Apple has unveiled the new Mac mini available with M2 or the new M2 Pro processors. The tech giant’s smallest desktop has a new starting price of US $599. 

The new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro delivers faster performance, even more unified memory, and advanced connectivity, including support for up to two displays on the M2 model, and up to three displays on the M2 Pro model.  Customers can order the new Mac mini models today, with availability beginning Tuesday, January 24.

According to Apple, compared to the previous-generation Mac mini, M2 and M2 Pro bring a faster next-generation CPU and GPU, much higher memory bandwidth, and a more powerful media engine to Mac mini, delivering extraordinary performance and industry-leading power efficiency. Both models feature an advanced thermal system for exceptional sustained performance.

Mac mini with M2

The Mac mini with M2 features an 8-core CPU with four high-performance and four high-efficiency cores, along with a 10-core GPU. For users with more intensive tasks, Mac mini with M2 offers up to 24GB of unified memory and 100GB/s of bandwidth. This means activities like image editing in Adobe Photoshop are up to 50% faster than the previous generation, according to Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

The M2 also adds ProRes acceleration to Mac mini, so tasks like video editing in Final Cut Pro are more than twice as fast, he adds. The M2 model can also simultaneously play up to two streams of 8K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps, or up to 12 streams of 4K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps. With all this performance, Apple claims the Mac mini is up to 5x faster than the bestselling Windows desktop.

The tech giant says that, when compared to the Mac mini with Intel Core i7, the Mac mini with M2 offers:

  • Up to 22x faster machine learning (ML) image upscaling performance in Pixelmator Pro.
  • 9.8x faster complex timeline rendering in Final Cut Pro.

When compared to the previous-generation Mac mini with M1,1 Mac mini with M2 delivers:

  • Up to 2.4x faster ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro.
  • Up to 50% faster filter and function performance in Adobe Photoshop.
  • Up to 35% faster gameplay in Resident Evil Village.

Mac mini with M2 Pro

The M2 Pro features to a 12-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, along with up to a 19-core GPU, M2 Pro has 200GB/s of memory bandwidth — double the amount in M2 — and supports up to 32GB of memory. The next-generation Neural Engine is 40% faster than M1, speeding up ML tasks like video analysis and image processing. 

Designed to dramatically accelerate video playback and encoding while using very little power, M2 Pro offers a powerful media engine, which speeds through the most popular video codecs and can simultaneously play up to five streams of 8K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps, or up to 23 streams of 4K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps, according to Joswak. The M2 Pro-powered model is up to 14x faster than the fastest Intel-based Mac mini, he adds. According to Apple, when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Intel Core i7 and Radeon Pro 5500 XT, Mac mini with M2 Pro offers:

  • Up to 50% faster filter and function performance in Adobe Photoshop.
  • Up to 5.5x faster panoramic merge in Adobe Lightroom Classic.
  • Up to 4.4x faster object tracking in Final Cut Pro.

When compared to the previous-generation M1 Mac mini,1 Mac mini with M2 Pro delivers:

  • Up to 2.5x faster graphics performance in Affinity Photo.
  • Up to 4.2x faster ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro.
  • Up to 2.8x faster gameplay in Resident Evil Village.

Connectivity

The M2 model features two Thunderbolt 4 ports and support for up to two displays. The M2 Pro model includes four Thunderbolt 4 ports and support for up to three displays. Additionally, the M2 Pro model can support one 8K display, a first for the Mac. 

Both models feature two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port with a 10GB option, and an upgraded headphone jack to support high-impedance headphones. For wireless connectivity, both new models also feature the latest standards with Wi-Fi 6E5 for up to 2x faster throughput than before, as well as Bluetooth 5.3.

Pricing and availability

The new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro is available to order today, January 17, on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 27 countries and regions, including the US. It will start arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, beginning Tuesday, January 24.

The Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro will be available in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, and New Zealandbeginning Friday, February 3.

The Mac mini with M2 starts at $599 and $499 (US) for education. Additional technical specifications are available at apple.com/mac-mini.

The Mac mini with M2 Pro starts at $1,299 and $1,199 for education. Additional technical specifications are available at apple.com/mac-mini.

One more thing

Apple has stopped offering Intel-powered Mac mini models following the launch of the new Mac mini.



Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today