M2 Mac Mini, what if I told you that Apple just released a computer that is more powerful, more capable, and more efficient, and they reduce the price? Fun fact did you know that the animal on the icon for Firefox isn’t actually a fox? It’s a red panda. Yeah, mind blown.

So, Apple just released the new M2 Mac mini. And in its base configuration, with 8GB of Ram and 256GB of storage, it goes for $600. I’m surprised because this is probably one of, if not the best value desktop computers that you’re going to find on the market. So let’s talk about it.

M2 Mac Mini First Impressions, Shape, And Size

Okay, the first thing I want to talk about is the actual physical shape of this. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Mac mini. And I think Apple’s done a great job with how this whole thing looks and feels and how it weighs. Even the nice small form factor still packing in tons of power inside is really cool.

It looks great on any desk setup. You can pretty much fit it anywhere. I can hide it if I want to, or it can even be in plain sight, and it just won’t look bad. It actually looks quite nice on your desk. And if you ever wanted to travel with it, you could just throw it in your bag.

And when you get to your destination, all you got to do is find a monitor solution or a coworking desk space in your destination and you’re good, at how you can use the Mac mini in different ways.

M2 Mac Mini Ports And IO

Okay, looking over to the back of this device, you have plenty of ports here. Apple has put in an Ethernet port, two Thunderbolt ports, an HDMI port, two USBA ports, and a headphone jack. And also you can see at the bottom here, we have a fan vent, which is great because you can get active cooling for sustained performance over time. Overall physical package, I think this thing is a win. It’s a great device, and I really like the styling cues and how this whole thing fits on your desk and everything like that. So I give it an A plus.

M2 Mac Mini Specs

Okay, the next thing I want to discuss is the specs. Now, this is an important topic because you want to make sure that you’re picking the right amount of power for you. You’re not overpaying for something that you don’t really need, and you’re not missing something that could potentially harm you in the future when you’re using the computer for different uses. Okay, so this Mac mini gets the second-gen processor from Apple, which is the M2 chip.

M1 was already much better than the intel chip. It was super powerful. And this M 2 just takes it another step further. There are more cores, there’s a more powerful CPU, and GPU, there’s more max memory, there’s a higher performance ceiling, and the price has gone down surprisingly, which is really cool because, in the end, the consumer is the one that wins here. Now, this particular iMac that I have here with me is the baseline.

M2 Mac Mini Base Vs M2 Pro Mac Mini

So if you went to Apple and you spec out like the very base, you didn’t do any additions or anything like that, that’s what you’re going to get with this one. Other than this, you also have the M2 Pro Mac Mini, which keeps the exact same body, but you get two more Thunderbolt ports.

So it has four in total, which also means you could do three external displays. So if you’re somebody who has three displays, then you probably want to go with the M2 Pro version. Now, also one thing to note, the M2 Pro does also have a larger fan and heatsink inside, which does help with heavy processing needs.

M2 Mac Mini What Specs Should You Get?

Okay, so how do you decide what specs to get? So one thing to keep in mind here is that just like the other M2 devices, the 256-gigabyte version is going to be approximately 30% to 50% slower on SSD speeds compared to the 512-gigabyte version. So if you’re on defense about getting more storage, maybe this might make your decision a little bit easier. It is definitely something to consider. However, I will say this.

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I don’t personally think that this will impact the majority of the regular users out there. They’re not really going to see that big of a difference between this SSD storage speed. But if you are doing things that require larger storage or bigger files, then I definitely recommend upgrading your memory or storage a little bit.
M2 Mac Mini Vs M2 Pro Vs M2 Max Differences

And on the other end of the spectrum, I did also want to mention that going to the Pro or Max, they’re mostly GPU improvements. So keep that in mind as you’re trying to spec out your device.

The max difference between the M2, M2 pro, and the M2 max is in GPU power. The CPU should be pretty great across the board.

Do You Need The M2 Pro Or Is M2 Base Mac Mini Enough?

To be quite honest. I think the M2 chip is so strong that a lot of people could get away with just the base chip. They don’t really need the upgraded M2 pro version. The base M2 Mac Mini is great for developers, music producers, photo editors, and even video editors, depending on Ram and storage and how you spec it out. So you might need to increase your Ram and storage a little bit, but overall it’s very, very capable.

M2 Mac Mini RAM Vs Storage Upgrade

Okay, so to see if, let’s say I have enough money to do maybe one upgrade, which one should I prioritize? Well, in my opinion, if you had one upgrade to do, then between storage and Ram, I would do the Ram because you’ll get better performance and you’ll hopefully get better longevity. So all in all, with that Ram, hopefully, the Mac will last you a long time. And for SSD space, you can always use an external SSD to expand your storage after the fact. You can always plug it into one of the USB ports on the back and you’re good to go.

M2 Mac Mini Vs Windows Competition

Okay, now I want to quickly compare this to some of the other products. Overall, I’ll say this, these Mac minis for performance per dollar are amazing. And with this base model, I don’t think there’s anything on the market that can compete. And I’d go as far as to say even in the Windows world, oh man, I’m going to get so much hate for that.

