That being said, the two machines have much more in contrast than they do in common, including different chip options, memory capacities, ports, and external display support capabilities.Mac mini (M4, 2024) Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024) Mac Studio (M4 Max, 2025) Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) M4 chip (made with TSMC's enhanced 3nm (N3E) process) M4 Pro chip (made with TSMC's enhanced 3nm (N3E) process) M4 Max chip (made with TSMC's 3nm (N3E) process) M3 Ultra chip (made with TSMC's enhanced 5nm (N3B) process) 4.30 GHz maximum CPU clock speed 4.30 GHz maximum CPU clock speed 4.30 GHz maximum CPU clock speed 4.05 GHz maximum CPU clock speed 10-core CPU (4 performance cores + 6 efficiency cores) 12- or 14-core CPU (8 or 10 performance cores + 4 efficiency cores) 14- or 16-core CPU (10 or 12 performance cores + 4 efficiency cores) 28- or 32-core CPU (20 or 24 performance cores + 8 efficiency cores) 10-core GPU 16- or 20‑core GPU 32- or 40-core GPU 60- or 80-core GPU Improved ray-tracing engine Improved ray-tracing engine Improved ray-tracing engine Ray-tracing engine 120GB/s memory bandwidth 273GB/s memory bandwidth 546GB/s memory bandwidth 819.2GB/s memory bandwidth 16GB, 24GB, or 32GB unified memory 24GB, 48GB, or 64GB unified memory 36GB, 48GB, 64GB, or 128GB unified memory 96GB, 256GB, or 512GB unified memory LPDDR5X memory LPDDR5X memory LPDDR5X memory LPDDR5 memory 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB, or 16TB storage 16-core Neural Engine, 38 trillion operations per second 16-core Neural Engine, 38 trillion operations per second 16-core Neural Engine, 38 trillion operations per second 32-core Neural Engine, 72 trillion operations per second Video decode engine Video decode engine Video decode engine Two video decode engines Video encode engine Video encode engine Two video encode engines Two video encode engines ProRes encode and decode engine ProRes encode and decode engine Two ProRes encode and decode engines Four ProRes encode and decode engines Dedicated display engine Dedicated display engine Dedicated display engine Support for up to three external displays Support for up to three external displays Support for up to five external displays Support for up to eight external displays Three rear Thunderbolt 4 ports Three rear Thunderbolt 5 ports Four rear Thunderbolt 5 ports Four rear Thunderbolt 5 ports Two front USB-C ports Two front USB-C ports Two front USB-C ports Two front Thunderbolt 5 ports Two rear USB-A ports Two rear USB-A ports Gigabit Ethernet or 10Gb Ethernet port Gigabit Ethernet or 10Gb Ethernet port 10Gb Ethernet port 10Gb Ethernet port SDXC card slot (UHS-II) SDXC card slot (UHS-II) Bottom power button Bottom power button Rear power button Rear power button Starts at $599 Starts at $1,399 Starts at $1,999 Starts at $3,999 Following the Mac mini's redesign last year, the dimensions of the two devices are now radically different, with the Mac Studio dwarfing the Mac mini in every way.Mac mini Mac Studio Height 2.0 inches (5.0 cm) 3.7 inches (9.5 cm) Width 5.0 inches (12.7 cm) 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) Depth 5.0 inches (12.7 cm) 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) Weight M4: 1.5 pounds (0.67 kg) M4 Pro: 1.6 pounds (0.73 kg) M4 Max: 5.9 pounds (2.7 kg) M3 Ultra: 7.9 pounds (3.6 kg) Most customers should choose the M4 Pro Mac mini over the M4 Max Mac Studio, saving $700 when looking at the base models.
The Mac mini and the Mac Studio share some fundamental features, including a familiar, boxy silver aluminum design, two front-facing USB-C ports along with HDMI and ethernet on the rear, and Apple silicon chipsets.
If considering the M4 Max or M3 Ultra Mac Studio, it's worth bearing in mind that the cheaper machine uses newer chip technology with faster memory, improved ray-tracing, and better single-core performance.
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