Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) review: Just call it the Mac mini Pro

Since the Mac mini’s debut in 2005, it’s been Apple’s affordable small-form-factor soldier. Need something cheap to pair with an old monitor? Just get the Mac mini! Want to start a low power media server or computer near your TV? Mini, baby. The line has had its ups and downs: the 2014 update was criticized for replacing a quad-core model with a dual-core chip, the 2018 update had notoriously weak graphics, but it made a full comeback with the M1-powered model. in 2021.

This year, however, the Mac mini is different. The $599 model is still an entry-level champ, especially since it’s $100 less than the M1 version (maybe we’ll see the $499 option return eventually). But you can also pay more than double: $1,299! — for a Mini with a slightly simplified M2 Pro chip and 16 GB of RAM. That might have sounded crazy a few years ago, but now it fits right into Apple’s desktop ecosystem. Not all creatives need the power of a $1,999 Mac Studio with an M1 Max, but those same people may feel limited by the base M2 chip. At last, there is a powerful Mini to serve you. (And no, the now-dead $1,099 Intel model never filled that role.)

As with Apple’s new MacBook Pros, the Mac mini doesn’t look any different than before. It’s still a stubby little aluminum case with a ton of ports on the back and a slightly raised black base underneath to allow for airflow. The $599 model features an M2 chip with eight CPU cores, 10 graphics cores, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage; that’s about as basic as you can get with PC hardware these days. The $1,299 M2 Pro Mini offers 10 CPU cores, 16 GPU cores, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. For an additional $300, you can also upgrade to the full-power M2 Pro chip with a 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU (but that’s probably not a good idea, as I’ll discuss later).

At the rear, the Mac mini dock offers two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections, HDMI 2.0 (with 4K 240Hz and 8K 60Hz output), two USB-A ports, a headphone jack, and Gigabit Ethernet (expandable to 10 Gigabit). The M2 Pro model adds two additional USB-C ports, making it even more useful for creatives with a ton of accessories.

The most striking thing about the Mac mini is its combination of simplicity and functionality. Unlike the taller, more domineering Mac Studio, the Mini is designed to disappear on your desk, a bit of power that doesn’t need to be seen. However, that could be a bad thing if you need to access your rear ports frequently. The Studio, by comparison, offers two USB-C ports and an SD card slot on the front. You’ll need a separate adapter to use SD cards with the Mini, an inexpensive solution, but one that also creates more desktop clutter.

Our review model, which featured the more expensive 12-core M2 Pro chip, performed as well as I’d hoped. It’s slower than the M2 Max in the 14-inch MacBook Pro in GeekBench’s CPU benchmark, but it also beats the M1 Max in Mac Studio. The M1 Ultra-equipped Studio is much faster, as you’d expect, because it’s essentially two M1 Max chips strung together. However, what’s more important for some creatives is their potential rendering performance. The Mac Mini scored 2,000 points higher than the M1 Max Studio in the Cinebench R23 benchmark, and was on par with the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max.

In a more hands-on test, the Mac Mini transcoded a minute-long 4K clip to 1080p in 37 seconds on raw CPU power using Handbrake; the same job took 32 seconds with the GPU. Both figures narrowly beat the M1 Max Studio, which took 43 seconds with a CPU encode and 34 seconds using the GPU.

Benchmarks aside, the Mac Mini was an absolute dream for my typical workflow (dealing with dozens of browser tabs, batch image processing, and pretty much every chat app out there). But I’d expect a similar result from the $599 model, as long as you cut back on demanding browsers to get by on 8GB of RAM. The computer is still a solid entry for mainstream users, and is potentially a great home theater PC if you want something more customizable than an Apple TV.