Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) vs Mac mini (M1, 2020)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac mini M2 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,3993launch price | £6994launch price |
| Chip | M2 Prochip | M1chip |
| CPU | 10-coreCPU | 8-coreCPU |
| GPU | 16-coreGPU | 8-coreGPU |
| Memory | 16GBunified memory, base | 8GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 256GBstorage, base |
| Released | 24 January 20233ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 17 January 2023. | 10 November 20205Available online; Apple gave no in-store day |
| Security updates | Not available6Security updates | Not available7Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac mini M2 Pro is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the Mac mini M1 is £699 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
True to scale
Front faces, from Apple’s published dimensions, drawn to one scale and superposed. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.
Body
| Specification | Mac mini M2 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 35.8 x 197 x 197 mm | 36 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 1.28 kg | 1.2 kg |
| Colours | Silver | Silver |
| Ports | Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), 3.5mm headphone jack | Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5 Gb/s), HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports8 | 4 | 2 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | 2 | 2 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | No SD card slot.9 | No SD card slot.10 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac mini M2 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M2 Pro chip | Apple M1 chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 10 | 8 |
| Performance cores | 6 | 4 |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 16 | 8 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M2 Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, or M2 Pro with 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU | M1 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU |
| Memory (base) | 16GB | 8GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 32GB | 16GB |
| Memory options | 16GB or 32GB | 8GB or 16GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents11 | No, as Apple documents11 |
| Memory bandwidth | 200 GB/s | Not available12 |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 256GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB | 2TB |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine | Not available12 |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac mini M2 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous power | 185 W | 150 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac mini M2 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) | Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| Ethernet | Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet) | Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet) |
| External displays (base) | 3 | 2 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | Mac mini M2 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Speakers | Built-in speaker13 | Built-in speaker14 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs ·
↩- ↩
Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac mini M2 Pro: Thunderbolt 4. Mac mini M1: Thunderbolt 3.
↩Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023): No SD card slot.
↩Mac mini (M1, 2020): No SD card slot.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) — Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
Mac mini M2 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro — more powerful, capable, and versatile than ever, read 9 Oct 2026.
Mac mini M1. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac, read 9 Oct 2026.
If you own one of them
Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my Mac mini M2 Pro (2023)? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini M1 (2020)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.