Apple launches are our favorite time of year because they are so random, but always very rewarding.with the announcement of the new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro chips And given its competitive price (oddly affordable by Apple standards), we compared the 2020 version of the Mac mini with the M1 chip to the new model to see how they fared. We’ll see if it works.
Is it worth getting the latest Mini?
The Mac mini (M1, 2020) sits in our No. 2 spot. best pc list And for good reason. It keeps all the powerful hardware under a very sleek and compact hood and runs even the most demanding, memory-hungry programs without a hitch (the PC is virtually silent). With such a beloved desktop PC holding its place for so long, it will be very interesting to see if a new model with a new chip can take the top spot.
M1 Mac mini vs. M2 Mac mini: Pricing and Availability
M1Mac mini In 2020, it will hit the market starting at $699 (£699 or AU$1,099) along with the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) and MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020). This trio introduced Apple’s first in-house silicon chip, proving how powerful Apple’s first chips were compared to existing rivals like Intel.
The base model’s $699 price tag is cheaper than its 2018 predecessor, which started at $799 (£651 or AU$1,141) at baseline. It is no longer available for purchase.
The new Mac mini (M2, 2023) starts at $599, which is an amazing launch price for Apple. Considering the doubling of memory bandwidth, having 8K and gaming features all in one small box is a huge deal.
For the low price, it seems to essentially double your productivity in every aspect of performance you can think of, including video editing, coding, and photo editing. Of course, we won’t know for sure until we get our hands on the kit, but on paper we know the M2 Mac mini is worth it.
Remember, your Mac mini ships as-is, and the mouse, keyboard, and monitor are sold separately.
M1 Mac mini vs. M2 Mac mini: Design
Obviously, there is absolutely no difference between the M1 and M2 Mac mini when it comes to actual aesthetics. His latest MacBook Air (M2, 2021) was the last major design change the company attempted, but we see nothing like it on the Mac mini.
The design changes aren’t nearly as significant as the MacBook, but it’s disappointing to see Apple doubling down on such drab aesthetics when the latest iMacs are lauded for their colorful redesigns. The M2 Mac mini looks the same.
In our review of the M1 Mac mini, we acknowledged that looks aren’t that important because the Mac mini was designed to sit on your desk and take up as little space as possible. Note that even with a strict dress code, the Mac mini looks sleek and retro-futuristic.
I can only speak from photos and what I’ve seen on their site, but the devices are exactly the same in terms of weight, depth, headphone jack support, etc. (the M2 Mac mini also supports high impedance headphones). In terms of ports, the M2 Mac mini has 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports (4 on the M2 Pro version), 2 USB-A ports and 1 HDMI port.
So, in terms of design, I have to call it a necktie. If it’s exactly the same, you can’t pick a winner here.
M1 Mac mini vs. M2 Mac mini: Performance
Again, we can’t say too much about the performance of the M2 Mac mini yet, but we can think about the performance of the M1 and what we know about the M2 chip and how they compare.
In our review of the M1 Mac mini, we praised its performance during benchmark tests and daily use, and specifically noted how quiet the little bit box was across the board. There is shared unified memory, which can be both great and terrible depending on how you use your Mac. On the one hand, the PC has unlimited access to this large pool of memory, which makes it very fast. On the other hand, if you have multiple programs that require a lot of memory, and some of that memory is also needed for graphics, your Mac won’t be happy.
With the M2 chip, you get an 8-core CPU with a 10-core GPU. The new Mac mini (2023) also features for the first time the M2 Pro with up to 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU. Mac mini has a true professional-grade chip. These specs are definitely impressive compared to the M1’s 8-core CPU and GPU.
Apple makes some bold claims about the M2 Mac mini. For example, the GPU promises a 35% faster speed, with No Man’s Sky and Resident Evil: Village running at impressive frame rates considering it uses an integrated GPU. Compared to the previous generation, the M2 is supposed to offer 2.8x faster gameplay than his in Resident Evil Village, and Apple says the M2 chip is 15x faster than the fastest Intel-based Mac mini. am.
Conclusion
Overall, the M2 Mac mini has to win, of course. The new model is priced too high and has too much potential to be a winner in this showdown.
Of course our full review will reveal if it lives up to our tests and lives up to the hype, but on paper the M2 Mac mini is very popular and used has become a wide, affordable desk PC and definitely beats the mini-desktop list.
No obvious problems with the M1 Mac mini, but it doesn’t hold up. Of course, the M1 was three years older than him at this point, and there was a significant performance leap between the M1 and M2 chips. MacBook Air (M2, 2022) compared to MacBook Air (M1, 2020), So I feel there is a noticeable jump.
