I believe iMovie will perform similarly to Final Cut Pro. The M4 Pro Mac mini exported a 12 minute 44 second long video in 3 minutes 22 seconds.

Three counterpoints: Most people buying a desktop computer already have a display, keyboard and mouse. Even if you're starting from scratch, you don't need to buy the Apple Studio Display. The Asus ProArt display featured in this video is half the price of the Studio Display, and before that, I was using a $300 LG display. But really, even if you're buying a MacBook, you probably want to have a desktop display, keyboard and mouse too. Show me the person who's seriously cross-shopping a desktop Mac mini with a 27-inch Studio Display but decides to do all their work on a single 14-inch screen instead.

@ I think you’re missing a big demographic. I, for example, have a 2017 27” iMac in need of upgrade so have no screen to reuse, and I know many people who move from a laptop to a desktop when they retire (yes, older people use computers too!) I also personally never used an external screen when I did use a laptop, nor does my wife even now. The computer buying world are not all video editors! Finally, you even make my own point! Who IS cross shopping a Mac mini with a big screen and also using a high end MacBook? My exact point is nobody is doing that. Sure, many people, as you say, will have a bigger screen for their MacBook, but it does not really work in reverse - and there are a lot of those people around. Anyway, I don’t want to sound too critical as your video was great - it is just that NOBODY doing all these almost fanboy-like reviews and comparison videos ever accounts for the cost of a screen and accessories, and frankly comparing the price of a bare mini with a MacBook is just crazy unless that is factored in.

Plus $1500 for a screen if you don’t already have one!

I very clearly stated at the beginning that I was reviewing the base model.

@dgriffinjones my comment wasn't about the base model. It was specifically about the ports. For new users or people new to the Mac, they won't be able to associate "2 ports" with "base model" and may erroneously assume that the iMac only comes with 2 ports. It's best and responsible to specifically mention that there is a 4-port model as well if you're going to specifically discuss the iMac in terms of ports.

Stop justifying the ridiculous prices they are charging. There is nothing unique or special about these chips, the extra speed from higher storage is just a feature of raid 0 they are configured in. The rest of the industry has passed on the falling NAND chip prices while Apple is still charging prices from a decade ago. Watch the prices of other SOCs with similar tech like Snapdragon, they are not charging these outrageous prices for storage.

@@findingthereal9052 I get it - you’re too damn broke to buy a proper machine. Save up, kiddo. Meanwhile, those of us who can afford nice things will live our lives. LOLOL

@@LiesureSuitLarry way to reinforce the Apple fanboy stereotype, Larry, too much money and a tiny package. I'm pretty sure the most taxing thing you've ever done with your 'proper machine' is watch cat videos. Fool, money, etc. Go back to the Land of the Lounge Lizard, loser.

@@LiesureSuitLarrywhat a tosser you are. I see why you need a good computer - I am sure nobody would talk to you after meeting you for the first time!

One of the great mysteries of the universe

@ Apple, thinks differently

a) You might have the accessories already b) You can bargain shop and get them for less than the price gap. (even a 4k and Logitech setup is $500)

Unless you’re buying all the pieces you’re missing from Apple, Yes TF it is.😂😂😂😂😂

Most people have all of that already.

Indeed, at least when comparing to a MacBook which comes with all of those. I guess if you have an old computer or mini but own a screen and keyboard it’s fair, but otherwise, you’re right. I’m looking at this now - a new mini plus studio monitor is the way more expensive (£2100) than an equivalent iMac (£1300), albeit you get a 3” bigger screen with the mini option. I can get a 24gb memory, 1TB storage version of the iMac for exactly the same price as the Studio screen and base Mac mini. That is a crap ton of price or spec difference!

Nitty gritty details: In the ThunderBay, I have four 8 TB drives. I have them configured in Disk Utility as a RAID set, formatted as APFS, with two volumes sharing the full capacity. One volume is Time Machine, another volume is file storage and the Plex library. It's absolutely more than capable of managing it all. Looking in Disk Utilty, the Mac barely ever breaks a sweat. You don't need two Macs.

