M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio compared: Smaller and better
The original Mac Studio still offers a lot of performance, but a comparatively-priced M4 Pro Mac mini offers a better deal. Here's what $1,200 could get you in either Mac flavor.
M4 Pro Mac mini [left], M1 Max Mac Studio [right]
Introduced in March 2022, the Mac Studio promised high performance in a compact casing. Effectively a Mac mini on steroids, the Mac Studio aimed high with its performance, while still sticking to the concept of a small block of computing power.
The Apple Silicon chip generations have flown by, with the newest Mac models sporting an M4 chip. This may be a three-generation difference, but the original Mac Studio is still showing its worth to consumers.
You can still pick up an M1 Max Mac Studio for around $1,400, if you know where to look.
A new Mac buyer seeking a Mac Studio may potentially find the latest Mac mini to be a better purchase. Especially if they were to invest a similar amount of money into the configuration.
Here's how a base M1 Max Mac Studio compares against $1,399 of modern M4 Pro Mac mini.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio - Specifications
| Specifications | M4 Pro Mac mini (2024) | M1 Max Mac Studio (2022) |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Starting price | $1,399 Best Mac mini M4 prices | $1,999 |
| Dimensions (inches) | 5.0 x 5.0 x 2.0 | 7.7 x 7.7 x 3.7 |
| Weight (pounds) | 1.6 | 5.9 |
| Processor | Apple M4 Pro 12-core CPU, Apple M4 Pro 14-core CPU | Apple M1 Max 10-core CPU |
| Graphics | 16-core GPU, 20-core GPU | 24-core GPU, 32-core GPU |
| RAM | 24GB, 48GB, 64GB | 32GB, 64GB |
| Networking | 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit Ethernet, 10Gig upgradable | 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible, Bluetooth 5.0, 10Gb Ethernet |
| Storage | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB |
| Display Support | Maximum of 3: Three 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI, or one 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI | Maximum of 5: Four Pro Display XDRs and one 4K |
| Ports | HDMI, Three Thunderbolt 5, Two USB 3 Type-C (front) Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone (front) | HDMI, Four Thunderbolt 4, Two USB-A, Two USB 3 Type-C (front) Gigabit Ethernet, SDXC (front) 3.5mm headphone |
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio - Design, weight, size
When the Mac Studio was introduced, it earned commentary of being a much taller Mac mini. In many respects, that's quite true, but not anymore.
For a start, it used the same 7.7-inch by 7.7-inch rounded square footprint the Mac mini was known for. Except here, it's over twice as tall, at 3.7 inches.
It's still made with an aluminum enclosure, though with an overall package size tipping the scale at 5.9 pounds.
To the rear Apple included a strong selection of ports as usual. Around the front, Apple included two more ports, with the M1 Max including a pair of USB 3 Type-C connections while the Ultra used Thunderbolt 4 again.
An SDXC card slot at the front also made it useful for videographers and photographers.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio: Front of the new Mac miniM4 Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio: Front of the new Mac mini
The Mac mini, for the M4 and M4 Pro launch, has been given a considerable facelift. Its redesign includes a much smaller body, with a footprint of 5 inches square and a two-inch height.
This does make it less flat and more squat than before, and could be likened to a tiny Mac Studio.
Adding to the comparison is the extra ports on the front of the Mac mini, borrowing the idea from the Mac Studio. Those ports are USB-C with support for USB 3 speeds, so up to 10Gbps.
One other big difference is the sheer amount of venting on the rear of the Mac Studio. It's a tall enclosure, so it made sense to take advantage of the lesser-seen space.
There is no such venting on the rear of the Mac mini, since it's too small and occupied with ports. The venting is in the base, as usual.
There is one more unusual change for the Mac mini, in that the power button is now in the base of the device. While this will mean you'll have to pick up the Mac mini to power it on, you can still reach around the rear to power the Mac Studio.
There's obviously going to be a big difference in weight. The Mac Studio comes in at 5.9 pounds, while the M4 Pro Mac mini is a petite 1.6 pounds.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio - Processing
Powering the M1 Max Mac Studio was, as the name indicates, an M1 Max chip. This consists of a 10-core CPU, using eight performance cores and two efficiency cores.
It was paired with a 24-core GPU, though it was configurable to 32 cores if you wished. The 16-core Neural Engine, a staple of Apple Silicon, was also onboard.
The Media Engine was a big attraction for video producers, since it offered hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW playback. It had one video decode engine, two video encode engines, and a pair each of ProRes encode and decode engines.
The M4 Pro starts with a 12-core CPU, with eight performance cores and four efficiency cores. This is already a better combination than the M1 Max, but you could also get a 14-core version with two extra performance cores.
The Neural Engine and Media Engine also make a return, with Apple boasting of triple the performance for Apple Intelligence processing.
The lower-core CPU has a 16-core GPU, but the upgraded version has a 20-core GPU available.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio: A representation of the M4 Pro chip
When it comes to memory, Apple started the Mac Studio at 32GB of unified memory, with an option to go up to 64GB at the time of purchase. Memory bandwidth was also high, at 400GB/s.
The M4 Pro starts at the a lower 24GB of unified memory, with upgrades available to 48GB and 64GB, matching the upper limit of the M1 Max Mac Studio. The memory bandwidth of 273GB/s isn't as high as the M1 Max, but it's still an admirable effort.
As for how many screens you can drive, the M1 Max Mac Studio can deal with up to five screens at once. That includes four Pro Display XDR 6K screens at 60Hz using USB-C and one 4K at 60Hz over HDMI.
