MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) vs Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024)
Quick look
| Figure | MacBook Pro M51 | Mac mini M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,9993last Apple UK store price | £1,3994launch price |
| Chip | M5chip | M4 Prochip |
| CPU | 10-coreCPU | 12-coreCPU |
| GPU | 10-coreGPU | 16-coreGPU |
| Memory | 16GBunified memory, base | 24GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 1TB5storage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Up to24 hrsvideo playback, claimed | Not available6No battery |
| Released | 22 October 20257ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 15 October 2025. | 8 November 20244ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 29 October 2024. |
| Security updates | Not available8Security updates | Not available9Security updates |
- Price
- The MacBook Pro M5 is £1,999 as Apple’s last UK store price, per Apple UK Store (archived 5 October 2026); the Mac mini M4 Pro is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
- Kind of Mac
- The MacBook Pro M5 is a laptop; the Mac mini M4 Pro is a desktop. The MacBook Pro M5 has a built-in 14.2-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac mini M4 Pro has none of them.
True to scale
A laptop and a desktop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the footprint of one and the front face of the other, from Apple’s published dimensions, at one scale. 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 | MacBook Pro M51 | Mac mini M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 15.5 x 312.6 x 221.2 mm | 50 x 127 x 127 mm |
| Weight | 1.55 kg | 0.73 kg |
| Colours | Space Black, Silver | Silver |
| Ports | Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jack | 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 |
| Thunderbolt ports10 | 3 | 3 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 5 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.11 | No USB-A ports.12 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | Yes | No SD card slot.13 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Yes | Not available14 |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID | Not available15 |
| Touch ID | Yes | Not available16 |
| Touch Bar | No Touch Bar.17 | Not available18 |
Display
| Specification | MacBook Pro M51 | Mac mini M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 14.2 in | Not available19 |
| Resolution | 3024 x 1964 | Not available19 |
| Pixel density | 254 ppi | Not available19 |
| Display type | Liquid Retina XDR display | Not available19 |
| Brightness (SDR, outdoor) | 1,000 nits20 | Not available19 |
| Peak brightness (HDR) | 1,600 nits | Not available19 |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | Not available19 |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Not available19 |
| Nano-texture option | Yes | Not available19 |
Chip and memory
| Specification | MacBook Pro M51 | Mac mini M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M5 chip | Apple M4 Pro chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 10 | 12 |
| Super cores | 420 | Not available21 |
| Performance cores | Not available22 | 8 |
| Efficiency cores | 620 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 10 | 16 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M5 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU23 | M4 Pro with 12-core CPU and 16-core GPU, or M4 Pro with 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU |
| Memory (base) | 16GB | 24GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 32GB | 64GB |
| Memory options | 16GB, 24GB or 32GB | 24GB, 48GB or 64GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents24 | No, as Apple documents25 |
| Memory bandwidth | 153 GB/s | 273 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 1TB5 | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 4TB | 8TB |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode |
Battery and power
| Specification | MacBook Pro M51 | Mac mini M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | 72.4 Wh | Not available6 |
| Rated charge cycles | 1,000 cycles26 | Not available6 |
| Video playback (claimed) | 24 h | Not available6 |
| Wireless web (claimed) | 16 h | Not available6 |
| Included power adapter | No power adapter in the box.17 | Not available27 |
| Fast charging | Yes | Not available6 |
| Maximum continuous power | Not available28 | 155 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | MacBook Pro M51 | Mac mini M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) | Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Ethernet | No Ethernet port.17 | Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet) |
| External displays (base) | 2 | 3 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | MacBook Pro M51 | Mac mini M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View | Not available29 |
| Camera resolution | 12 MP | Not available29 |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers | Built-in speaker30 |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming31 | Not available32 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs ·
↩- ↩
- ↩
Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max ·
↩Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Different Thunderbolt generations. MacBook Pro M5: Thunderbolt 4. Mac mini M4 Pro: Thunderbolt 5.
↩MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5): No USB-A ports.
↩Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024): No USB-A ports.
↩Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024): No SD card slot.
↩Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard, and Touch ID is a keyboard feature
↩MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5): No Touch Bar. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in display
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs ·
↩Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores
↩Apple names this chip’s cores differently: 4 super cores, 6 efficiency cores
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box
↩Doesn’t apply: a notebook lists its power adapter, not a maximum continuous power
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in camera
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩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 MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) — Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
MacBook Pro M5. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, read 9 Oct 2026.
Mac mini M4 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. 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.
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 MacBook Pro M5 (14-inch)? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini M4 Pro (2024)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.