[Gadgets] Mac Mini (M2 Pro, 2023) Review: A Lot of Power in an Unassuming Body

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The Mac mini is Apple's most affordable computer, and it has found uses not only in homes and schools, but also in embedded applications such as kiosks, and even as servers. It might not have the visual wow factor of an iMac or the portability of a MacBook, but it's the only Mac many people can afford. Apple has now updated it with its latest M2-generation processors, and for the first time, you have a choice between the standard M2 and the more powerful M2 Pro.

The starting price has been reduced a little with this generation, and interestingly since Apple hasn't yet released a Mac Pro with Apple Silicon, this miniature desktop can reportedly outperform its now-outdated yet far more expensive sibling by large margins in multiple kinds of tests. While a new Mac Pro is likely just around the corner and the Mac Studio is also an option, it's well worth reading our review to see whether the Mac mini will meet all your needs. I also have a shiny new Apple Studio Display and a suite of accessories to use with the Mac mini, and I'll tell you what they are like as well.

Apple Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) price in India

The new Mac mini is priced at $599 onwards in the US, which is $100 less than the previous generation's starting price. Due to exchange rate fluctuations, the difference in India isn't quite as substantial, but Rs. 59,900 is still better than Rs. 64,900 which was the starting price of the M1 Mac mini from 2020. At this price, you get the M2 SoC with eight CPU cores and 10 GPU cores, plus 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

The M2 Pro-based variants give you either 10 CPU cores with 16 GPU cores for Rs. 1,29,900, or 12 CPU cores with 19 GPU cores for Rs. 1,59,900. All Mac minis can be configured with optional Gigabit Ethernet for an additional Rs. 10,000. You also get four Thunderbolt 4 ports on M2 Pro configurations, versus two if you choose an M2 CPU. 

One big downside to Apple Silicon-based Macs is that the RAM is part of the SoC, and storage is soldered to the motherboard, making upgrades impossible. If you want better specs, you have to choose them at the time of purchase, and upgrades are still illogically expensive. Going from 8GB to 16GB of RAM will cost Rs. 20,000. There's now a 24GB option priced at Rs. 40,000 over and above the base price for the M2 versions, and strangely, it costs the same to go from 16GB to 32GB on the M2 Pro option.

It will cost you Rs. 20,000 more to get a 512GB SSD instead of 256GB; 1TB will cost Rs. 40,000 more and the 2TB option will raise the price by an astronomical Rs. 80,000 – many times more than what retail SSDs of those capacities usually sell for. Keep in mind that Apple uses slightly slower SSDs for its base 256GB configurations; a fact that isn't explicitly stated on the spec sheet.

All this means it's possible to spend Rs. 4,49,900 if you max out all the specifications – and that's without a monitor, keyboard or mouse. You get nothing in the box other than the Mac mini itself, a power cord, a few leaflets, and the customary Apple logo sticker. The version tested here has an M2 Pro SoC, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, bringing its price to Rs. 1,79,900.

The 27-inch Apple Studio Display that I have with me for this review will cost another Rs. 1,59,900. You you can choose a “nano-texture” matte panel finish for Rs. 30,000 more and swap the basic stand for a height-adjustable one for an additional Rs. 40,000. To complete the look, Apple's Magic Mouse costs Rs. 9,500, the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad is a whopping Rs. 19,500, and the Magic Trackpad is another Rs. 14,500.

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