Apple recently annunciate a 2023 update to its Mac Mini line with theMac Mini M2 . The biggest raise this sentence around is a jumping from the ship’s company ’s M1 chip to its newerM2andM2 Pro .
But what does this mean for the Mac Mini , and what else has changed since the 2020Mac Mini M1 ?
We ’ve put the two Apple desktop computer head - to - head so you may decide whether it ’s deserving kick upstairs your Mac , as well as which model to pick up if you ’re in the market for your first Mini .
The Mac Mini M2 has a new chip
The biggest difference between the Mac Mini M1 and the Mac Mini M2 is in the name – the Mac Mini M2 is powered by either the M2 or M2 Pro SoC , while the Mac Mini M1 comes with the slimly sometime M1 .
The M1 includes an 8 - essence CPU with 4 execution marrow and 4 efficiency marrow , an 8 - core GPU and a 16 - core Neural Engine . It has a media engine with video recording encode and decode engine and funding for hardware - accelerated H.264 and HEVC .
The M2 has a similar apparatus with an 8 - core C.P.U. with 4 carrying into action core and 4 efficiency cores and a 16 - core Neural Engine , but it also come with a 10 - Congress of Racial Equality GPU . The medium engine also supports Apple ProRes and ProRes RAW .
The M2 Pro , meanwhile , takes this up a notch with an up to 12 - core mainframe consist of 8 operation cores and 4 efficiency substance , an up to 19 - meat GPU and a 16 - essence Neural Engine up to 40 % faster than that in the M1 . The medium engine provide the same bread and butter as that in the M2 .
The above imply that M2 and M2 Pro - powered Mac Minis can deliver faster performance and a more powerful media locomotive than the Mac Mini M1 .
The Mac Mini M2 has more memory
Another difference to note is that the Mac Mini M2 offers larger memory pick and more bandwidth than its precursor .
Where the Mac Mini M1 comes in 8 gilbert and 16 GB configurations , the Mac Mini M2 delivers up to 24 GB of integrated memory with 100GB / s memory bandwidth , while the M2 Pro caps out at 32 GB and a 200GB / s storage bandwidth .
According to Apple , this makes editing ikon in Adobe Photoshop up to 50 % faster on the M2 - powered Mac Mini .
The Mac Mini M2 has larger storage options
The new Mac Mini also comes with more storage , but only if you choose for the M2 Pro good example .
SSD form for the Mac Mini M1 and the Mac Mini M2 range from 256 GB to 2 TB , while the Mac Mini M2 Pro starts at 512 GB and goes up to a huge 8 TB .
The Mac Mini M2 offers more Thunderbolt ports
If you ’re in pauperization of Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports , the new Mac Mini packs in double as many as its precursor . Though , again , you ’ll necessitate to advance to the M2 Pro - powered Mini to take advantage of this addition .
The Mac Mini M1 and the Mac Mini M2 come with two Thunderbolt ports , two USB - A , an HDMI and an Ethernet port . The Mac Mini M2 Pro , meanwhile , give you four Thunderbolt ports , two USB - A , one HDMI and one Ethernet port .
Furthermore , the M2 model can work up to two streams of 8 K ProRes 422 video at 30fps or up to 12 stream of 4 kelvin ProRes 422 picture at 30fps at the same fourth dimension . This is liken to the support for one 6 kelvin show and one 4 K keep going by the Mac Mini M1 .
The M2 Pro , meanwhile , can support up to three display , including up to five 8 K ProRes 422 stream at 30fps or up to 23 4 special K ProRes 422 flow at 30fps .
Early verdict
When it comes to price , the Mac Mini M2 is actually bum than its predecessor , with prices starting at $ 599/£649 to the M1 ’s $ 699/£699 . The higher - specced Mac Mini M2 Pro , meanwhile , starts at over twice that price at $ 1299/£1399 .
That crap the young Mac Mini M2 an easy upgrade over the Mac Mini M1 .
Of course , if you want the most herculean Mac Mini there is , you ’ll need to opt for the Mac Mini M2 Pro . This is where most of the upgrades fare in . However , at double the price of the Mac Mini M2 , you ’ll need to decide whether the remainder are worth it for you .
