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Apple has managed to do a lot with Silicon, but one of the products that benefited the most from the transition was the Mac Mini. Older Intel models were overpriced and had sluggish performance. But with the M1 and M2 systems-on-a-chip (SoC), the Mac Mini finally became the budget-friendly compact desktop that it always wanted to be. Apple gave the desktop a massive price cut with M1 and dropped the price by $100 again with the upgrade to M2 this year.

Unfortunately, the company hasn't treated the Mac Mini like other great Macs that got the Apple Silicon treatment. Most of those computers got a design overhaul in either their first or second generation with Apple Silicon, but the Mac Mini (M2, 2023) still looks the same as it has since 2011. It's just one example of how Apple has cut some corners in making the M2 Mac Mini. But at a $600 price point, you won't find another PC that beats the Mac Mini in terms of raw performance.

About this review: I purchased the Mac Mini (2023) for personal use. Apple had no input in the contents of this article.

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Apple Mac Mini (2023)
Great compact desktop

It's a solid PC, but you might want to wait for M3

7.5 / 10

Apple's most affordable computer is the M2 Mac Mini, which provides great performance in a cheap package. It's a good option for people who need a powerful desktop but already have solid peripherals on hand. It might not be the right pick for people who need a computer to last a while, though.

Storage
512GB, 1TB, 2TB
CPU
8-core M2
Memory
8GB, 16GB, 24GB
Ports
Ethernet, HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, 2x USB-A, 2x Thunderbolt 4
Graphics
10-core M2
Dimensions
7.75x7.75x1.41 inches (19.7x19.7x3.58cm)
Weight
2.6 pounds (1.18kg)
Operating System
macOS
Display (Size, Resolution)
None
Pros
  • Powerful M2 chip with great performance
  • Compact form factor allows it to fit nearly anywhere
  • Education pricing is extremely competitive
Cons
  • The base model ships with just 8GB memory and 256GB of storage
  • The design and ports are lacking in 2023
  • M3 has already been announced, and a refresh is looming

Pricing and availability

Apple refreshed the Mac Mini with the M2 and M2 Pro in January 2023, and this is still the newest Mac Mini you can buy. I reviewed the base-model Mac Mini with the M2 chip, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB of storage. This model retails for $600 at Apple and can be had for just $500 with the company's education discount.

The computer can be configured with up to 24GB of memory and 2TB of storage, but upgrades are pricey, so people looking for higher-end models might want the Mac Studio instead. Aside from Apple, you can get the Mac Mini at third-party retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and B&H.

Design and ports

It's small, but it could be a lot smaller

Part of the appeal of the Mac Mini is its design, which is small and simple. It's plug-and-play, too, so the Mac Mini is often used in server farms, business applications, and some schools. It's definitely smaller than mini-ITX PC cases, but it's noticeably bigger than the newest mini PCs and NUCs. When you start to look at the performance of the M2 chip, it's impressive to see a computer this small perform so well. But it's hard to give Apple too much credit here because the Mac Mini isn't nearly as small as it should be.

When you start to look at the performance of the M2 chip, it's impressive to see a computer this small perform so well.

The Mac Mini was most recently redesigned in 2011, when Apple ditched the optical drive for a more compact form factor. Despite switching to SoCs with soldered storage and unified memory, the Mac Mini's aluminum casing hasn't gotten any smaller since then. Apple isn't even making the most of the space it has. To prove it, I disassembled my Mac Mini, revealing tons of open space. That's even true with a massive active cooling unit, which takes up a lot of room.

So, why hasn't Apple made the Mac Mini any smaller over the years? There could be any number of reasons, but I suspect it's due to enterprise and education users. Enterprise users want to be able to quickly swap out hardware without much extra effort, and redesigning the Mac Mini would force businesses to buy new accessories and servers.

If this is true, Apple's decision to keep the Mac Mini's design unchanged makes sense from a business perspective. But as an end user, I want to see what a Mac Mini would look like if Apple cared about making it as small as possible.

The I/O on this computer is stuck in time

The ports on the back of a Mac Mini.

I can look past the Mac Mini's outdated design, but the included ports were much harder to look past. While Apple has cut out USB-A ports altogether on its laptops, the company is almost too generous with including them on desktops. The base model Mac Mini gives you two Thunderbolt (USB4) ports, but you'll get four Thunderbolt 4 ports with the M2 Pro chip. There are also two USB-A ports that Apple says support 5Gbps speeds, which line up with the USB 3.2 Gen 1 spec. Even with the included USB-A ports and an HDMI port, only offering two USB-C ports in 2023 isn't acceptable.

Even with the included USB-A ports and an HDMI port, only offering two USB-C ports in 2023 isn't acceptable.

Cables coming out of the back of a Mac Mini.

Otherwise, the I/O selection is just fine. There's a Gigabit Ethernet port on the back, and you can pay extra for a 10-gig option instead. You'll also find a 3.5mm headphone jack as well. Apple didn't add any front I/O to the Mac Mini, so I use Satechi's Stand & Hub to fill that gap. It's worth noting that, unlike most base-model Macs, the M2 Mac Mini supports two external displays. That's because it doesn't have a built-in display.

Hardware

It's good, but the M3 upgrade could be right around the corner

The antennas on the Mac Mini.

This review was written in December 2023, a month after Apple unveiled the M3 chipset and less than a year after releasing devices with the M2 chip. That context is important because it might affect whether you choose to buy the Mac Mini now or wait for a potential upgrade. On paper, there's no difference between the M2 and M3 chips regarding core count and memory bandwidth. Both chips have eight CPU cores, 10 GPU cores, a 16-core neural engine, and 100Gbps memory bandwidth. However, the M3 chip performs noticeably better than the M2 series, as we found in our review of the 24-inch iMac with M3.