@ that is exactly what I was hoping for! Planning on pulling the trigger on the M4 Pro Mac Mini with the 10gb/s Ethernet port in about two weeks. Future proofing, as I tend to keep my mac’s till I hit that hard wall of tech that makes them almost irrelevant and frustrating to use. Currently have almost 2tb of videos on a google drive and it’s just to costly to keep. With a few (not quite insignificant) upfront costs it’ll be cheaper to run and add more content and storage as I go and keep my subscription costs to clients low. So thank you!

Loads of people are asking me about it, so I'll try to write it up this week.

DANG IT. $799 is the price with 512 GB of storage. This is the danger of working three 12-hour days to write five reviews and produce three videos 🤷

good host

At 77 I'm getting the silver M4 iMac to match my hair. I have been using Apple products since 1987, first Mac was a Apple IIC, several desk top Apple computers, Mac color classic (my favorite). Currently I have a late 2015 iMac it has been working fine all these years just thought it time I upgraded, like you this will probably be my last Mac. Will continue to get the latest and greatest phones, iPads, watches and AirPods until they put me in the oven

You should wait a little longer, there is a 32 inch on the horizon according to rumers.

@@emeraldeyesinthesand8355That rumour has been going on for years.I very much doubt it will happen,Gurman is not always right.

I’m young, I agree with you, way better deal

@@gabezillah getting a monitor that high resolution and with that good of a ppi will usually cost more than just buying the mac. Also, comes with a nice keyboard and questionable mouse. This device is good for new computer users or those upgrading their old mac all in ones:)

@@octocubbl3z308 I had M1 iMac and agree with your view.

​@@octocubbl3z308 for anyone who writes code, this monitor is total trash. I work with an ultra wide that spans my whole desk and I still have an additional monitor above it. You can't be productive flipping back and forth when writing unit tests, particularly when you might need to be looking at another unit test file, the original code for that, the original code for your current unit test, and the unit test you're writing. And of course nobody wants to take up precious screen real estate for chat, but sometimes you're on call for a particular issue or some things happening in production. But you still need to try to get work done. It might work for you, and the quality might be there for you, but I would gladly pay more money to have a better monitor, and I'm not even sure where I'd put the little monitor that's built in

I’m old too . I spend the majority of my time on media consumption so in my opinion a refurbished iPad is ideal . For computer work I bought a minisforum bare bones mini computer ( smaller than the Mac mini) I installed 32 g of RAM and 512 g of NVME. Then even though I have never done such a thing before I downloaded Linux mint and now have free software and a place to store all the family photos without any apple tax.

A MacBook Air m2 and an iPhone 16 base models of everything that use case would be great on just about any phone and MacBook made on the last 4 years but this combo would give you great support for the next 4-5 years of updates.

​@@samlawrence4670just make sure they get the "new" MB Air with 16 GB ram.

Base M3 MacBook Air is great for surfing etc.

@@Realist-m9c Its great for most things! I do Adobe Illustrator work on it and it never stutters!

iPhone 16. Instead of a laptop, I would consider a 10th-generation iPad with a Magic Keyboard Folio. It can handle all the basic stuff a laptop can, you have a keyboard and trackpad when you need it, but you'll also have a tablet that's nicer for the living room sofa. If you're deadset on a laptop, MacBook Air. Possibly wait for the M4 version next spring if you want.

⁠​⁠@@dgriffinjonesi would agree. A 16 or 16 Plus is good. However, since you’re coming from Windows and are use to a “real” computer, go for the MacBook Air. As far as processors go, the current M3 Air is more than adequate but Apple still does sell the M2 version. It’s a little cheaper if you’re on a budget. The good news is that all Macbooks start out with 16gb of RAM so that’s a win for everyone.

If you don’t need to be mobile, get an m4 mini

Apple designers have said that the darker, vibrant color on the front bezel would be too distracting. The muted color still pops, in person.

That's what happens when I have to wait 20 minutes to talk about the Mac mini

@felt like Erfon went for you mate. Hope you are okay 👍

@@plasteredlips Absolutely, it's all in good fun