Alongside its new MacBook line, Apple has announced updates to its Mac mini series featuring the newly announced M2 and M2 Pro chips. This makes these desktop computers significantly faster and more powerful than their predecessors.
Halfway between premium iMacs and portable MacBooks, Apple’s Mac mini lineup consists of multi-purpose computers packed into smaller boxes that fit easily on your desktop. It’s been over two years since the last update, so it’s time to update.
The main difference is the processor. The new Mac mini is powered by Apple’s M2 or M2 Pro chip. The base model runs on an 8-core CPU, apparently with 4 “performance” and 4 “efficiency” cores, as well as a 10-core GPU and a 16-core neural engine. Overall memory bandwidth is 100 GB/s. The M2 Pro, on the other hand, adds two performance cores to the CPU and six more performance cores to the GPU, boasting double the memory bandwidth.
Other specs are pretty strong too. The M2 starts with 8GB of unified memory (read: RAM) with 16GB or 24GB options, while the M2 Pro starts with 16GB with 32GB options. In terms of storage, the M2 starts at 256 GB and can be expanded to 512 GB, 1 TB, or 2 TB. The M2 Pro starts at 512 GB and comes in 1, 2, 4, or 8 TB versions.
In fact, the new M2 Mac mini can perform image editing tasks in Adobe Photoshop up to 50% faster than previous M1 models, and video editing tasks in Final Cut Pro more than twice as fast. Apple says it can, and games can run about 35% faster. Faster. Meanwhile, the M2 Pro is 2.5x faster for image editing, 4.2x faster for video editing, and 2.8x faster for gaming than the M1.
Both models have a wide range of connectivity options. This includes Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, two USB-A ports, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet port and an upgraded headphone jack. With two Thunderbolt 4 ports, the M2 can support one or two displays with resolutions up to 6K. The M2 Pro is equipped with 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports and can support up to 3 displays. One of them is 8K.
The new Mac mini will be available on January 24th, with prices starting at US$599 for the M2 and US$1,299 for the M2 Pro.
Source: Apple
