2024 M4 Mac Mini vs. M1: A Waste of Money?

four years ago Apple launched their base model Mac Mini as part of their M series transition delivering massive performance gains now in 2024 they've released the smallest most powerful base Mac Mini yet equipped with the M4 processor but is it worth upgrading let's find out hey guys CJ with elevated systems today we're diving into the Apple family to compare the performance of the 2024 base model M4 Mac Mini with the 2020 base model M1 Mac Mini if you're wondering whether it's time to upgrade your Mac Mini or if the M4 is the right choice for your first step into the Mac ecosystem well you're in the right place both models were priced at $5.99 when they launched but the M4 brings a bump in specs that could make a difference depending on your workload in this video we'll start with a quick look at the specs and features then move on to some synthetic and real world benchmarks we'll take test everything from raw performance and editing workflows to AI driven features in Mac OS 15.1 by the end you'll have all the info you need to decide whether the M4 is worth the upgrade or if the M1 still gets the job done for you diving into the specs and features we'll quickly review the physical difference between these two machines the M4 mini has a 58% smaller footprint than the M1 but is slightly taller it adds two front-facing USBC ports three Thunderbolt 4 ports and HDMI 2.1 supporting up to three displays at higher resolutions and refresh rates however it loses the rear audio jack and usba a ports on the networking front the base model M4 sticks with the same gigb ethernet port as the M1 but there's an optional 10 GB upgrade available for $100 and one final physical difference the M4 ditches the rear exhaust vent seen on the M1 instead it pulls in fresh air through the bottom front and exhausted out the bottom rear keeping the design Sleek without sacrificing cooling performance moving on to performance specs let's Dive Right into comparing the bass M4 processor with the bass M1 the M1 Mac Mini featured an 8 core CPU split between four performance cores and four efficiency cores it came with an8 core integrated GPU a 16 core neural engine and 8 GB of unified memory all neatly packed into a single chip now the Bas M4 stepped things up it's rocking at 10 core CPU with the same four performance cores but bumped up to a six efficiency cores you'll also get a 10 core integrated GPU and a 16 core neural engine but double the unified memory at 16 GB that said some things haven't changed just like the M1 the Bas M4 mini still comes with just 256 GB of storage let's move into raw CPU performance in the cinebench 2024 multi-core test the M4 despite adding just two extra efficiency cores manages to nearly double the performance of the M1 over in the geekbench 6 multi-core test it still maintains a commanding 68% lead switching to single core speeds the M4 delivers equally impressive gains a 54 Improvement in cinch 2024 and a 57% lead in geekbench 6 single core test when it comes to the integrated gpus compute power the m4's 10 core GPU blows the m1's 8 core GPU out of the water showing a massive 71% Improvement in the geekbench 6 metal compute test so what does this all mean for real world performance with such significant raw CPU improvements you'd expect to see big gains in everyday workloads and for the most part you will that said Benchmark numbers don't always translate directly into noticeable performance difference but there are definitely situations where you'll feel the extra power I'll break it all down as we dive deeper into the real world tests and let's talk photo editing one of the Mac Mini's most popular use cases starting with the pugent bench Photoshop test the M4 delivers a huge 96% performance boost over the M1 this leap is thanks to the m4's improved single core performance and upgraded igpu what does this mean in real world use if you're working with massive 16k 150 megapixel images or batch editing large photo sets D M4 will save you noticeable time task like applying effects or filters on large files are significantly faster making a real difference for photographers or professionals handling high resolution projects but for basic tasks like color correction photo manipulation airbrushing light compositing the difference between the M1 and the M4 is far less pronounced actions like applying a mask or adjustments might take slightly longer on the M1 but we're talking fractions of seconds some of things most users won't notice and this holds true for similar applications like Lightroom Affinity photo