Apple computers have always seemed unattainable. While the starting prices for the Mac Mini and MacBook seem reasonable, the standard 8GB memory forces users to spend extra to upgrade to 16GB or even higher memory versions, and the same goes for SSDs.
The price of Mac’s memory is like gold, making the final price after upgrades less appealing. Especially since the introduction of the M series chips, soldered memory and SSDs have made self-upgrades nearly impossible. To upgrade storage at a lower cost, one has to pay someone else to do it, losing warranty in the process.
However, with the release of the Mac Mini M4 this year, things have changed. Apple has finally abandoned the 8GB starting memory, embracing 16GB. Of course, this isn’t due to a sudden change of heart from Apple, but rather because the demands of AI have made 8GB insufficient, necessitating the upgrade to 16GB. So who says AI is useless? (chuckles). While the SSD still starts at 256GB, as a stationary Mac host, having 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports for external connections is not an issue! I seized the opportunity to get a government subsidy and ordered it for 3565 yuan, and it looks stunning on my desk! This is also my first Mac, so I’d like to share my experience after receiving it.
The packaging upon receipt was made of kraft paper, a traditional Apple touch, just like the iPhone.
Pulling the arrow-marked tab opens the box easily. This packaging is something other manufacturers should learn from.
The outer packaging is nothing special, pure white. However, it’s surprising to see an energy label on a mini computer.
The bottom uses the same pull tab as the iPhone packaging, along with various machine information.
The opening method is the same as the iPhone, revealing the machine itself.
The accessories are minimal, lacking even an HDMI cable, just a figure-eight power cable made of woven material.
The machine itself is quite small, smaller than the UM890Pro I unboxed previously, just slightly bigger than the Apple TV. The back has a circle of heat dissipation holes, serving both intake and exhaust, and there’s that quirky power button on the bottom.
The front has two USB-C ports and a headphone jack, but these are not Thunderbolt 4, so don’t get confused.
The main ports are concentrated at the back, including the power port, gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI2.1 port, and 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports. If you bought the M4Pro, then it has Thunderbolt 5.
Next to the headphone jack is a power LED, white and very understated.
Once powered on and set up, you can enter the system. I bought the 256GB version, as I couldn’t choose a different configuration due to the subsidy. I won’t test the performance, as there are plenty of benchmarks online, and the user experience doesn’t rely solely on CPU performance, considering that the M1’s performance is already lagging behind M4 that much, yet it’s still very smooth.
For display, I connected it to a MSI 4K 160Hz monitor, the MSI MAG 274URFW, which has good compatibility with Mac and also features a Type-C port. After connecting to the Mac, it even had a corresponding color profile. The default resolution is 1920*1080, and while the display resolution is this, it actually runs at 4K with hidpi, resulting in a very fine effect. Of course, to display more content, I recommend choosing 2K.
All installed software can be found in the Applications folder, which contains not just icons, but all program data.
Using the activity monitor software to check usage, 16GB is quite sufficient for daily use.
As a member of the Apple ecosystem, sharing albums, clipboard, messages, etc. with iOS devices is basic functionality, and notifications are also shared.
The App Store has not only Mac apps, but also many iPad and iPhone apps that can run on the Mac Mini.
For users with NAS, the essential local media application Infuse Pro naturally cannot be missed, and it can directly sync data from iCloud without any setup needed.
Now that Xiaomi phones have upgraded to the Surge 2, they can also sync data with the Mac after installing the software, and even operate the Xiaomi phone on the Mac just like mirroring with the iPhone, which is fantastic for a dual-user of Xiaomi and iPhone.
As part of the ecosystem, all devices connected through iCloud on my iPhone can seamlessly transition to the Mac Mini without any manual operation, which is incredibly convenient. While domestic manufacturers are also trying to improve this experience, Windows systems are not their own, and achieving this level of experience is still quite challenging, so we can only wait and see if Huawei’s self-developed HarmonyOS PC can achieve this.
This notification settings interface has a strong iOS style, and with the upgrade to macOS 15, Apple has truly unified the UI.
Using disk testing tools to measure the built-in SSD, here are the speeds.
If you plan to use it long-term, 256GB of storage is definitely not enough. I’ve only installed a few things and already consumed 70GB of space. The entry-level version needs an SSD upgrade to be enjoyable.
Buying Apple’s original storage is definitely not cost-effective; the capacity and price are exorbitant. Of course, if you have a 10G NAS, I still recommend adding the cost for the 10G network card, as you can directly share video materials from the 10G NAS to the Mac, and editing is seamless. However, there’s no way to upgrade the memory.
There are three ways to expand storage. The first is the 10G NAS mentioned above, but this cannot run apps and is only suitable for storing large project files. Looking for third-party upgrades will undoubtedly void the warranty, so it’s suitable to look for someone after the warranty period. Currently, the price for 2TB varies between 1300-1850 yuan, which is still somewhat expensive.
