Apple Mac mini (Late 2014) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

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Mac mini (Late 2014) compared with Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

	AppleMac mini (Late 2014)	AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2014	November 2024
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-4260U, Intel Core i5-4278U, Intel Core i5-4308U or Intel Core i7-4578U	Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	10, 12 or 14
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 5000 or Intel Iris Graphics 5100	10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	–	38 TOPS
Memory
Memory	4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	1.4 GHz dual-core Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz), 2.6 GHz dual-core Core i5 (up to 3.1 GHz), or 2.8 GHz dual-core Core i5 (up to 3.3 GHz). The two higher models can be configured with a 3.0 GHz dual-core Core i7 (up to 3.5 GHz). Exact processor identities are recorded by Geekbench; Ars Technica tested the Core i5-4278U and Macworld tested the Core i5-4308U.	M4: 10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores; M4 Pro: 12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 5000 in the 1.4 GHz model; Intel Iris Graphics 5100 in the 2.6 GHz, 2.8 GHz and optional Core i7 models	M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s
Memory type
Memory type	1600 MHz LPDDR3 soldered to the logic board; 4 GB configurable to 8 GB or 16 GB on the 1.4 GHz model, and 8 GB configurable to 16 GB on the higher models. Memory cannot be upgraded after purchase (Ars Technica).	–
Storage type
Storage type	1.4 GHz model has a 500 GB 5400-rpm hard drive or 1 TB Fusion Drive. The 2.6 GHz model has a 1 TB hard drive, 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD. The 2.8 GHz model has a 1 TB Fusion Drive, later 2 TB Fusion Drive option, or 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB SSD. Core i7 configurations retain the storage choices of their original base model; deduplicated configurations combine these supported choices. Macworld reports the 2 TB Fusion Drive option was added after launch; it is included in Apple's current specification.	SSD
Media engine
Media engine	–	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 4 × USB-A, HDMI, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	Up to 3 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	5.3
Front ports
Front ports	–	2 × USB-C with USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
Back ports
Back ports	Two Thunderbolt 2 ports up to 20 Gb/s each, four USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, HDMI, SDXC slot, Gigabit Ethernet, separate digital/analogue audio input and headphone/line output; IR receiver	M4: 3 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and DisplayPort; M4 Pro: 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 4 and DisplayPort; HDMI with multichannel audio output; Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), configurable to 10Gb Ethernet
External displays
External displays	Up to two displays at 2560 × 1600; native Mini DisplayPort output over Thunderbolt. HDMI supports 1080p at up to 60 Hz, 3840 × 2160 at 30 Hz or 4096 × 2160 at 24 Hz. DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI require the appropriate adapter.	M4: up to three (two at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt, plus one at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or two (one at up to 5K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz); M4 Pro: up to three at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI, or two (one at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz)
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker; HDMI supports multichannel audio; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	–	None built in
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Power lead; monitor, keyboard and mouse sold separately	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	–	0.67 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	197 × 197 × 36 mm	127 × 127 × 50 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	197 × 197 × 36 mm; 1.19 kg for the 1.4 GHz model, 1.20 kg for the 2.6 GHz model and 1.22 kg for the 2.8 GHz model. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process; no common weight is assigned.	–
Power supply
Power supply	Integrated power supply; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; maximum continuous power 85 W	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power
Power use
Power use	–	M4 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 65W maximum; M4 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 5W idle, 140W maximum
Noise
Noise	Apple specifies 12 dBA sound pressure at idle; its acoustic test configuration is the 2.8 GHz Core i5 with 8 GB memory and 1 TB Fusion Drive	5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)
Colours
Colours	–	Silver
Materials
Materials	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; BFR-free and PVC-free with regional power-lead exceptions	–
In the box
In the box	Mac mini and power lead; shipped with OS X Yosemite at launch. The current support sheet's macOS Mojave wording reflects a later software update.	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)