So, people buying a base Mac Mini right now should know that future-proofing is nonexistent. The onboard memory and storage capacities are low; the M3 has already overshadowed the M2; and there isn't an upgrade path available. The M2 chip has the performance to last a few years, but it won't keep up for much longer than that. At $600, the Mac Mini is still a good value for the right buyer, but you should just expect to replace it in a few years.

Performance

Find me something faster for $600, I dare you

The silver Mac Mini on a desk.

I bought the Mac Mini as a secondary machine and paid for it with a trade-in credit, so I wasn't worried about upgrading it. But I must admit that I was concerned about whether 8GB of memory would be enough for my tasks. Using the Mac Mini as my main computer was frustrating, but not for the reason I expected. Apple Silicon computers are known for having quick wake times, but it felt like the Mac Mini took forever to wake up my third-party Samsung monitors. The displays are partly to blame, but since Apple's cheapest monitor costs nearly three times the price of a base Mac Mini, you'll likely be third-party displays as well.

As far as actual performance was concerned, the Mac Mini passed my workflow with flying colors.

As far as actual performance was concerned, the Mac Mini passed my workflow with flying colors. This computer was my first with 8GB of memory or less since I used a 2014 MacBook Air in high school, but the Mac Mini still felt just as snappy as Macs with 16GB of memory. I used it with two external displays, a few USB input devices, and an Ethernet connection. Through photo editing, web browsing, and content creation, I didn't feel the Mac Mini struggling at all. I'd still recommend upgrading to 16GB if you can afford it, but the 8GB held up with a workflow that I'd expect to be similar to people eying the Mac Mini.

I also tested the Mac Mini with a few benchmarks, comparing it to other Macs and another mini PC:

Geekbench 6 (Single-core/multi-core)

Cinebench R24 (GPU/CPU single-core/CPU multi-core)

Crossmark (Overall/Productivity/Creativity/Responsiveness)

Mac Mini (M2, 2023)

2,652/9,723

--/120/558

1,515/1,426/1,753/1,170

MacBook Air (M2, 2022)

2,636/9,992

1,534/121/564

1,500/1,403/1,749/1,158

iMac (M3, 2023)

2,975/11,863

3,288/139/613

1,761/1,647/2,070/1,326

Mac Studio (M1 Max, early 2022)

2,423/12,513

3,588/112/828

1,598/1,401/2,008/1,199

Khadas Mind (Intel Core i7-1360P)

2,617 / 9,816

--

1,743/1,666/1,857 /1,650

Benchmarks certainly aren't everything, but these numbers do tell us a lot about how the M2 chip in the Mac Mini performs. First, you'll notice that the M2 Mac Mini performs about the same as the M2 MacBook Air despite the former having a large active cooling solution. The MacBook Air doesn't have any fans at all, which means that the M2 chip hits peak performance without running into thermal throttling issues. The numbers also show that the M2 Mac Mini is only slightly behind the M3 iMac in terms of CPU performance, but the gap starts to widen when all cores are utilized.

Compared to Windows PCs, the most comparable system we've tested is the Khadas Mind, which has an Intel Core i7-1360P. It closely matched the performance of the M2 Mac Mini in some areas, like the Geekbench 6 test. However, in others, like Crossmark's responsiveness score, the Khadas Mind pulled ahead of the Mac Mini. So, if you're looking for this kind of performance out of a PC, know that it's possible. But since the Khadas Mind retails for $800, it's not as much of a bargain.

Anybody who does graphic design, video editing, or 3D modeling regularly should avoid the base-model Mac Mini altogether.

Unfortunately, the M2 Mac Mini doesn't support Cinebench R24's graphics test, and it was immediately clear that the Mac Mini seriously struggles with graphics-intensive tasks. Apple made a big leap with graphics on the M3, so anybody who does graphic design, video editing, or 3D modeling regularly should avoid the base-model Mac Mini altogether. Additionally, these tasks were what managed to strain the unified memory of the Mac Mini for the first time.

Should you buy the Mac Mini (M2, 2023)?

You should buy the Mac Mini (M2, 2023) if:

  • You want an ultra-cheap desktop with good performance
  • You don't care about having a device that can last you for many years
  • You already have peripherals, like a monitor, mouse, and keyboard

You should NOT buy the Mac Mini (M2, 2023) if:

  • You have more money to spend for a better Mac
  • You need more performance out of the Mac Mini, such as for graphics work
  • You'd rather have an all-in-one solution, like the iMac

Pricing is always a factor when we evaluate products, but a computer's price might not matter more than in the case of the Mac Mini. Its affordable price isn't just a nicety; it's the computer's biggest feature. If you look at our budget Intel PC build guide, for example, the final PC costs more than $700. Even then, the comparable PC build doesn't stack up to the M2 Mac Mini's level of performance. It's rare that a Mac beats out a custom PC build in price-to-performance ratio, but here we are.

That's not to say that everybody should run out and buy a Mac Mini. When you start upgrading, say to 16GB memory or 512GB storage, the Mac Mini becomes a much worse value. That's why the base-model Mac Mini is for the person who has a light workflow, understands its limitations, and is fine with replacing it in a few years. For that person, there's no better computer available at $600 than the M2 Mac Mini.

Untitled2 (1)
Apple Mac Mini (2023)
Great compact desktop

It's a sold PC, but you might want to wait for M3

7.5 / 10

Apple's most affordable computer is the M2 Mac Mini, and it provides great performance in a cheap package. It's a good option for people who need a powerful desktop, but already have solid peripherals on hand. It might not be the right pick for people who need a computer to last a while, though.