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Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) vs Apple Macintosh IIci

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)AppleMacintosh IIci
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2024September 1989
Performance
ProcessorApple M4 or Apple M4 Pro68030 25 MHz (Macintosh IIci)
CPU cores10, 12 or 141
Graphics10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU–
AI engine (NPU)38 TOPS–
Memory16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB1 MB
Storage256 GB to 8 TB40 MB
CPUM4: 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 cores25 MHz Motorola 68030 with integrated memory management and 68882 floating-point coprocessor; 0.5 KB L1 cache
GPUM4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracingBuilt-in video uses 64–320 KB of system RAM and supports 8-bit colour at 512 × 384 or 640 × 480; NuBus graphics cards can also be fitted
Memory type–Eight 30-pin SIMM slots in two banks of four; 80 ns fast-page memory, 1–128 MB supported by Apple; 512 KB ROM
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory bandwidthM4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s–
Storage typeSSDInternal 1.44 MB floppy drive and space for one 40 or 80 MB SCSI hard drive; Low End Mac documents an original floppy-only offering and a 40 MB hard-drive configuration
Expansion slots–Three NuBus slots plus a cache/processor-direct connector; Apple's later support sheet lists 32 KB L2 cache, while its original developer note calls the cache card optional
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode–
Display
ScreenNone built inNone built in
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jackHeadphone jack
Ethernet1 Gb/s–
External displaysUp to 3–
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E–
Bluetooth5.3–
Front ports2 × USB-C with USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones–
Back portsM4: 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 EthernetTwo Apple Desktop Bus ports, DB-15 video, DB-19 external floppy, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial ports and stereo sound output; no built-in Ethernet
External displaysM4: 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)Built-in video supports Apple's 12-inch monochrome, 13-inch RGB and 15-inch portrait displays; other displays require a compatible NuBus card
SpeakersBuilt-in speakerInternal speaker and stereo 8-bit sound output
MicrophonesNone built in–
Design and power
TypeCompactCompact
Weight0.67 kg6.2 kg
Width × depth × height127 × 127 × 50 mm302 × 366 × 140 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detail–Apple's 5.5 × 11.9 × 14.4 inch and 13.6 lb reference dimensions; metric fields are rounded conversions
Power supplyBuilt-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous powerMaximum 159 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock battery and keyboard soft power
Power useM4 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 65W maximum; M4 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 5W idle, 140W maximum–
Noise5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)–
ColoursSilver–
In the boxMac mini, power lead (1.8 m)Original System Software 6.0.4. Apple lists 20 September 1989 as introduction; Low End Mac reports September availability without a separate first-sale day

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