Crea or painter so if your photo editing is more casual or focused on standard resolution work dm1 is still perfectly capable but if you regularly handle larger more demanding projects and you're being plagued by the dreaded spinning pin wheel the M4 may be a worthy upgrade now when it comes to video editing things play out a little differently if you're already using Final Cut Premier Pro or D Vinci resolve without constant frustration then you're good to keep driving on with your current system but if your video editing is starting to feel like an uphill battle the M4 could be a GameChanger let's look at the test data first the M1 Mac Mini couldn't even complete the pugent bench standard Premiere Pro test initially it kept timing out while trying to render out some of the GPU effects after extending the time allocation premere just gave up and crashed on the other hand the M4 mini powered through the test without breaking a sweat and scored exceptionally well to give you an idea I've laid it score alongside a couple of current gen top tier x86 CPU equipped mini PCS for context the M1 fared slightly better in Da Vinci resolve test completing it but Falling 42% behind the M4 then I loaded one of my own resolve projects into both systems the N1 managed to play back and scrub through the fully graded timeline at half resolution fairly smoothly but it occasionally dropped frames but when it came to handling the GPU effects and fusion elements the M1 really struggled in fact it couldn't even render the project unless I remov the digital glitch effect I used in several of the transitions the M4 however handled the timeline fine it didn't drop frames until it hit the effects and fusion Elements which it managed much better than the M1 and when it came time to render the M4 completed the project including all of the effects in just over 1,400 seconds or just shy of 24 minutes for comparison the M1 took over 2100 seconds nearly 36 minutes and that was after stripping out all the effects so if you're diving into more advanced video editing the M4 Mac Mini is absolutely the better choice it's a much more capable platform for handling heavier projects effects and workflows another real world test I ran was a 3D logo reveal in After Effects once again the M4 was noticeably better when it came to timeline performance and RAM playback this was a short relatively simple 4K multi effect project but it included a pretty demanding 3D scw effect the M4 not only handled the editing process more smoothly but it also rendered the project 124% faster than the M1 After Effects is probably one of the applications where the M4 shines across the board whether you're working on simple projects or diving into more advanced 3D Motion Graphics composite in VFX or broadcast design it's all going to run better on the M4 mini that said I need to add a caveat here if you're more than just in occasional hobbyist with After Effects and they're looking to do more professional ever work you should probably set your SES on the M4 Pro Mac Mini and if you're agnostic when it comes to platforms like I am and just want the best tool for the job a desktop PC with dedicated graphics maybe a better fit another popular use for these Mac minis is basic development especially within the Apple ecosystem whether that's building Mac OS iOS watch Os or even even Vision OS apps now I'll be the first to admit I'm not an expert in xcode nor do I have much experience with it for this test the developer acquaintance pointed me towards an xcode sample project that's representative of what of a Mac mini user might actually work on in this case we're building a backyard birds Mac OS app the M4 Mac Mini built the project 75% faster than the M1 and that sounds impressive but in real terms we're talking about a difference of just 5.7 seconds so whether shaving a few seconds off your build time is worth it depends on your specific workflow and honestly that's a subjective thing I can't chart on a graph now I don't do much more than basic python scripting these days but I've Got Friends in game development backend development and security nearly all of them work through a remote IDE or portal meaning nothing is processed locally except for the browser itself the same goes for a lot of productivity tasks for example my kids do all their school work on base model MacBooks through their school's online portal and my wife handles all her home office and productivity tasks in Office 365 which runs on cloud-based servers and we can measure performance gains for browser based workloads in browser benchmarks like speedometer 