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Mac mini (M4, 2024) vs Mac mini (M1, 2020)

Mac mini (M4, 2024)1Mac mini (M1, 2020)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac mini M4 against Mac mini M1
FigureMac mini M41Mac mini M12
Price£5993launch price£6994launch price
ChipM4chipM1chip
CPU10-coreCPU8-coreCPU
GPU10-coreGPU8-coreGPU
Memory16GBunified memory, base8GBunified memory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Released8 November 20243ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 29 October 2024.10 November 20205Available online; Apple gave no in-store day
Security updatesNot available6Security updatesNot available6Security updates
Price
The Mac mini M4 is £599 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the Mac mini M1 is £699 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).

True to scale

Mac mini (M4, 2024) · 127 × 50 mm frontMac mini (M1, 2020) · 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 (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini M12
Dimensions50 x 127 x 127 mm36 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight0.67 kg1.2 kg
ColoursSilverSilver
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) portsTwo 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 ports732
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 3
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.82
HDMIHDMI portHDMI 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 (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini M12
ChipApple M4 chipApple M1 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores108
Performance cores44
Efficiency cores64
GPU cores108
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM4 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU11M1 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU
Memory (base)16GB8GB
Memory (maximum)32GB1116GB
Memory options16GB, 24GB or 32GB118GB or 16GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents12No, as Apple documents12
Memory bandwidth120 GB/sNot available13
Storage (base)256GB256GB
Storage (maximum)2TB112TB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB11256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
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 (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini M12
Maximum continuous power155 W150 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini M12
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth5.35.0
EthernetGigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)
External displays (base)32

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini M12
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker14Built-in speaker15

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini M12
Shipped withNot available16macOS Big Sur17
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate18macOS 27 Golden Gate18
Model identifierMac16,10, Mac16,1119Macmini9,120
Model year20242020

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple Mac mini (M4, 2024) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M41Mac mini M12
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)3,277212,19121
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)15,324218,58621
Geekbench 7 (Metal)54,1972128,36121

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 (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac mini M1 · 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) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  5. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 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 M1: 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 (M1, 2020): No SD card slot. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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  13. Not published by Apple. 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

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

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  15. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  16. 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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  17. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 14 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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  21. 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 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 M4 (2024)? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini M1 (2020)?

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