The Mac mini M4 Pro: This Is the Computer Most Creatives Should Buy

Apple’s little silver square has always been a study in contrasts: tiny yet ambitious, quiet yet powerful, simple yet surprisingly adaptable. The latest model—powered by the new M4 family—raises the bar again. 

I parked the M4 Pro configuration (14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 48 GB unified memory, 1 TB SSD, optional 10 Gb Ethernet) on my desk, wired up a pair of 4K displays, and threw my entire mixed workload at it: 4K Premiere projects, thousands of raws in Lightroom Classic, multi-gigabyte data sets, and the kind of multithreaded code compiles that usually make laptops sweat.

If the M3-era MacBook Pro felt like Apple’s declaration that desktops could be mobile, the Mac mini M4 Pro feels like the company’s reminder that desktop form factors still matter—especially when they disappear under your display but outperform workstations ten times their size. Grab a drink, because Apple’s smallest computer now lands some very big punches.

Specifications

• Chips: M4 (10C/10G) or M4 Pro (12C/16G or 14C/20G)
  • Our unit: 14-core CPU (10 performance plus 4 efficiency), 20-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 273 GB/s memory bandwidth
• Memory options: 16, 24, 32 GB on lower chips; 48 GB or 64 GB on this top M4 Pro trim
• Storage: 256, 512 GB, 1, 2, 4, or 8 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD (ours is 1 TB)
• Front I/O: 2 × USB-C (USB 3, up to 10 Gb/s) + 3.5 mm headphone jack
• Rear I/O (M4 Pro): 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120 Gb/s), HDMI 2.1, RJ45 (1 Gb/s configurable to 10 GbE), AC-in
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
• Display support (M4 Pro): Up to three 6K at 60 Hz screens or one 8K at 60 Hz and one 4K at 240 Hz combo
• Dimensions and weight: 5 × 5 × 2 in (12.7 × 12.7 × 5 cm); 1.6 lb / 0.73 kg
• Acoustics: 5 dBA at idle (basically silent)

Design

Apple has never tried to hide that the Mac mini is a more traditional computer: you supply the peripherals, it supplies raw processing. What’s changed is how few compromises remain. Pop the 2024 model next to a 2018 mini and the two machines don't even share a silhouette anymore, because it's so compact. The entire chassis is CNC-milled recycled aluminium and still cool to the touch even after a forty-minute export. The base remains a circular vent; with a rubber bottom lifting the unit just high enough for airflow.

Front USB-C ports matter, full stop. My card reader now lives on the desk instead of dangling from a hub, and I have another free to easily connect peripherals as needed without having to do gymnastics behind my desk. Around back, three Thunderbolt 5 jacks unlock 120 Gb/s of bandwidth—handy when you realize a single 40 Gb/s enclosure no longer scares the bus.

At just 1.6 pounds, the mini is lighter than any full frame lens I own, yet the enclosure feels solid as can be. You can easily hide it wherever you want and create a very minimalist, clean desk.

The only complaint I have with the design is the power button, which is located under the computer. Granted, it's rare these days that I full shut down a computer; rather, they go to sleep most of the time when I step away, but when you do need to turn on the computer from a fully powered down state, it's a bit annoying.

Chip, RAM, and Real-World Performance

The Numbers

Geekbench 6 posts a 3,822 single-core and 22,340 multi-core CPU score, plus a 110,104 Metal GPU number for this 14C/20G variant . For reference, that’s about 50% faster multi-core than a 2023 M2 Pro mini. Apple is making impressive progress with each new generation. That's even more evident when you consider the fact that the M4 Pro Mac mini boasts better scores than my speed demon M1 Ultra Mac Studio.

Hands-on Workload Testing

What does that mean in practice? It's fast. I've been working on an intense multi-core Python project for several months. Each run of the program requires spatial interpolation and analysis of almost a million points. Once they're aligned, the program conducts a massive search of several million combinations of points to see which satisfy criteria, then performs a three-dimensional analysis of those that pass the filter. It's an extremely demanding workflow that normally takes a minute or two to run and sends cooling fans running to leaf blower levels. Running program with my test data, I noticed it ran notably more quickly than on my M1 Max, which already did an impressive job with it, and the M4 Pro is a lower-tier chip with a lower power draw. That's impressive.

