Can the M2 Pro Mac mini BEAT a £3,700 MacBook Pro?!

The test results were… surprising

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My plans for the first quarter of this year changed on Tuesday, 17th January. That was when Apple unveiled — among lots of other stuff — a brand-new super-powered Mac mini.

It contains an equally sparkling-new M2 Pro chip and, in the UK, starts at £1,399. On paper, that makes it quite the bargain for anyone who wants serious Apple Silicon power in the most convenient desktop Mac form factor on the market.

Well, That Was a Surprise, Apple!

But how good is the base model M2 Mac Pro? Does all the NAND chip stuff matter? Is it worth going for this over a similarly-specced 14-inch MacBook Pro if you don’t have the need for portability?

I’ll be doing lots of ongoing, real-world testing with this thing over the next few weeks, but what you all want to know immediately is how much faster is it than a £3,700 M1 Max MacBook Pro?

Let’s find out.

The specs