Apple hit hard with its new Mac mini M4, unveiled at the end of October 2024. Smaller and more powerful than ever, this mini computer hides remarkable technical innovations under its hood, as its first teardown reveals.
A redesigned thermal architecture and accessible components
Apple’s main achievement lies in the thermal management of the device. Despite its reduced size of 12.7 cm side by 5 cm height, or 50% more compact than its predecessor, the Mac mini M4 has an innovative cooling system. The air is guided from the base of the device to different levels using a spiral architecture. The fan and heatsink now take up almost all of the internal space, unlike previous versions which had a lot of empty space.
Another surprise revealed by this teardown: the storage is now (almost) modular like on the Mac Studio. Apple has opted for a removable PCB in proprietary format, embedding two 128 GB NAND chips for the base model. This new approach not only improves read/write performance, but also opens the way to potential future developments. Make no mistake: Apple made this choice solely to facilitate the repairability of the device and it is absolutely not intended that a user will be able to improve their storage space — the parts being serialized and proprietary. This construction also allows Cupertino to facilitate its supply chain by incorporating the right amount of storage at a moment’s notice.
The first carbon-neutral Mac also maintains a relatively accessible design, with a bottom metal plate serving as an antenna. Under the hood we find the motherboard equipped with the M4 chip, the integrated power supply, as well as a separate Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card – an interesting technical choice which facilitates maintenance, once again.
Ultimately, this new generation of Mac mini perfectly illustrates Apple’s ability to push the limits of miniaturization while improving performance, thanks in particular to the exceptional energy efficiency of its Apple Silicon chips.
