Despite phenomenal success with the App Store, Apple has always struggled to establish itself in the video game market, particularly with consoles and computers. Its first attempt, the Pippin console in the 1990s, was a commercial failure. Over the years, Apple has therefore oriented its strategy towards mobile gaming, focusing on the iPhone and iPad, but without really making inroads with “gamers”. In 2015, Apple attempted to position the Apple TV as a gaming platform. However, the Apple TV’s limited power and basic remote control — unsuitable for many games — discouraged developers, and the Apple TV never managed to compete with Sony’s PlayStation or Microsoft’s Xbox. And not the Nintendo Switch either. But with the Mac mini M4, hope is reborn.
Apple’s best value for money
Since the advent of Apple Silicon chips in 2020, Apple has always been giving Mac gamers a hard time. Its processors, ever more powerful and efficient, are capable of running AAA games thanks to a software part particularly carefully designed by the brand’s engineers. In four years, the APIs have evolved greatly, as have the components.
The release of the new Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chips marks Apple’s latest attempt to break into the gaming sector. With processing power comparable to game consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series The basic model, offered at €699 (on Amazon for example), is equipped with a 10-core CPU and GPU, providing enough power for most titles. The M4 Pro model, at €1,649, even outperforms Apple’s previous Mac Pro and Mac Studio models equipped with the M2 Ultra chip. Equipped with 16 GB of memory and ray tracing technology, the Mac mini offers impressive graphics capabilities for gaming at a “reasonable” price.
On the software front, Apple has strengthened its gaming ecosystem with recent updates to its Metal graphics software, better integration with macOS, and compatibility with third-party game controllers like those from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. Apple also introduced tools to easily port games to macOS, creating a smoother gaming experience for users. However, the main obstacle remains the limited size of its game library. Although popular titles like Death Stranding have been added and Cyberpunk 2077 Although officially planned for 2025R, Apple’s games offering still remains lower than that of its competitors. Players have to make do with Capcom’s Resident Evil, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed and Square Enix’s Tomb Raider. More popular titles like GTA 5, COD and company are missing.
Apple hopes its powerful hardware and software improvements will attract more developers to adapt their games for macOS, which could allow Apple to finally establish itself in the gaming world. Like its predecessor the Mac mini M2 Pro, the Mac mini M4 Pro is a superb all-purpose machine, especially since it can offer up to 64 GB of RAM, from graphics creation to development including emulation or video games.
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