Apple Mac Mini M2 review: Is the cheapest Mac worth it?

Let’s cut to the chase: the Apple Mac Mini M2 is a bargain. For just $600 — $100 less than its predecessor, no less — you’re getting a compact computer that melts the competition. It has the honor of being the first desktop machine to adopt Apple’s second-generation silicon. Yet while there will no doubt be M2 iMacs, M2 Max Mac Studios, and more, the Mac Mini M2 will remain the value king. If you only want a current-generation powerhouse macOS machine for the cheapest price, then you’re probably already sold. But with an all-new M2 Pro-powered model available for more than twice the price and M2-flavored laptops offering greater flexibility, Apple’s little engine that could is a more complex proposition than its humble appearance and entry-level price tag might suggest. Find out if it’s the Mac of choice for you in this Apple Mac Mini M2 review.

What you need to know about the Apple Mac Mini M2

• Apple Mac Mini M2: Starts at $599 / £649 / €699
• Apple Mac Mini M2 Pro: Starts at $1,299 / £1,399 / €1,549

Launched in January 2023, Apple’s squircle-shaped puck joins the growing congregation of M2 converts in the Mac lineup. The smallest and cheapest Mac was already a huge beneficiary of Apple’s shift from Intel chips to in-house processors with its M1 model in 2020. Now, the Mac Mini M2 looks to put even more water between itself and the drowning desktop competition with second-generation M2 Apple Silicon and some other minor tweaks to the Mac Mini formula.

Of course, the biggest change for the miniest Mac is addition of a second model that brings with it all the extra processing might of the M2 Pro. The M2 Mac Mini’s eight CPU cores have been upgraded from the Mac Mini M1, while the 10-core GPU (up from eight) and improved media engine promises an uplift in graphics performance. The M2 Pro variant takes things up several notches with a 10-core CPU (upgradable to 12-core), and a 16-core GPU (upgradeable to 19-core) as standard. Both M2 models also benefit from faster LPDDR5 memory (up from LPDDR4X).

At least on the surface very little else has changed between the M1 to M2 Mac Mini generations; it has the same physical footprint on a desk and is only available in Silver. There are other notable upgrades beyond the headline M2 chip though, such as support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 and a move to Thunderbolt 4 for the USB-C ports.

The Mac Mini M2 Pro gets even more love; it’s fractionally heavier than both its sibling and precedecessor, it gains two additional USB-C ports, and has a higher bandwidth HDMI 2.1 port instead of HDMI 2.0. It also offers higher base storage and RAM, and can be maxed out with a whopping 32GB RAM and an 8TB SSD. The downside is you’ll have to spend at least $1,299 for the M2 Pro model — a sharp increase from the Mac Mini M2. Most of the reviews you’ll read online understandably focus on the former as that’s the version Apple sent out for review — we’ve been testing the base model Mac Mini M2 to see how it stacks up with its ultra-affordable $599 starting price tag.

Of course, the ticket price isn’t the only cost that comes with buying any Mac Mini. Unless you already have a usable keyboard, mouse, and monitor (and an HDMI/DisplayPort cable), you’ll need to add those to your shopping list too. Apple shows nice diagrams of its own Magic Mouse ($67 at Amazon) and Magic Keyboard ($99) at startup, but third-party Bluetooth-enabled devices will work just fine — that is provided you can plug them in via USB-A or USB-C to get past the boot screen. The Mac Mini M2 is also equipped with a very basic speaker but unless you only plan on using headphones (wireless or via the headphone jack) I’d recommend buying a couple of standalone speakers. Your ears will thank you.

The Mac Mini M2 and Mac Mini M2 Pro are available to buy from Apple, Amazon, and other major retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, B&H, and Adorama.

What’s good?

While we’re not quite back at the sub-$500 sweet spot of the Intel years, the Mac Mini M2’s modest price tag is undeniably the best thing about Apple’s diminutive box. For the same price as a Pixel 7, you’re getting a compact desktop computer with easily the best price-performance ratio on the market. The reduced price also means you get more for less even as you increase the spec. You’ll still get hit with an Apple Tax of an extra $200 merely for doubling the storage to 512GB, but that’s still $100 less than the Mac Mini M1 equivalent. There’s a good reason you might want to consider the larger storage version too — hold that thought for later.