The M4 Pro Mac Mini can deal with up to three 6K-resolution screens at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and HDMI. Alternately, for a two-screen configuration, it can do one 6K 60Hz screen over Thunderbolt as well as either an 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz screen over Thunderbolt or HDMI.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio - Benchmark estimation
We cannot directly compare the M1 Max in the Mac Studio against the M4 in the Mac mini, simply because there are no benchmarks. We do have to largely abide by what Apple claims about the chip's performance, and extrapolate from that.
While it does have the M4, we cannot really compare the Mac mini against the iPad Pro.
For a start, you will find better thermal management in a hefty Mac than you will in an iPad Pro, simply because the latter is made to be thin and not get too warm. Since the Mac Studio can do a better job at cooling the chip, it can also afford to make the chip run faster for longer.
In short, you can expect the Mac performance of the M4 chip to outpace the iPad Pro's version, and the M4 Pro to do better.
Apple claims the CPU performance of the M4 is about 1.8 times that of the M1 Mac mini, with 2.2 times the GPU performance.
While Apple doesn't offer a proper CPU comparison for the M4 Pro, we do know that it has more cores, so the multi-core testing will be even higher. It does say the graphical performance is twice that of the M4 chip.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio: Single-core and multi-core benchmark forecasts
The M1 Mac Studio with M1 Max is listed as having a single-core score of 2,419, and a multi-core score of 12,627.
We can estimate that the M4 chip's scores would be 4,252 and 15,203 for single-core and multi-core respectively. The M4 Pro will be even higher for the multi-core side, and will probably be identical for the single-core test.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio: Metal benchmark estimates
For Metal, the M1 Max Mac Studio manages a very good 81,009 in the test listings. Based on Apple's claims, the M4 should reach about 72,000, and the M4 Pro about 144,000.
If Apple's claims are accurate, the M4 Pro Mac mini is more powerful than the M1 Max Mac Studio when it comes to processing performance.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio - Storage, connectivity, audio
The Mac Studio with M1 Max starts with 512GB as an SSD, with configuration options going up to 8GB. The Mac mini follows the exact same path with its storage options.
For connectivity, the Mac Studio has four Thunderbolt 4 ports including four Thunderbolt 4 connections, a pair of USB 3 Type-A ports, HDMI, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Since it was expected to be used in professional environments, it also shipped with 10Gbps Ethernet as standard.
At the front, the M1 Max has the SDXC card slot and two USB 3 Type-C ports. The M1 Ultra version offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports instead.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio: the rear ports on the M4 Pro Mac mini
The M4 Pro Mac mini has a trio of Thunderbolt 5 ports to the rear, offering double the throughput of Thunderbolt 4, if you have the accessories to use it. The rear also has HDMI and Gigabit Ethernet, with the latter upgradable to 10 Gig.
To the front are two USB 3 Type-C ports. However, there's no memory card slot at the front, but there is the headphone jack.
For wireless connectivity, Apple includes Wi-Fi 6, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 for accessories in the Mac Studio. The M4 Pro has Wi-Fi 6E support and Bluetooth 5.3.
When it comes to audio, the both models have the headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones. There's also HDMI multi-channel audio support, so you can drive sound through a monitor.
There's a built-in speaker in each, which is usable in a pinch, but external options are always better.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio - Pricing
The M1 Max Mac Studio in its base configuration with the 24-core GPU, 32GB of unified memory, and 512GB of storage, cost consumers $1,999 at the time of launch. A savvy shopper can get the same configuration for around $1,400 if they look in the right places.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio: A Mac Studio on a desk
The M4 Pro Mac mini starts at $1,399, and includes the 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 24GB of unified memory, and 512GB of storage.
Upgrading to the 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU is $200. Memory upgrades cost $400 to get to 48GB and another $200 to get to 64GB.
Storage upgrades from 512GB start at $200 for 1TB, another $400 to get to 2TB, another $600 for 4TB, and an extra $1,200 for 8TB.
Upgrading the Gigabit Ethernet to 10-Gigabit Ethernet costs $100.
M4 Pro Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio - Mini and mighty
The introduction of the Mac Studio offered consumers the best of both worlds. They could have the massive performance of what you could get in a Mac Pro, but in a form factor that was very close to the Mac mini.
With the introduction of the M4 Pro Mac mini, it's now possible to get M1 Max Mac Studio performance in an even smaller package.
Of course, there are some compromises, such as a slightly smaller port selection due to physical constraints. But something like that can easily be dealt with using a Thunderbolt dock.
Once again Apple is providing the performance of a larger product in the format of a much smaller one. In fact, its smallest Mac ever.
For M1 Max Mac Studio owners, the M4 Pro Mac mini provides a hefty performance bump, without losing too much in the process. For anyone else considering picking up the M1 Max Mac Studio for cheap performance, the M4 Pro in the Mac mini should make them reconsider.
Where to buy the Mac mini M4 Pro vs Mac Studio M1 Max
The 2024 M4 Mac mini is available to purchase at Apple resellers, with Adorama knocking up to $50 off the new models with promo code APINSIDER. The APINSIDER code also knocks $20 off three years of AppleCare for the new Mac mini. You can find a breakdown of the offers in our M4 Mac mini Price Guide.
The M1 Max Mac Studio, meanwhile, is available on eBay -- with many units in brand-new condition.
Read on AppleInsider