Memory Ceiling

Unified memory remains Apple’s joker. Its deep integration with the SOC means its very fast, and that's important for anyone working on large data sets or large Photoshop files.

Storage

Does 1 TB feel cramped in 2025? If you shoot photo and video, yes—but Thunderbolt 5 has made “internal versus external” almost moot. That being said, it's good to have at least 512 GB on your internal drive for the OS and apps. And the internal storage is fast; I normally get about 6,000 MB/s read and 5,000 MB/s write speeds. That's a big deal when you're a creative frequently dealing with massive files; we all know how annoying it can be waiting on slow copies and transfers.

Cooling and Acoustics

The entire thermal story fits in one line of the spec sheet: 5 dBA idle. Because the mini sits further from your ears than a laptop keyboard, perceived volume is lower than the MacBook Pro even when RPM is similar. During most work, you'll never hear it. When the fan does spin up, it's quite quiet. It won't bother you.

Ports and Connectivity

• Thunderbolt 5 (3×): 120 Gb/s. These are the most versatile ports, capable of keeping up with the fastest external SSDs or driving high-resolution displays.

• HDMI 2.1: Up to 8K resolution at 60 Hz or 4K resolution at 240 Hz

• 10 Gb Ethernet: This is great to have if you have the wiring in your house or office. I unfortunately don't, but with Wi-Fi 6E, I can get 9.6 Gbps speeds.

• Front USB-C: rated for 10 Gb/s, which is over a gigabyte a second, making them plenty fast and convenient enough for offloading files from a shoot.

Missing pieces? An SD slot would have made the front I/O perfect. Apple clearly wants the mini to feel universal, not photo-specific.

Audio

The mini retains a single down-firing driver for system beeps—nothing you’d play music on—but the 3.5 mm jack supports high-impedance cans. HDMI 2.1 passes 24-bit Dolby Atmos to my soundbar without handshake issues.

The Value Proposition

Starting at $549, it's hard to argue the value proposition of the Mac Mini. That being said, if I had to recommend a sweet spot configuration for photographers and videographers, it would be the M4 model with 32 GB of unified memory, a 1 TB SSD, and Gigabit Ethernet for $1,399. You probably don't need 10 Gb Ethernet unless you're working off a large NAS (and Wi-Fi 6E helps that), 32 GB of memory can handle most tasks, and 1 TB will leave you plenty of room for the OS and any apps you need. Remember that the storage and unified memory are not upgradeable, so be sure to get what you need.

What I Liked

• Desktop-class speed in a 5-inch square.

• 48 GB unified memory that's very fast.

• Thunderbolt 5 × 3 feels properly future-proof.

• Front-facing USB-C—small change, massive daily convenience.

• Whisper-quiet, even mid-render.

• Energy frugal.

• Environmentally forward: recycled aluminium, copper, gold, rare-earths, ENERGY STAR certified.

What I Didn’t Like

• No SD slot.

• Power button location.

Conclusion

The Mac mini is a computer that has no right to be this small, this quiet, and this fast at the same time. Apple’s silicon trajectory once again redefines what “entry desktop” means: the mini matches much larger computers in media tasks, matches or surpasses last generation’s Mac Studio in many pro workloads, and sips power while doing it. If you manage large photo libraries, edit multi-camera 4K footage, or run million-line compiles and already own decent peripherals, this is the single best-value Mac you can buy.

It won’t replace a laptop on location; it doesn’t try. Instead, it promises that when you’re back at the desk, the bottleneck will be your imagination, not your hardware. Plug it in, forget it’s there, and watch your renders finish before the coffee gets cold. That, to me, is the ultimate creative tool: unfussy, unshowy, unstoppable.