Apple's new M4 Mac Mini is smaller, more powerful and its first carbon-neutral Mac

Apple continued the second day of its “Week of Announcements” in lieu of a formal event, unveiling a revamp of the Mac Mini and Mac Mini Pro equipped with the new M4 and M4 Pro chips and at the same time touted as the first climate-neutral Mac.

The redesigned Mac Mini lives up to its name by being significantly smaller, measuring just 5 x 5 inches – it fits easily in the palm of your hand or on a desk (for comparison, the previous Mac Mini was 7.75 x 7.75 inches).

Also: The Mac Studio feature is keeping me from buying a new M4 Mac Mini this fall

Inside, the device is equipped with Apple's latest M4 and M4 Pro processors, which Apple says can deliver 1.8x faster CPU performance and 2.2x faster GPU performance than the previous model with the M2 chip. It also has 16GB of unified storage and starts at $599, the same price as the previous model when it was released.

The new Mac Mini also has ports on the front and back, including a new Thunderbolt 5 port, which, in conjunction with the M4 chip, should enable rapid transfer speeds. There are three additional Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back of the M4 Mac Mini, while the back of the M4 Pro Mac Mini has three Thunderbolt 5 ports. Both also have a Gigabit Ethernet port and an HDMI port.

Also: iOS 18.1 is officially available for the iPhone. How to download it (and which models support it)

Obviously, you'll need to attach a display to this little powerhouse, and Apple has made sure it's more than capable of upping the ante on external monitor support. The Mac Mini with the M4 can support up to two 6K displays and up to one 5K display, while the Mac Mini with the M4 Pro can support up to three 6K displays at 60Hz, supporting a total of 60 million pixels.

As for the device's distinction as the first carbon-neutral Mac, Apple says it has been able to reduce carbon emissions from its materials sourcing by 80% and has made the device overall from over 50% recycled content.

New iMacs with the M4 chip (and all colors)

Announced yesterday and available starting at $1,299 new iMac has 16GB of unified storage and is available for pre-order now. General availability begins November 8th. Apple says the new M4 iMacs are 1.7 times faster than the current version and 2.1 times faster in demanding workflows like gaming and video editing. Here are the key features:

• They are available in seven colors (green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver) with matching USB-C accessories.
• The 24-inch 4.5K Retina display features a new nano-texture glass option.
• An M4 chip with 16GB of RAM powers Apple Intelligence features on the new iMac.
• The new iMacs have up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports.
• A new 12-megapixel center-stage camera that automatically centers itself during video calls and a wide-angle lens that can show a top-down view of the desktop, specifically for teachers or students.
• Support for up to two external 6K monitors.

What else Apple will announce

Apple marketing director Greg Joswiak announced a “week of announcements” on X last week, assuring that new M4 devices were on the horizon. Yesterday we got the first round of announcements of brand new iMacs, and today saw the announcement of the Mac Mini. Later this week we expect news about the overhaul of the MacBooks and the MacBook Air range.

Apple is revamping its Mac lineup with several new models equipped with the M4. Some of these will be available as early as this year, but updates for the MacBook Air range and iMac Pro Studio models likely won't be available until early next year.

Also: Apple Intelligence is finally coming to your iPhone at the end of October

Despite the M4's first appearance in the new iPad Pros in May this year, Apple remained relatively quiet about the M4 chip, instead focusing at WWDC on Apple Intelligence – the company's AI model – and later on its integration into the iPhone 16.

Now is the logical time to make the announcement. Around this time last year, Apple announced the M3 processors for MacBook Pros and the 24-inch iMac. However, as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported earlier this month, Apple is deviating from the annual product upgrade cycle and opening the door to smaller, more frequent software rollouts and product launches.

Rumors of an M4 chip in a new Mac Studio and Mac Pro are inconclusive, but it's likely that these won't be announced until more accessible core consumer products get the new chip.

Additionally, Gurman reports that the M4 chip is not expected to be available in the MacBook Air lineup until the first half of next year. The iPad Air 11 and 13-inch models are also expected to receive the new chip in early 2025, along with peripherals such as a new Magic Keyboard.

Plus: All the new features Apple introduced this fall for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more (including AI)

Apple's “Week of Announcements” will be anchored by product news for its MacBook and Mac desktop lineup, but that won't be the only thing revealed. The latest iOS version, 18.1, was also just released, including call recording and transcription features from Apple Intelligence.

New Apple devices with the next-generation M4 chip would put Apple ahead in the AI ​​competition currently taking place on PCs, with the explosion of Windows' Copilot+ products as well as processors from Qualcomm, Intel and AMD. Here's hoping the Cupertino giant provides the muscle for a busy holiday shopping season.