Apple’s widespread M4 Mac Mini desktop laptop is on sale for less than $500 at Amazon. To get the total $99 financial savings, you will must click on the coupon field beneath the value, which drops it from $549 to $500. Launched final fall, the most recent entry-level Mac Mini punches above its $599 MSRP. In case you’re out there for a desktop PC for round $500 or much less, it might be difficult to discover a higher possibility than the 2024 Mac Mini–unless you might want to use software program that is unsupported by macOS, after all.
$500 (was $599)
As talked about, Amazon’s deal is for the bottom mannequin M4 Mac Mini. At simply 5 x 5 x 2 inches, the Mac Mini is a particularly compact machine, so it is nice for these working with minimal desk area. The M4 has a 10-core GPU and 10-core CPU. 4 of these CPU cores are efficiency cores, whereas the opposite six are effectivity cores. It additionally has a 16-core Neural Engine for machine studying operations.
The bottom mannequin has a 256GB SSD and 16GB Unified Reminiscence. The latter is basically RAM; it has the “unified” moniker as a result of the CPU and GPU in Apple Silicon chips pull from the identical reminiscence financial institution. The M4 has a reminiscence bandwidth of 120GB per second.
The primary draw back to the Mac Mini is that you just’re principally shopping for a pc tower, so you might want to provide the keyboard, mouse, show, and all of the cables past the ability wire. Nevertheless it does have a plethora of ports on the back and front:
Mac Mini M4 Ports:
- 2 USB-C 3.0 ports on the entrance
- 3 Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports on the again
- HDMI port
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- 3.5mm audio jack
The entrance two USB-C ports are conveniently positioned for wi-fi receivers and corded equipment, whereas the trio of Thunderbolt 4 ports on the again can be utilized to shortly switch recordsdata and join a number of shows at as much as 8K decision. The M4 Mac Mini helps as much as three screens. You probably have screens that assist 4K (or increased) decision, all three can run in 4K+ decision at 60Hz refresh charges. Refresh charges of as much as 240Hz are potential when utilizing one or two screens as an alternative of three.
For the reason that 2024 Mac Minis have solely been round for about six months, nobody is aware of for positive how effectively the M4-equipped fashions will maintain up over time. That stated, Apple’s monitor file with Mac Minis and MacBooks means that you could possibly use get five-plus years of constant efficiency. 5 years is a really conservative estimate, as there are many Apple customers who nonetheless use laptops and desktops bought 10-plus years in the past.
In order for you extra cupboard space, reminiscence, or perhaps a higher-performing M4 chipset, Amazon additionally has offers on different configurations of the most recent Mac Mini.
All Mac Mini M4 Offers at Amazon:
- Mac Mini (M4, 16GB Reminiscence, 256GB SSD) — $500 (
$599) | Click on coupon field - Mac Mini (M4, 16GB Reminiscence, 512GB SSD) — $690 (
$799) | Click on coupon field - Mac Mini (M4, 24GB Reminiscence, 512GB SSD) — $890 (
$999) | Click on coupon field - Mac Mini (M4 Professional, 24GB Reminiscence, 512GB SSD) — $1,249 (
$1,399)
Any Mac-compatible keyboards and mice will work simply fantastic with the Mac Mini, however if you wish to pair it with Apple’s official equipment, you may save $10 on the Magic Mouse. Apple additionally makes a Magic Trackpad, although it will price you roughly twice the value of the Magic Mouse. The wi-fi, tenkeyless Magic Keyboard retails for $99.
Amazon additionally has offers on Apple’s M4 MacBooks. The 2025 MacBook Air is on sale for $889 (was $999). Just like the Mac Mini, that is the bottom mannequin MacBook Air. The smooth, travel-friendly laptop computer has a 13-inch Liquid Retina Show, 16GB Unified Reminiscence, and a 256GB SSD. Whereas its specs seem equivalent to the Mac Mini, it is price noting that the M4 chip within the base mannequin MacBook Air has an 8-core GPU, versus the Mini’s 10-core GPU.
Alternatively, you will get the 2024 MacBook Professional with an M4 chip for as little as $1,447.50 (was $1,599).
