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M2 Mac mini vs. M1 Mac mini - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the M2 Mac mini and M1 Mac mini, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 26, 2024 05:44 am

M2 Mac mini vs. M1 Mac mini

The 2023 M2 Mac mini features the Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M2 (8C, 10G) up to 12-core Apple M2 Pro (12C, 19G) with the boost speed up to 3.50 GHz. While the 2020 M1 Mac mini features the 10W Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 (8C, 8G) with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz.

If you want to know more what's the difference between the M2 Mac mini (2023) and the M1 Mac mini (2020), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

M2 Mac mini vs. M1 Mac mini: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M2 Mac mini	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M1 Mac mini
Key Features
What's new	More affordable, starting at just $599. For a hundred dollars less, you get a base model of Mac mini with an M2 (8 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores) chip, 8GB of unified memory, and a 256GB SSD. Supports up to three displays. The new M2 Pro Mac mini can simultaneously output up to three displays with two 6K@60Hz and one 4K@60Hz. Improvements: Supports larger unified memory capacity of up to 24GB. Uses faster LPDDR5 memory. The headphone jack now supports high-impedance headphones. Comes with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Shipped with macOS Ventura. M2 Pro Mac mini exclusive features: New 185W built-in power supply. Supports larger unified memory capacity of up to 32GB. Supports up to 200GB/s of memory bandwidth. Supports up to three display outputs. It supports the latest HDMI version 2.1, which can output up to 8K@60Hz or 4K@240Hz.
What's missing	Non-Pro M2 chips are still limited to two displays. To have a Mac mini with three monitors set up, you will need a model with an M2 Pro chip. The M2 chip supports only up to two display outputs simultaneously, with one 5K@60Hz and one 4K@60Hz.

Availability	M2 Mac mini	M1 Mac mini
Released	2023	2020
Release Info	Announced on January 17, 2023. Available on January 24, 2023.	Announced on November 10th, 2020
Pricing	$599 M2, 8C CPU, 10C GPU, 8GB, 256GB $799 M2, 8C CPU, 10C GPU, 8GB, 512GB $1,299 M2 Pro, 10C CPU, 16C GPU, 16GB, 512GB $1,599 M2 Pro, 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 16GB, 512GB $1,999 M2 Pro, 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 32GB, 512GB $2,199 M2 Pro, 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 32GB, 1TB $2,599 M2 Pro, 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 32GB, 2TB $3,199 M2 Pro, 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 32GB, 2TB $4,399 M2 Pro, 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 32GB, 8TB $4,499 M2 Pro, 12C CPU, 19C GPU, 32GB, 8TB, 10GbE	$699 Apple M1 Chip \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $899 Apple M1 Chip \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD

Exterior	M2 Mac mini	M1 Mac mini
Size Comparison
Dimensions	7.75” x 7.75” x 1.41” (197 mm x 197 mm x 35.8 mm)	7.7” x 7.7” x 1.4” (197 mm x 197 mm x 36 mm)
Weight	2.6 lbs. (1.18 kg) M2 2.8 lbs. (1.28 kg) M2 Pro	2.6 lb (1.2 kg)
Colors	Silver	Silver
Ports		Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for: DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA supported using adapters (sold separately) 2 x USB Type-A ports Supports data transfers up to 5 Gbps. 1 x Gigabit Ethernet port 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack

Internal Specs	M2 Mac mini	M1 Mac mini
Processor	Apple M2 (8C, 10G) 8 cores, 8 threads, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz, Apple M2 Pro (10C, 16G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 2.42 → 3.50 GHz, Apple M2 Pro (12C, 19G) 12 cores, 12 threads, 2.42 → 3.50 GHz,	Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
Integrated Graphics	Apple M2 (8C, 10G) Apple M2 iGPU 10 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M2 Pro (10C, 16G) Apple M2 Pro iGPU 16 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M2 Pro (12C, 19G) Apple M2 Pro iGPU 19 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,	Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Memory	8GB16GB unified memory. Configurable to 32GB	8GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory Configurable to 16GB
Storage	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 8TB	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity	M2 Mac mini	M1 Mac mini
Wi-Fi	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6E wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3 wireless technology	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
Ethernet	10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector) Configuration up to 10 Gbs	10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)

Battery	M2 Mac mini	M1 Mac mini
Power Supply	150W built-in power supply M2 185W built-in power supply M2 Pro	150W built-in power supply

Software	M2 Mac mini	M1 Mac mini
OS	Shipped with macOS Ventura	Shipped with macOS Catalina
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	M2 Mac mini	M1 Mac mini
Audio	Built-in speaker 3.5mm headphone jack HDMI port supports multichannel audio output	Built-in speaker 3.5mm headphone jack HDMI 2.0 port supports multichannel audio output

Misc	M2 Mac mini	M1 Mac mini
In the box	Mac mini Power cord	Mac mini Power cord
Warranty	Your Mac mini comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.	Your Mac mini comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More	M2 Mac mini: video supports Simultaneously supports up to two displays: One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI Thunderbolt 3 digital video output supports Support for native DisplayPort output over USB‑C HDMI 2.0 display video output Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz M2 Pro Mac mini: video supports Simultaneously supports up to three displays: Up to three displays: Two displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI Up to two displays: One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI One display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI Thunderbolt 4 digital video output Support for native DisplayPort output over USB‑C HDMI display video output Support for one display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz	Video Support Simultaneously supports up to two displays: One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0 Thunderbolt 3 digital video output supports Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C Thunderbolt 2, DVI, and VGA output supported using adapters (sold separately) HDMI 2.0 display video output Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)