The Apple Mac mini M6 may be catching all the headlines right now, but I still think for most people looking for a stylish and powerful mini PC, the Mac mini M4 is the optimal choice. It might lack the extra oomph of the M6, but for daily office tasks and content creation, it’s way better value.
Case in point. The Apple Mac mini M4 is currently $650 (was $799) at Best Buy. If you want a fast, compact desktop for work, photo editing, or everyday use, and you already own a monitor and keyboard, the Mac mini M4 is the best-value Mac you can buy. Meanwhile, Best Buy has the Mac mini M6 for $799 (was $899).
• Best for: Professionals and creators upgrading an older Mac or Windows mini PC to a powerful, near-silent desktop without paying M6 prices. .
• Why we like it: We scored this machine 5 stars in our review, and wondered if it might actually be the best Mac ever. For most people, it will be. Apple’s speedy M4 chip, 16GB of unified memory for smooth multitasking and Apple Intelligence, a tiny five-inch-square design, and handy front-facing USB-C ports and a headphone jack.
Why we recommend it
In our Mac mini M4 review, our expert Matt awarded it an Editor’s Choice badge and full marks for value, praising its strong performance, much smaller design, and convenient front ports. He called it the cheapest way into the Mac ecosystem, though he noted it struggles with modern games and that its power button sits awkwardly on the underside. Our review unit had a 512GB SSD rather than this model’s 256GB, but it used the same M4 chip and 16GB of memory.
Price Context & Historical Value
Apple raised the Mac mini’s starting price to $799 earlier this year as memory costs surged, so this $150 discount is measured against Apple’s real current price rather than an inflated list price. It’s still more than the $599 the M4 Mac mini launched at, and well above the sub-$500 deals we saw before the price hike. Given today’s pricing, though, $649 is a strong deal and a good time to buy.
For comparison, the Mac mini M6 is currently down to $799 at Best Buy. For some workloads, it may be better. For general office tasks, the M4 is still worth considering for its value.
Should you buy it?
✅ Buy the Apple Mac mini M4 if… you want an affordable, powerful Mac desktop, you already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, or you want a near-silent machine for work, photo editing, or music production.
❌ Skip the Apple Mac mini M4 if… you need lots of local storage, since 256GB fills quickly; you want to play the latest PC games; or you don’t already own a monitor and accessories, which add to the total cost.
