Apple is positioning the new Mac mini as a gaming alternative to the PS5 Pro. With powerful M4 chips, compact design and a “competitive price”, it should score points in the living room. But can the mini PC really keep up with consoles?
Apple is making a surprising foray into the gaming market. With the newly introduced Mac mini, Apple from Cupertino wants to appeal not only to PC users, but also to console gamers. Thanks to its powerful M4 chips, the compact computer is intended to be a serious alternative to PlayStation 5 Pro.
The concept sounds promising: a small, quiet computer that fits easily next to the television and is easy to connect thanks to the HDMI 2.1 port. With prices starting at 699 euros, the Mac mini is also in a similar range to current game consoles. But can Apple keep its promise to play along?
For the first time, Apple is specifically advertising the new Mac mini as a gaming device. On the product pages There are showcases of well-known games like Control Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Myst. High-profile titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Death Stranding should also run on the M4 and M4 Pro chips thanks to the improved integrated graphics unit.
Technically, the Mac mini seems well equipped:
However, Apple’s biggest hurdle remains its limited game selection. Although some well-known titles have been won recently, the offering remains far behind that of the established consoles. Apple now hopes that the new hardware will encourage more developers to bring their games to the Mac.
This isn’t Apple’s first attempt to break into the console market. The Pippin console failed back in the 1990s. Later approaches such as gaming on Apple TV or Vision Pro also failed to establish themselves. The Mac mini could finally offer the right combination of performance, form factor and price.
It remains to be seen whether the Mac mini will actually become a serious console alternative. Independent tests will have to show whether the promised gaming performance is also convincing in practice.
Apple also needs to gain the trust of game developers in order to build an attractive software library. What do you think: Does the Mac mini have the potential to challenge established consoles? Or do you see obstacles to Apple’s gaming ambitions? Share your assessments in the comments!
Technical data for the Apple Mac Mini 2024 with M4 chip
| Model | Apple M4 | Apple M4 Pro |
| CPU | 10-core SoC with 4 performance and 6 efficiency cores, 10-core GPU, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, 16-core Neural Engine, 120 GB/s memory bandwidth | 12 core SoC with 8 performance and 4 efficiency cores, 16-core GPU, hardware accelerated ray tracing, 16-core Neural Engine, 273 GB/s memory bandwidth |
| R.A.M. | 16, 24 or 32 GB shared RAM | 24, 48 or 64 GB shared memory |
| memory | 256GB to 2TB | 512GB to 8TB |
| output | Simultaneous support for up to three displays | |
| Audio | Integrated speaker, 3.5 mm headphone jack, HDMI with multichannel audio output | |
| Connections | WLAN AX, Bluetooth 5.3, 3x Thunderbolt4/USB4 ports, 2x USB-C, HDMI 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, DP | WLAN AX, Bluetooth 5.3, 3x Thunderbolt5/USB4 ports, 2x USB-C, HDMI 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, DP |
| Mass | 5 x 12.7 x 12.7 cm | |
| Weight | 670 grams | 730 grams |
| Price | from 699 euros | from 1649 euros |
