The new M4 Mac mini buys Apple time for a larger iMac

While we were very confident beforehand that we wouldn’t be seeing a larger iMac this week, there are still plenty of people waiting impatiently for at least a new 27-inch iMac. Many are hoping for 30-inch, 32-inch, or even bigger.

But while I do still think that’s in the works, the launch of the M4 Mac mini relieves a lot of the time pressure, for a couple of reasons …

The timeless appeal of the iMac

I’m a laptop guy through and through. I like the flexibility of having a large-screen desk setup in my home office coupled to the ability to take my Mac with me when I travel. My MacBook Pro machines have literally been around the world with me, and have enabled me to work overseas for a month at a time.

But I do still totally understand the appeal of the iMac. If you don’t need mobility, then an all-in-one machine that offers the power you need, a good screen, and looks great into the bargain is a very attractive proposition.

Even some people who do need mobility still like iMacs. You sometimes see them being used on location shoots, and I’ve often seen them used as display machines at exhibitions and conferences. While it’s not a small thing to cart around, sometimes you can’t beat the convenience of being able to set up a large screen in no time.

But the M4 Mac mini will work for many

The M4 Mac mini plus monitor isn’t a direct replacement for an iMac for sure. But it does provide a reasonably good interim solution, for a couple of reasons.

First, the Mac mini was never a large machine, so carrying it plus a large monitor was never a major hassle, but the new model is literally half the size. Apple didn’t quite get it down to the rumored Apple TV size, but it’s pretty close.

It’s compact enough that attaching one to the back of a monitor is eminently feasible (even if the positioning of the power button is less than ideal), replicating most of the convenience of an AIO.

At a $599 starting price for a perfectly usable machine, it leaves a good chunk of change in the budget for the monitor of your choice. As my colleague Filipo Espósito said:

We’re talking about a computer almost the size of an Apple TV that is capable of rendering 8K videos and running console-level games with ray-tracing.

And if you’re more of an iMac Pro person, then the M4 Pro Mac mini has you covered there:

• 14-core CPU with up to 20-core GPU
• Up to 64GB RAM
• Up to 8TB of SSD storage
• Thunderbolt 5 with up to 120 GB/s transfers
• Up to 273 GB/s of memory bandwidth

Indeed, I’d argue it’s the better choice for most

As I say, I do totally get the “give me one box” mentality. But I’d argue that made much more sense back in the days when a desktop computer would barely fit on a desk.

The great thing about separating the Mac and the display is that you can configure the exact machine you need.

It may be you’re a photographer who can edit photos perfectly happily with the base machine, but need a color-calibrated monitor. You can save money on the Mac and put more into the monitor.

Conversely, if you’re a coder you may want to max out your processing power but be perfectly content with a more basic monitor.

Or if you’re a videographer who needs both power and a pro display, you can have it all, but with greater flexibility on the latter.

What are your plans?

If you’ve been holding out for a large-screen iMac, will you keep waiting? Or is an M4 Mac mini plus a bring-your-own-monitor approach something you’ll now consider?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Image: 9to5Mac collage of images from Apple and Alexander Grey on Unsplash