Apple announced a major update to the Mac mini lineup today, offering new configurations with M2 and M2 Pro chips inside. Alongside those headlining features, there are a few other interesting changes and tidbits with this year’s Mac mini revamp. Head below for the details.
External displays
The previous generation of the Mac mini with Apple’s M1 chip was rather limited in terms of external display support. You could connect one external display up to 6K using a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C port) and another external display up to 4K using HDMI. This situation has gotten somewhat better with the new M2 and M2 Pro versions of the Mac mini.
The Mac mini with an M2 chip inside can still power up to two external displays, but there are some changes to the details here:
- One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt
- One display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt
- OR: One display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI
Meanwhile, the new Mac mini with the M2 Pro chip inside can support up to three external displays, in varying configurations and resolutions:
- Up to three displays: Two displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI
- Up to two displays: One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI
- One display: Up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI
Configuration options
Here’s the breakdown of configuration options for the new M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini models.
M2 Mac mini:
- Up to 24GB of unified memory
- Increased from the 16GB limit of the M1 Mac mini
- Up to 2TB of storage
- Same as the M1 Mac mini
- Up to 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine
- M1 Mac mini: 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
M2 Pro Mac mini
- Up to 32GB unified memory
- Up to 8TB of storage
- Up to 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine
Connectivity
A few things to note here:
- M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini have a 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
- Wi-Fi 6E support for the first time
- Bluetooth 5.3 (Compared to Bluetooth 5.0 of previous model)
Media engines
The new M2 Mac mini lineup also supports Apple’s custom media engine features, unlike the previous-generation M1 Mac mini:
- Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
- Video decode engine
- Video encode engine
- ProRes encode and decode engine
Pricing
Perhaps more notable than any of the performance or spec changes, the M2 Mac mini is also significantly cheaper than its predecessor.
The entry-level M2 Mac mini starts at $599, down from the previous starting price of $699. For education buyers, the starting price drops even further to $499. This is an incredible price for just how great of a computer the M2 Mac mini is.
Meanwhile, the Mac mini with an M2 Pro chip inside starts at $1,299. This makes it an enticing alternative to the base model of the Mac Studio, which starts at $1,999. The M2 Pro Mac mini for education buyers starts at $1,199.
Apple doesn’t require verification for purchasing via its Education Store in the United States, but there are some purchasing limits in place that have gotten stricter in the last year:
- Desktop: One (1) may be purchased per year
- Mac mini: One (1) may be purchased per year
- Notebook: One (1) may be purchased per year
- iPad: Two (2) may be purchased per year
- Accessories: Two (2) accessories with Education Pricing may be purchased per year
You can learn more about Apple’s education store policies in our coverage here.
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