3 on Safari and jet stream 2 on Chrome which tests how well a browser starts and execute web apps the M4 does outscore the M1 by wide margins is the browser technically faster and more responsive on the M4 yes will the human brain actually register the difference probably not the same holds true for running local productivity apps like Apple's Pages numbers or keynote or even the Microsoft Office Suite the M4 will open and save documents nanc faster sort spreadsheet data milliseconds faster and even query larg day to seconds a few seconds faster but for day-to-day tasks like filtering your inbox or editing a document you won't notice much of a difference it's only with more demanding end of project tasks like converting a large document into PDF or exporting a big presentation to video that the M4 starts to pull ahead now here's the thing while my style is usually to present objective data and let you make the decision I've got to ja some more subjective opinion here if you just need a computer for basic web browsing remote work or productivity tasks neither of these Macs is a good choice in terms of price to Performance for those use cases they're overpowered and overpriced you can do all that work with no real noticeable difference for under $200 take this eq13 for example I did a detailed review of it which you can check out here and I've got the updated eq4 coming soon so make sure you're subscribed for that but in my opinion you don't need to spend more than $200 for a basic web browsing home office computer however if you are committed to the Apple ecosystem this is the lowest cost of entry into Mac OS now before we wrap this up let's talk about one last performance comparison AI I'm breaking this into two categories starting with apple intelligence those hand little AI tools built right into Mac OS 15.1 but here's the bottom line Apple's intelligence works on both of the M1 and M4 Mac Minis and I didn't notice any performance difference between the two I can generate bullet point summaries of Articles and web pages polish up an email or search my photo library by keywords just as seamlessly on both systems so if that's all you're looking for you're not missing out by sticking with the M1 now when it comes to running pre-trained a inference models locally the story changes this is where the M4 Mac Mini has a clear Edge thanks to its 16 gigabytes of memory double that of the Bas M1 AI is why Apple made the bump and memory standard on the Bas M4 for example if you're working with a 7 billion parameter large language model like llama 2 in 16bit or lower Precision it'll need about 8 GB of memory and under 20 GB of storage overall the M4 can handle this without breaking a sweat but the m1's 8 GB of memory just isn't enough and if all of that AI talk sounded like Greek to don't sweat it here's the takeaway the extra 16 GB of memory on the Bas M4 is plenty for most typical Mac Mini appropriate tasks but let's be honest if your workflow actually benefits or needs more RAM you should probably be looking at the M4 Pro instead now let's talk about storage or rather the lack of it the base model Mac mini is still equipped with a measly 256 GB SSD just like the M1 in the M4 Mac Mini the SSD is socketed which means it's technically user serviceable however it's still a proprietary part with no official upgrade path you can't just order a bigger drive from Apple or grab them from a third party and because the storage controller is built into the m4's so not the SSD module adapting a Commercial m.2 Drive is impossible so officially and realistically the only way to upgrade the storage is to do it at the time of purchase but brace yourself it's $200 for an extra 256 gab or up to $800 for a 2 tbyte upgrade now because most of my viewers are intelligent critical thinkers I usually just show you the numbers for example in the fast reliable SSD Market you can snag a 4 tbte m.2 nvme drive for about the same price as Apple's 512 gab upgrade I'll let you draw your own conclusions I don't need to flail my arms around and scream predatory ripoff or anti-consumer you get it and yes your conclusions are valid that said at the risk of being labeled an apple shill let me offer an alternative explanation I've always thought of the Bas Max Min as severely underpriced compared to its competitions Apple's probably selling these things at a loss to get more people into their ecosystem for perspective the Intel Core Ultra 9 185h which is manufactured in the same Fab as the M4 has a, unit trade price of $650 each $50 more than the entire base M4 Mac Mini so Apple subsidizes