![]() ![]() The fact you’re reading this buying guide suggests to me that you’ve had your eye on the M1 Mac mini for a while. It also suggests that you probably don’t undertake the kind of intensive work for which the Mac Studio is designed. But let’s confirm, once and for all, which bracket you slot into. I suspect this might be the case for you, too. Therefore, If I could only buy one machine again, it’d be the Mac mini it offers a far better return on my investment. But it was nearly three times more expensive than the M1 Mac mini. My 16-inch MacBook Pro, obviously, feels the same. In fact, given the tight weaving between macOS and Apple Silicon, my Mac mini feels like it has several years ahead of it. But I don’t think it’s quite as clear-cut as that.Īs noted earlier, I could happily continue using my 16GB M1 Mac mini – no trouble. It’s at this stage that you might think the former would be a far better investment if you intend to run the computer for a long time. We’re rapidly approaching a comparison between that base-level Mac Studio and a specced-up M1 Mac mini, aren’t we? Mac mini or Mac Studio: what about future-proofing? But that’s only important for a very specific user base. Where the Mac Studio rips the trousers off the Mac mini is in multi-core performance. That thought alone should save you a few quid. That’s right – in normal day-to-day usage, a beefed-up Mac Studio is going to feel no different to the base-level M1 Mac mini. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the M1 Max and M1 Ultra offer the exact same single-core performance as the original M1 chip. So, let’s strike that off the table, immediately. Unless you are editing multiple streams of 8K video, thousands of tracks of audio, or undertaking intensive machine learning work, you do not need the M1 Ultra. With the M1 Ultra, you essentially have two M1 Max chips soldered together and, consequently, twice the computing power. But the M1 Ultra version of the Mac Studio takes things even further. The base-level Mac Studio features that exact chip, therefore I’m aware of what it can do. But I have experienced the power of the M1 Max in my 16-inch MacBook Pro and it offers far more headroom than I need. Certainly, if you’ve yet to experience Apple Silicon in a Mac, it’ll blow you away. ![]() Pair it with a great ultra-wide monitor (as I did), and it is a beast of a machine. I could still use it now if I needed to, and if I didn’t feel compelled to review the 16-inch MacBook Pro, long-term.Īt £1,099, a 16GB M1 Mac mini delivers massive bang-for-buck. I used a specced-up 16GB version to produce over 80 videos for my YouTube channel. It barely murmured while dealing happily with hours of 4K footage every month. The M1 Mac mini revolutionised the Mac platform for me. Spec that all the way to the top, and you’ll spend £7,999 on a monster of a machine that has countless more cores, memory, and storage compared to the Mac mini.Ĭonfused? Don’t be. Once again, the Mac Studio is a different animal. But that’s as far as it’ll go (you don’t get any more cores for the CPU or GPU). The closest you can get to the base level Mac Studio is if you spec the M1 Mac mini with 16GB of unified memory. They are vastly different animals, obviously. The base spec configuration for that computer costs £1,999 and includes a 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU, 32GB of unified memory, and 512GB of storage. If you’re unlikely to do intensive graphics and audio stuff, just get one – now.īut if you want to get fruity with your Apple desktop machine, your eyes might be drawn to the Mac Studio. For that, you get an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB of storage. The base-level Mac mini costs just £699, making it the cheapest entry point into the world of the M1 and macOS. ![]() So, if you’re trying to work out whether you can ‘get away’ with a specced-up M1 Mac mini or need to empty more of your bank account for the new Mac Studio, this is the only buying guide you need. The launch of the Mac Studio suggests that Apple is leaving the Mac mini as it is – somewhere in the Netherland between an entry-level desktop computer and almost-there professional powerhouse. Or maybe it’ll be one of the first Macs to receive the M2 chip. Perhaps they’ll put the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips in there, we thought. And the rumours seemed to suggest that we’d get exactly that – an updated Mac mini with a new design and some beefed-up internals. You see, as superb as the M1 Mac mini is (I built my business with one), it was in need of an upgrade this year. I know that because I’m acutely aware of the thirst for a more powerful Mac mini. They named it the ‘Mac Studio’ and aimed it squarely at the professional market. In March 2022, Apple introduced a brand-new Mac. ![]()
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