As a non-portable Mac computer, I think the third option is the most cost-effective, which is to use external storage. Not only can you install apps on it, but you can also use it as a Mac to go, directly using the external hard drive as a system disk. As long as your enclosure supports it, expanding to 8TB is also possible. For the enclosure, I chose the ITGZ Thunderbolt 4 enclosure recommended by both Yiwang and Feizai, which I got for 220 yuan. For active cooling, Jia Yi’s enclosure is an option, but it’s a bit noisy, so I’m not considering it.
The enclosure comes with a short Thunderbolt 4 data cable, so you don’t have to buy one separately.
Of course, as a heat-generating device that runs at full 3.0×4 speeds, good cooling is essential, so I’ve also added a lot of cooling pads.
Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 are compatible and can run at full 40Gbps interface speed.
After removing two screws and taking off the shell, you can see the internal board, which supports one 2280 SSD.
I casually found a 1TB Kingston NV3 SSD, a 4.0 disk. This is definitely a TLC chip, and using the Phison 5027 controller, it doesn’t run hot, making it perfect for external storage.
I tested it on Windows, and the disk can run at full 3.0×4 speeds with low heat; the highest temperature during testing was 41°C.
The external performance is as follows; it’s definitely lower than directly inserting it into the 4.0×4 slot, but this performance is more than enough for a system disk.
After connecting to the Mac, you can see this disk in Disk Utility, currently formatted in Windows’ NTFS format. If you only intend to use it on the Mac, I recommend formatting it to APFS for the best experience. Right-click on the disk and select Erase.
Select APFS format and click Erase to format.
If you don’t plan to install an OS, you can simply drag and drop apps into the SSD, which means you’re installing them on the external SSD. Just drag the icon because the icon is the entire program.
However, considering that many programs will still default to the 256GB partition, over time, it may still not be enough. Therefore, I recommend installing the system on the external hard drive to get the best experience. Search for macOS Sequoia in the App Store, click Get, and it will download the latest macOS system image to prepare for the system installation.
Find the macOS installer in the app list.
Click Start, and you can install macOS on the external hard drive.
After clicking Continue, select the installation disk as the external SSD, and click to continue the installation.
macOS will ask if you want to copy the current user settings. It doesn’t really matter whether you select yes or no, because after the installation, it will ask again if you want to copy data from the old system. However, if all your devices are Bluetooth, I suggest you select yes, as it will inherit the Bluetooth pairing data, so you won’t need to connect wires during initialization.
The installation takes about 10 minutes. After installation, choose to restart.
After booting, it will prompt you to initialize just like a new Mac. Here, select to transfer data from the old Mac. The Mac will transfer all your old device data, including the installed apps, so you don’t have to manually set up and install them again, which is very convenient.
If you want to switch back to the original system, you just need to select the startup disk in the startup disk options and restart. This is even easier than Windows.
Installation complete, the entry-level 256GB has successfully transformed into a 1TB Mac Mini!
All apps have been transferred, but when you open them, it will still prompt you to reset notification and other permissions, just set them and you’re good to go.
Using Disk Utility to test, the speed is faster than the original hard drive, so there’s no need to worry about experience issues.
You can still manage both the built-in and external SSDs in Disk Utility. I must say, this external disk is Apple’s last bit of conscience. The entire external disk system operates just like the internal one, but the cost of expansion is significantly lower. After all, for 1500 yuan, you can only buy 512GB from Apple, but if you buy it yourself, you can get a 4TB SSD!
This is my desktop with the external SSD connected; can you tell that I have an external disk connected? The keyboard and mouse are connected to the PC via 2.4G, and the Mac via Bluetooth. With just one set of keyboard and mouse, I can easily switch between the two machines!
Well, that concludes my unboxing experience; now it’s time for a summary.
I must say, the 3500 yuan Mac Mini is undoubtedly the god of mini hosts and is a great machine for users to experience macOS. Even if you don’t like it, it can be easily resold without significant depreciation. Moreover, from my usage so far, it’s very smooth with almost no lag, and most daily software is available, making it an excellent office machine.
If you are an iPad or iPhone user, a Mac Mini can provide you with a completely different experience from Windows. Whether it’s iPhone mirroring or seamless switching of various iCloud shares, it’s something Windows currently struggles to achieve, which is why I’ve come to love this machine.
Of course, for beginners, the entry cost of this machine is still a bit high, whether it’s the software prices or the difficulty of getting started, making it not very suitable for new users. Most people might get tired of it after a couple of days and sell it. Additionally, storage prices are too high, and the cost of higher configurations is significant, so if you don’t have an urgent need, I suggest just getting a Mac Mini to play around with.
Thank you for watching.
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