The most exciting thing about the Mac Mini M2 for me was the opportunity to see Apple’s second-generation silicon fully unlocked. We saw hints at its potential with the MacBook Air M2 and even the iPad Pro M2, but outside of the otherwise weirdly outdated M2-powered MacBook Pro 13-inch model, it was fairly obvious that a fanless system was never going to deliver the sustained peaks Apple’s refreshed entry-tier chip was capable of. The M2 Mac Mini changes that.

Cinebench’s R23 test shows an average performance uplift in single-thread by ~8% and multi-thread by ~12% against the Mac Mini M1, and ~5% and ~8% against the MacBook Air M2, respectively. In the Geekbench 6 CPU test, the Mac Mini M2’s gains were a little more modest, with an increase of ~4% in both single-core and multi-core over the MacBook Air M2.

Where the Mac Mini M2 really shines is its GPU performance. The Mac Mini M2 trounces the Mac Mini M1 in benchmarks with a 30%+ improvement in 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme test. Even when pitted against the MacBook Air M2 with an optional 10-core GPU upgrade, the Mac Mini M2’s fan is a clear difference maker when dealing with a sustained workload. While there was only ~3% difference for peak score in the Wild Life Extreme Stress Test, the M2 Mac Mini ended with a stability percentage of 99.7% compared to the laptop’s 73.3%, with the former only ever dropping 17 points on its lowest run — a far cry from the 1,666 point drop on the MacBook Air M2 as it throttled to deal with the rising heat.

In my day-to-day use, the difference in performance between the M1 and M2 wasn’t all that perceptible for basic tasks like web browsing, streaming, and basic workflows, which were all smooth as silk. Editing photos, 3D images, or video was another matter entirely. Apple claims that Adobe Photoshop zips along 50% faster than on the previous gen, which feels accurate enough in real-world testing editing and exporting RAW files. It also shaves minutes off of 4K video renders in Final Cut Pro with some assistance from Apple’s improved media engine with built-in encoders and decoders for ProRes video. And while it’s by no means a gaming machine, you can game on it! All the usual macOS caveats apply due to years of limited support (only worsened by Apple Silicon restrictions), but most of the compatible games I tested on Steam ran just fine at 1080p with frame rates typically hovering between 30-45fps.

Even more advanced games I grabbed from Steam ran through Apple’s Rosetta 2 compatibility layer at low settings at a not-particularly-pleasant-but-playable sub-30fps. Regardless, long play sessions are ill-advised as Apple’s fanless system can’t cut it. Apple may be cameoing native ports of AAA games at its conferences, but the M2 MacBook Air won’t ever be the best showcase for them.

Put simply, the base model Mac Mini M2 is rapid, responsive, and has enough headroom to be a capable media editing machine — within reason, that is. If you start adding multiple 4K streams into your media pool or dabble in any color grading or effects, you’ll soon start to hit memory capacity. If that sounds like you, I’d opt for the 16GB RAM upgrade for an extra $200 to give the Mac Mini M2 a little extra breathing room for heavy multitasking. Meanwhile, for serious pros, the Mac Mini M2 Pro kicks things to another level for multi-stream 8K ProRes editing and much more.

Regardless of which version you buy, the Mac Mini M2 has a distinct I/O advantage over buying an Apple laptop: more ports. With Gigabit Ethernet (upgradable to 10Gb), two USB-A, HDMI, a headphone jack, and at least two USB-C ports, the Mac Mini M2 is more versatile than any MacBook bar the $2,500 16-inch MacBook Pro (though even that loses USB-A). It’s also more ports than even the top-end iMac at the time of writing.

All of this would be nothing if Apple’s software fell flat, but Ventura is a mature step in macOS’ development. There’s nothing quite as groundbreaking or magical as Monterey’s Universal Control which continues to be a game-changer for my desktop setup, but Handoff’s ability to quickly switch a FaceTime call from Mac to an iPhone or iPad is, well, handy. Perhaps the biggest boon for M2 Mac Mini users is Continuity Camera, as iPhone owners (as long as it’s an XR or later) can use their phone camera as a webcam instead of needing to buy another accessory.

Stage Manager also transitions over from iPadOS in all its weird glory but can be safely ignored thanks to the superior multitasking experience of macOS. Overall, macOS’ growth within Apple’s walled garden continues. If you’re already bought in with iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and the like, the interoperability between devices is an easy incentive for switching to a macOS desktop. Plus, all the teething pain around Apple Silicon and app emulation is almost entirely a non-factor as more and more apps transition over.

What’s not so good?

