Apple Mac mini (M1) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Mac mini (M1) compared with Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

	AppleMac mini (M1)	AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2020	November 2024
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M1	Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	10, 12 or 14
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU	10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	–	38 TOPS
Memory
Memory	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	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	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	8-core GPU	M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	16-core Neural Engine
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB	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 3, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, 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	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	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 / USB 4 ports with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; two USB-A ports up to 5 Gb/s; HDMI; Gigabit Ethernet, configurable to 10 Gb Ethernet; 3.5 mm headphone jack	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	One display up to 6K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt and one up to 4K 60 Hz over HDMI, simultaneously	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 multichannel audio output	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	–	None built in
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	1.2 kg	0.67 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	197 × 197 × 36 mm	127 × 127 × 50 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; maximum continuous power 150 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	5 dBA sound pressure at idle and during Apple's wireless web test (operator position)	5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	–
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
In the box
In the box	Mac mini, power cord	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)