Apple Mac Mini M2 2023 review - Apple M2 unleashing its power in a desktop ^↺

There is no change to the square housing with the rounded corners. At just under 20 x 20 cm (~7.9 in), the small Mac Mini is certainly not the most compact mini PC, but it is only 3.6 cm (~1.4 in) high. It only makes sense to place the Mac Mini underneath a display on the desk. The design matches the rest of Apple's lineup, and the device is also incredibly high-quality, thanks to its aluminum casing. The weight is around 1.2 kg (~2.7 lb), and this includes the power supply. However, the design also requires certain compromises since all ports are located at the back, and it makes quick access to external devices like hard disks more difficult.

In terms of connectivity, the M2 SoC has some advantages over the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro 13, as there are two USB-C ports that support Thunderbolt 4. Furthermore, normal USB-A connectors, a Gigabit network interface (optional at 10 GBit/s), and an HDMI output (4K @ 60 Hz) are still available. The Mac Mini M2 can support up to two external displays; the M2 Pro can accommodate up to three external monitors, has four Thunderbolt 4 connections, and a better maximum resolution.

The absence of maintenance and upgrade options is a notable downside of the Mac Mini. having to decide up front how much RAM and SSD storage are needed. However, the hard drive capacity can be easily increased, at least via external drives.

In terms of the WLAN module, the Mac Mini M2 offers an upgrade over its predecessor and current MacBook Air models since the desktop uses the hardware of the MacBook Pro models (14 & 16) and offers modern Wi-Fi 6E networks as well as Bluetooth 5.3. The transfer rates are excellent when connected to our Asus router. We also encountered no issues with signal quality during the test.

The Mac Mini M2 features Apple's latest operating system, macOS 13 (Ventura), as well as an amazing software collection. This also includes a full Office suite as well as iMovie, which can be used to create and edit videos. Meanwhile, practically all essential software have dedicated versions for Apple's M1/M2 SoCs, while emulation of older apps (for Intel Macs) also works quite well.

The Apple M2 is already well-known thanks to other Apple devices, such as the most recent MacBook Air models. The basic configuration of four quick-performance and four efficiency cores remains similar to the previous M1 SoC; however, the individual cores of the M2 SoC may operate with greater clock speeds. The processor's maximum power usage is 19 watts, which is maintained by active cooling. In this regard, the Mac mini M2 is on par with the MacBook Pro 13 M2 and somewhat ahead of the MacBook Air models, which are cooled passively and suffer from throttling when under prolonged loads because of it. However, these differences are not that obvious during day-to-day use, and neither is the small advantage that the M2 Mac mini has over the M1-powered 2020 Mac mini.

When comparing to Windows competitors, keep in mind that some of our Windows benchmarks must be run via Apple's Rosetta emulation software, which has a bit of an influence on performance. Cinebench R23 and Geekbench, both of which operate natively on the M2 Mac, deliver the most accurate results. This demonstrates that AMD and Intel chips provide higher overall performance but consume more power. You can also read our thorough examination of the Apple M2 for a large efficiency comparison. We've also put the current MacBook Pro 14 in the comparison so you can see how the optional M2 Pro SoC performs.

The Apple M2 SoC is basically available in two versions, whereby only the number of GPU cores differ. The CPU in the small MacBook Air only has 8 GPU cores in its base configuration, whereas the Mac Mini essentially has the more efficient chip with 10 GPU cores. As in other Apple products, the iGPU is allowed a maximum of 12 watts, and the performance is completely stable.

The results of the M2 GPU are as expected and the 10-core model is also significantly faster than Intel's Iris Xe Graphics G7 and AMD's current Radeon 780M. Since we are still unable to record the FPS curves of domestic games, we continue to base our gaming tests on simulations with built-in benchmarks for the sake of comparison.

Although the Mac Mini has a fan, you rarely hear it. Even under full CPU or GPU load, all you can feel is the air movement at the fan outlet. Only when the CPU and GPU are fully loaded at the same time, does the fan speed slowly increase, and after about two minutes the maximum noise level of 29.7 dB(A) is reached. It is not more than a quiet hiss and it is never disturbing. In this regard, the Mac Mini has an advantage over its more compact competitors, which are frequently significantly noisier.