At face value, $600 for an extremely capable Mac is an absolute steal — and it is. However, if you can stretch your budget by at least $200, I’d suggest you do so and opt for the 16GB RAM version for a couple of reasons. As noted before, it gives you a little extra wiggle room for multitasking and RAM-intensive tasks. It’s surprising how quickly 8GB of RAM can fill up if you’ve got a bunch of Chrome tabs open alongside a few memory-hungry apps. And once you do hit it, that’s where the base model Mac Mini M2 really starts to fall foul of Apple’s recent trend of baffling decision making with its SSD drives.

Much like the MacBook Air M2 before it, the Mac Mini M2’s entry model comes with a 256GB SSD on a single NAND chip. This is down from the two NAND chips that made up the total storage of the 256GB Mac Mini M1 and every other Mac Mini M2 variant. The result is a significant downgrade in read/write speeds. Comparing results from Blackmagicdesign’s 5GB disk speed test, we see a drop of ~50-60% in read and write speeds versus the base model M1 Mac Mini.

This results in noticeably slower data transfer between the Mac Mini and external drives, but also has an immediate knock-on for performance as the system will fall back on the SSD as temporary memory when the RAM is full. This wouldn’t be a problem with a faster drive, but the single-NAND storage doesn’t suffice. I saw the dreaded pinwheel of death a few times on my cursor during extensive multitasking, and it’ll be a constant pain point for anyone look to do heavy video edits.

If you only want to browse the web, write in docs, and other simple tasks, you may never notice this issue, but if you think there’s a slight chance you’ll be hitting that ceiling, it’s a safer bet to grab the 16GB RAM Mac Mini M2 for $799 and attach an external SSD for good measure. And you’ll need to be careful with your decision at the time of purchase because the M2 Mac Mini’s components cannot be upgraded in any way that won’t void your warranty.

While clearly intended as an iterative spec update, it’s hard to escape the feeling that the Mac Mini line is overdue a makeover. The core design — a metallic squircle with a big Apple logo on it — has been around for over a decade now, and while it’s elegant in its simplicity, it looks tired compared to the refreshed iMacs, for example. Part of that could easily be resolved with color options, but the Mac Mini M2 offers zero variety. It’s Silver, Silver, or Silver — no vibrant iMac-like shades, no Space Gray option like the 2018 models, and no Midnight blue like the gorgeous MacBook Air M2.

The lack of design changes also means all the ports are still on the rear of the device. Does it look smarter? Probably. Does it make swapping external drives and USB accessories in and out a pain? Absolutely. Just having two USB-C ports on the front would be a fair compromise, especially when the base Mac Mini M2 is arbitrarily restricted to only two USB-C ports compared to the Mac Mini M2 Pro’s four. And even with the Mac Mini’s array of ports at top spec, you’re not getting an SD card slot.

Apple Mac Mini M2 and Mac Mini M2 Pro specs

Apple Mac Mini M2 review: The verdict

If you’re looking for a rapid and reliable work-from-home desktop machine with scope for basic graphic design, video editing, and more, the Mac Mini M2 is a no-brainer, especially if you already have accessories ready to go. After testing the base model for $599, I can say from experience that the slower SSD does add a slightly sour taste to the mouthwateringly low price tag, but even at $799 for the 16GB RAM or 512GB storage upgrade (go for the former) the M2 Mac Mini still represents incredible value for the money.

Meanwhile, the Mac Mini M2 Pro is undeniably tempting for those looking for a compact machine capable of speedy ProRes or multi-stream video renders and other demanding workflows. The M1 Max-powered Mac Studio ($1,999) technically outperforms it for GPU-based tasks and offers even more I/O options, but for $700 less, the entry-tier Mac Mini M2 Pro will suffice for all but the most dedicated creatives and professionals.

For those on the go, the MacBook line is of course a better buy, though you will lose out on sustained performance and ports with the MacBook Air M2 ($1095 at Amazon), and will have to pay far more for any of the MacBook Pro M2 models ($1099 at Amazon). Only need a desktop computer? Apple’s all-in-one iMac ($99 at Amazon) is a simpler solution, but lacks the flexibility of choosing your own monitor now or in the future. Of course, if you want true flexibility, there’s always the option of buying or building your own microATX PC. Just don’t expect to get anywhere close with size, efficiency, or cost.

Whether it’s the M2 or M2 Pro version, the 2023 Mac Mini is a small computer with giant ambitions, and enough power and polish to match.

Top Apple Mac Mini M2 questions and answers