Mac Mini M4 First Impressions: Best Value for Apple Users

With unprecedented power, tiny size, and low pricing, Apple’s new Mac Mini M4 is turning heads. At €719 (€599 for students), it’s an attractive small desk top PC. I’ll break down my first impressions, what you should expect to see and what might be a little lost.

Mac mini m4

Mac Mini M4: What’s Great About It

1. Affordable Price

  • Standard Price: At €719 it’s one of Apple’s most accessible devices ever.
  • Student Discount: If you’re in school or university it’s a steal for €599.

2. Performance

  • The Mac Mini comes powered by the M4 chip, a high-speed and efficient chip.
  • It takes care of most common tasks and hard apps with ease.
  • A great candidate for students, professionals or casual users who need speed and not the bottom line.

3. Compact and Elegant Design

  • Perfect for small spaces, with a small footprint.
  • In almost silent operation with no discernible heating.
  • Ultimate connectivity with durability build featuring five USB C ports (front and rear) and typing experience on a soft white keyboard.

4. Seamless apples ecosystem integration

  • It works great with iPhones iPads, and all other Apple devices.
  • A great launch point to experience Apple’s ecosystem without blowing through a ton of money on premium models.

A Few Minor Drawbacks

1. Base Storage

Everyone knows how much 256 GB feels like it doesn’t even scratch the surface today when all apps are just getting bigger, everything needed is large files anymore.
The only downside to this is that it’s easily remedied with iCloud, or external SSDs.

2. Power Button Placement

Some users may find the power button troublesome, as they are located underneath.
I don’t personally turn it off much, as Apple wants you to just put it to sleep.

Who should buy the Mac Mini M4?

WARNING – Spending on the mac mini is based on one project, and in this case, the time this project took, the max hours for which I worked on this project, and, for the M1 one, a 1TB M.2 SSD was used for this project because of the additional power, higher expectations, and potential problems with ongoing schemes for users who rarely backup data on multiple devices due to their work and needs.

If you’re debating between the Mac Mini M4 and pricier options like the MacBook Pro or iMac, here’s the bottom line:

At a fraction of the cost, the Mac Mini M4 will provide almost exactly the same performance for everyday and professional tasks.
This is a no brainer for students, professionals or anyone looking for top tiered performance at budget price.

Final Thoughts

I would never stop to say the Mac Mini M4 design is a triumph of design and functionality. The main concerns might be with storage and the power button, but its price, performance and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem make this one of Apple’s most enticing offerings to date.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely. On its price point, the Mac Mini M4 is unbeatable, and its available as something that’s practically a giveaway to students.

What do you think? Have you found any flaws I didn’t notice, or do you agree this is Apple’s best-value product yet? Let us know your thoughts!