Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024) vs Mac mini (M1, 2020)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac mini M4 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,3993launch price | £6994launch price |
| Chip | M4 Prochip | M1chip |
| CPU | 12-coreCPU | 8-coreCPU |
| GPU | 16-coreGPU | 8-coreGPU |
| Memory | 24GBunified memory, base | 8GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 256GBstorage, base |
| Released | 8 November 20243ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 29 October 2024. | 10 November 20205Available online; Apple gave no in-store day |
| Security updates | Not available6Security updates | Not available7Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac mini M4 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 M4 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 50 x 127 x 127 mm | 36 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 0.73 kg | 1.2 kg |
| Colours | Silver | Silver |
| Ports | Front: two USB-C ports with support for USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s), 3.5mm headphone jack. Back (M4 Pro): Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), HDMI port, three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports | 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 | 3 | 2 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 5 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.9 | 2 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | No SD card slot.10 | No SD card slot.11 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac mini M4 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M4 Pro chip | Apple M1 chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 12 | 8 |
| Performance cores | 8 | 4 |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 16 | 8 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M4 Pro with 12-core CPU and 16-core GPU, or M4 Pro with 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU | M1 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU |
| Memory (base) | 24GB | 8GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 64GB | 16GB |
| Memory options | 24GB, 48GB or 64GB | 8GB or 16GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents12 | No, as Apple documents12 |
| Memory bandwidth | 273 GB/s | Not available13 |
| 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 engineAV1 decode | Not available13 |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac mini M4 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous power | 155 W | 150 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac mini M4 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 M4 Pro1 | Mac mini M12 |
|---|---|---|
| Speakers | Built-in speaker14 | Built-in speaker15 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - 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 M4 Pro: Thunderbolt 5. Mac mini M1: Thunderbolt 3.
↩Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024): No USB-A ports.
↩Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024): 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 (2024) - 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 (M4 Pro, 2024) ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
Mac mini M4 Pro. 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 Pro (2024)? · 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.