With both the Mac Mini M2 and Mac Studio to choose from, which Apple desktop is worth your money?
If you’ve been looking for an Apple desktop recently, you may be torn between the Mac Mini M2 and the Mac Studio. Both desktops offer great performance and have very similar designs, but they differ in a few key places.
Read on to discover everything you need to know about both desktops so you can decide which one is best suited to you.
Price
The base model of the Mac Mini, which features an M2 chip with an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU, alongside 8GB unified memory and 256GB SSD storage, costs £649/$599.
The Mac Mini can also be kitted out with an M2 Pro chipset, with that base model starting at £1699/$1299. It features 16GB of unified memory and 512GB SSD storage, giving the Mac Mini a large price range.
The Mac Studio can be packed with either the M1 Max or M1 Ultra chip. The base M1 Max variation features 32GB unified memory and 512GB SSD storage, costing £1999/$1999.
Looking at the base M1 Ultra model, it comes with 64GB unified memory and 1TB SSD storage, with a high price of £3999/$3999.
Design
Both the Mac Mini and Mac Studio share very simple designs with the main difference being that the Mac Mini is around half the height of its sibling. They both have the same sleek grey colourway with black Apple branding on the top.
The Mac Mini has all I/O on around the back, with the inputs including four Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, two USB-A as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Unlike the Mac Mini, the Mac Studio has some inputs on the front of the device and some on the back. The most premium model of the Mac Studio front panel includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports and one SDXC card slot. The back of the device features another four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, one HDMI port, one 10Gb Ethernet port and one 3.5mm headphone jack.
This makes the Mac Studio the better option for anyone that needs their desktop to be hooked up to multiple devices at once, with six Thunderbolt 4 ports overall. It’s important to note that the base Mac Studio has almost the exact same setup, but with fewer Thunderbolt 4 ports, swapping the ones on the front out for two USB-C ports.
Specs
Both desktops run on Apple Silicon/ The Mac Mini can be kitted out with the base M2 chip or the M2 Pro, which packs a lot more power. The base M2 utilises an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU with up to 8GB of unified memory and 24GB of storage.
The M2 Pro packs more power since it can feature up to a 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU, 32GB unified memory and 8TB SSD storage. Ultimately, the most powerful Mac Mini is very capable, with our review noting that it can render 4K video and export 4K footage without encountering any issues.
For most people it may be wise to stick with one of the lower models, as unless you are taking on intensive graphical tasks regularly, you probably won’t need that much power.
The Mac Studio stuck with the last-generation M1 architecture, but can be kitted out with either the M1 Max or M1 Ultra chips, making it a more powerful option compared to the Mac Mini.
Looking at the M1 Max, it can be configured up to a 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 32GB of unified memory and 8TB storage. The M1 Ultra pushes this even further, boasting an impressive 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU and up to 124GB unified memory and 8TB storage.
The huge number of GPU and CPU cores in the high-end model should provide an incredibly speedy and powerful performance, with Apple claiming that it can take on intensive tasks like mixing professional quality music and support for ip to 18 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video playback.
The company claims that the M1 Ultra is the most powerful chip ever seen in a personal computer, which should make the Mac Studio the better option for those looking for the rawest power.
You can see a full breakdown of the specs of both desktops below:
Mac Mini M2 and Mac Studio specifications
Verdict
The specifications for the Mac Studio, when kitted out with the M1 Ultra, should make it the most powerful option, although that does come with a much higher price.
From our experience with the Mac Mini M2, we know it can handle graphically intensive tasks as well as general productivity workloads, even if it may not hit the same heights as the Mac Studio.
Due to the more accessible price, the Mac Mini is the best option for most people. But creative professionals who crave the fastest speeds possible should check out the Mac Studio instead.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