But I mean, let me know in the comment section down below if you see anything else in this price point that is brand new and comes with these kinds of benchmarks. I personally couldn’t find anything, but if you can, let me know in the comment section down below.

M2 Mac Mini Vs Macbook Pro Laptop

Okay, now let’s talk about comparing this to the other products in the ecosystem and see which computer is probably best for you. The first one is laptops. Now, this is an easy comparison because, I mean, they’re great, but not everybody needs portability.

A lot of times people end up getting laptops because they think they’re going to be using them on the go, but they just literally have it docked the entire time. Not only is it impacting the battery life of the laptop over time, and you’re basically just paying for a screen that you’re not going to end up using.

Top of that, this also will give you more ports than the previous MacBooks. So unless you really need the portability, like, let’s say you’re commuting every single day, you’re constantly on the go, you’re a student, or something like that, then this M2 Mac mini is probably the better buy. Now, my favorite comparison, what about the iMac.

M2 Mac Mini Vs iMAC

This is what a lot of people have been asking me. Look, the Imac is a great option, and honestly, it was my favorite option for an entry-level use case scenario until this M2 Mac mini showed up. Here’s why. The entry-level iMac comes in at the lowest option, costing about 1299. That’s one for $1300.

Now, this comes with an M1 chip, so it’s not even been upgraded yet. So you’re already paying more for an older chip, whereas you can get a much more, newer and more powerful chip with the M2 Mac mini.

M2 Mac Mini MOniter Pros And Cons

Now, what the iMac does have going for it is a double-edged sword because it is technically a one-stop solution. So you get a screen built in, you get a keyboard mouse, everything part of that deal. But here’s the thing.

For that $700 extra that you’re spending over the price of the M2 Mac mini, you could pretty much go out and pick up any screen that you want or even sometimes people want to build a dual monitor setup or something like that. And with the iMac, you’re kind of stuck with that one particular screen that you get with it.

So over time if you wanted to expand your monitors or you wanted to get different monitors and swap stuff out, then you kind of have to change your entire computer and that can be a lot more expensive and that can get annoying. Whereas with this, this thing will last you quite a bit more time and you can just swap out monitors or add monitors as you see fit.

M2 Mac Mini Vs Mac Studio

And in regards to the Mac studio, it’s a very specific use case for professionals and if you need it, you already know that you need it and you’ve already looked at the specs so I’m not really going to say much more on that topic.

Should You Upgrade From M1 To M2 Mac Mini?

Lastly, let’s talk about price I kind of want to live a holistic picture of this M2 Mac mini. So who should actually buy this? Well firstly, if you have an M One chip Apple computer, do you need to upgrade? I personally don’t think so. I think the M1, you’re already getting really great performance per dollar, and that thing pretty much rips like I’m able to like edit things on it with no problem.

Like video editing, photo editing, and whatever I need to throw at it, it works just fine. So unless you’re finding that your workflow is bottlenecking you at some point and you need something a little more powerful, then of course it makes sense to upgrade from the M1. But if it doesn’t, then you don’t really need to upgrade yet.

Should You Upgrade From Intel Chip To M2 Mac Mini?

Now what if you’re on an intel chipset then yeah, I’d say get the heck out of there. It’s significantly better on this side of the fence and I can promise you once you switch over you’re going to realize that as well. And in this case, I’d get the M2 Mac mini. Why get the M1 unless you can find a refurbished deal for quite a bit cheaper? And in that specific case, I would suggest first you put your eyes on the M2 Mac mini baseline and then use that as a starting point based on what your requirements are, that’s where I would start and then start upgrading your components.

And then once you’ve upgraded your components compared to the other products in the lineup and see if the price difference or price jump makes sense to you. For all you know, you upgrade the M2 Mac mini so much that it just makes more sense to buy an M2 MacBook Pro or something like that.

Is The M2 Mac Mini The Best Computer To Buy?

Keep in mind for this to be the best value device that I’ve been talking about, it has to be without any upgrades. The base version is what I’m talking about. The moment you start adding Ram and storage options and stuff like that, the value diminishes really quickly. So overall, I would say it’s not a bad value personally if you wanted to upgrade this device, but it does go from being extraordinary to regular Apple pricing.

M2 Mac Mini Conclusion

But yeah, I deck price overall for $600. The base-level M2 Mac mini is really well-priced.

And keep in mind also you can get the student discount, which knocks another $100 off this. So you could really get this for $500 if you’re a student, which is an absolute steal. I really think Apple is stretching here to try to take over market share from other companies. And this really changes the landscape for students, families, entry-level, average use case scenarios, and many more. It gets people through the gate and into this Apple garden.

In any case, thank you so much for reading this article. If you found this article beneficial and helpful. And if you are considering an M2 Mac Mini, hopefully, I helped make your decision a little bit easier.

If you have any specific questions about any of these things, let me know in the comment section below. Take care, and stay blessed. Peace.