the task.

Perhaps the best part of the M4 chip, however, is the power efficiency. We've already seen this in the MacBook Pro, where there is a clearer benefit with its optimized battery performance. For the Mini, it is less obvious, but it does run cooler (part of the reason it's so small).

Apple Mac Mini M4: Features and peripherals

Apple Intelligence is also present on the Mac Mini. As with the MacBook Pro and Air, it is good, though still in its infancy. It's a similar experience to Microsoft's Copilot, with text generation, image editing, and search optimization. Having Siri answer your questions is helpful, as is the email summarizations.

The new mini only comes with the device itself and the power cord. If you want a keyboard or mouse, or trackpad, you need to purchase those separately. The thinking here is that consumers will likely already have them with older models of Mac Mini, and businesses usually have monitors and so on that are already set up on desks. ITPro, for example, still has the Apple Studio Display, the Magic Mouse, and the keyboard from a previous Mac Mini review.

If, however, you do need to purchase peripherals, a new Magic Keyboard will set you back $99(£99), a Magic Trackpad $129 (£129), and the Magic Mouse is $79 (£79). All of which have slight design changes with universal USB-C slots and cables, rather than the old Lightning cable – which is great. Although the charging port on the mouse is still on the underside of it, which is somewhat odd, it's problematic as you can't use it while it's charging.

Apple Mac Mini M4: Is it worth it?

One other area that Apple has made changes in is its pricing. While on a small drop compared to previous models, the $599 (£599) starting price is extremely competitive – noticeably cheaper than our last reviews from Geekom and Beelink.

The lack of peripherals in the box may be off-putting to some, but from a business standpoint, it isn't much more expensive to add the keyboard and mouse; most other vendors do the same, and office desks are generally already kitted out with monitors.

The M4 chip is super powerful, the user experience is great, and it fits on your desk so well you forget it's there. That's how all technology should be, useful and unobtrusive. We love the Mac Mini; it's tiny, tidy, and terrific.

Apple Mac Mini M4 specifications