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Mac mini (M4, 2024) vs Mac mini (2018)

Mac mini (M4, 2024)1Mac mini (2018)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac mini M4 against Mac mini
FigureMac mini M41Mac mini2
Price£5993launch price£7994launch price
ChipM4chipCore i33.6GHz quad-core Intel
CPU10-coreCPU4-coreCPU
GPU10-coreGPUNot available5GPU
Memory16GBunified memory, base8GBmemory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base128GBstorage, base
Released8 November 20243ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 29 October 2024.7 November 20184ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2018.
Security updatesNot available6Security updatesNot available6Security updates
Price
The Mac mini M4 is £599 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the Mac mini is £799 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).

True to scale

Mac mini (M4, 2024) · 127 × 50 mm frontMac mini (2018) · 197 × 36 mm front

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

Body: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini2
Dimensions50 x 127 x 127 mm36 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight0.67 kg1.3 kg
ColoursSilverSpace Grey4
PortsFront: two USB-C ports with support for USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s), 3.5mm headphone jack. Back (M4): Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), HDMI port, three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) portsFour Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI 2.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports734
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 3
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.82
HDMIHDMI portHDMI 2.0 port
SD card slotNo SD card slot.9No SD card slot.10
Headphone jackYesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini2
ChipApple M4 chip3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3
Apple siliconYesIntel processor, not Apple silicon.10
CPU cores104
Performance cores4Not available11
Efficiency cores6Not available11
GPU cores10Not available5
Graphics10-core GPU12Intel UHD Graphics 630
Neural Engine cores16Not available13
Chip optionsM4 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU143.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3, 3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, or 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7
Memory (base)16GB8GB
Memory (maximum)32GB1464GB
Memory options16GB, 24GB or 32GB148GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents15No, as Apple documents15
Memory bandwidth120 GB/sNot available16
Storage (base)256GB128GB
Storage (maximum)2TB142TB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB14128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB SSD
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decodeNot available13

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini2
Maximum continuous power155 W150 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini2
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth5.35.0
EthernetGigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45); configurable to 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T: 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb)
External displays (base)33

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini2
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker12Built-in speaker17

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini2
Shipped withNot available18macOS Mojave19
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate20macOS Sequoia21
Model identifierMac16,10, Mac16,1122Macmini8,121
Model year20242018

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)3,277231,17623
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)15,324233,33923

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac mini M4 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications · Default for Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple’s new Mac mini is more mighty, more mini, and built for Apple Intelligence · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New Mac mini packs a huge punch · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  5. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  6. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  7. Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac mini M4: Thunderbolt 4. Mac mini: Thunderbolt 3.

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  8. Mac mini (M4, 2024): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  9. Mac mini (M4, 2024): No SD card slot. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  10. Mac mini (2018): No SD card slot. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. Doesn’t apply: this is an Intel processor, and Apple lists a total core count only

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  12. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  13. Doesn’t apply: Apple silicon feature; this Mac has an Intel processor

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  14. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  15. Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  16. Doesn’t apply: Apple publishes it only for Apple silicon

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  18. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple’s new Mac mini is more mighty, more mini, and built for Apple Intelligence. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  19. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New Mac mini packs a huge punch · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  20. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  21. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  22. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  23. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

Mac mini M4. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple’s new Mac mini is more mighty, more mini, and built for Apple Intelligence, read 9 Oct 2026.

Mac mini. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications, 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 M4 (2024)? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini (2018)?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.