the base model and makes up for it with pricey upgrades for those who can afford them and honestly I'm okay with this Robin Hood approach Sony did it with the PlayStation and Microsoft still does it with the Xbox selling the consoles at a loss and recouping through accessories games and subscriptions and the base model Mac Mini is the absolute best-selling version of the mini but here's the thing in almost 2025 256 GB of storage just isn't enough not even for the average user now my entire family uses base model max with crappy storage and it only works because we have a very fast 132 tbte network attached storage server in the house Apple nand memory is dirt cheap it's time to bump the base model to at least 512 GB and the pro to a terabyte for your entrylevel customers then you can offer one 2 and 4 terabyte upgrades at the same pricing scale for customers with deeper pockets all right editorial over let's wrap this up is it time to upgrade your 4-year-old M1 Mac Mini or if you're new to the world of Max is the M4 Mac Mini a good entry point honestly there's no one size fits-all answer here my goal was to provide enough data and information about workloads appropriate for this class of mac and to offer intermediate conclusions along the way to help you make a more informed decision if I nailed that and helped you out let me know in the comments and if I miss something or you still have question drop those in the comments too I'd love to hear from you thanks for tuning in don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more Tech insights and I'll see you in the next one

Is the 2024 M4 Mac Mini really worth upgrading from your trusty M1, or should you stick with what you’ve got? In this in-depth comparison, we break down everything you need to know: performance benchmarks, photo editing, video rendering, AI features, and more. Whether you're considering buying your first Mac Mini or deciding if the M4's upgrades justify its price, this video will help you make the right choice. Don't waste your money—watch before you buy! Perfect for creators, developers, and Mac enthusiasts alike. #macmini #M1vsM4 #apple Products Highlighted: 2020 M1 Mac Mini (Renewed) - https://amzn.to/4fwfypP 2024 M4 Mac Mini - https://amzn.to/3CCEu0a Beelink EQ13 - https://amzn.to/4eJFoWi Timecodes: 00:00 - Opener 00:21 - Intro / Agenda 01:16 - Spec & Feature Comparison 02:07 - Apple Silicon Improvements 02:54 - Performance Testing - Raw Power 03:38 - "Benchmarks" Aren't Everything! 04:05 - Photo Editing 05:38 - Video Editing 07:43 - After Effects 08:50 - Programing / Development 09:53 - Productivity 11:22 - Better Alternatives? 12:19 - Apple Inteligence 13:59 - Lack of Storage? 16:12 - The Editorial Part of the Video! 16:59 - The Non-Conclusion Conclusion! ;) Find me on Social Media Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/elevatedsystems X: https://x.com/elevatedsystem1 My Studio Equipment (Paid Links) Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K Pro - https://amzn.to/3tA6ScP Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 - https://amzn.to/2VjqKSR Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ300 - https://amzn.to/2WJnxw6 Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art DC HSM Lens - https://amzn.to/3quDgM0 Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens -https://amzn.to/3uv13Of Panasonic LUMIX G Lens, 25mm, F1.7 - https://amzn.to/3A9f9Vi Magnus REX VT-5000 2-Stage Tripod - https://amzn.to/3GxsGJH Neewer 72.4-Inch Camera Tripod - https://amzn.to/3fsRuqU SMALLRIG Parabolic Softbox - https://amzn.to/3Hyvbxt SmallRig RC 120D COB Light - https://amzn.to/3S9Grp4 Kshioe Softbox Lighting Kit - https://amzn.to/3A5vZEq Neewer Camera Slider Motorized - https://amzn.to/3ltX54e Sennheiser MKE 600 Shotgun Mic - https://amzn.to/3fziRPv SAMSON Q2U Dynamic Microphone - https://amzn.to/3ikExBe Sennheiser XS Wireless Lavalier System - https://amzn.to/3ilSIpA PreSonus Eris E3.5 Studio Monitor - https://amzn.to/3CcVx4d Behringer U-Phoria UM2 USB DAC - https://amzn.to/3ZmyOOO Gator Frameworks Deluxe Boom Stand - https://amzn.to/3fs7Os3 Glide Gear TMP100 Teleprompter - https://amzn.to/3CdgIDy GLEAM Microphone Stand - https://amzn.to/3A4dth5 Davinci Resolve 17 & Speed Editor - https://amzn.to/3fsECRG AVerMedia Live Gamer ULTRA - https://amzn.to/3CCH5nV Apple 2022 Mac Studio - https://amzn.to/3GXW6mS LG 40WP95C-W 40” 5K2K Display - https://amzn.to/3ZtiiN6 INNOCN 15.6" OLED Portable Monitor. - https://amzn.to/3jEOqgu BenQ ScreenBar Halo - https://amzn.to/3XpUZ52 Audio file(s) provided by Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com