Apple’s $600 M2 Mac mini obliterates the $6,000 Mac Pro

We just got even more proof that it’s high time Apple released a new version of the Mac Pro. Why? Because it just got smoked in a benchmark — and by a device that costs a tenth of its price. The M2 Mac mini was tested in single-core and multi-core operations and then compared to the Intel-based Mac Pro. Unsurprisingly, the news is all bad for the expensive 2019 workstation. GregsGadgets on Twitter posted two very telling sets of benchmark results: one for the M2 Mac mini and one for the Intel-based Mac Pro. The Mac mini outperformed the workstation in both single-core and multi-core tests. Unfortunately, we only know the results of one example, so it’s possible that the Mac mini would still lose against the Mac Pro in different tests. However, in the Geekbench 5 test, the Mac mini scored 1,944 in single-core and 8,790 in multi-core versus the Intel Mac Pro, which only managed to hit 1,019 and 8,037, respectively. This is a huge blow to the 2019 Mac Pro. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the M2 chip completely destroy the Mac Pro. Similar benchmark results popped up last summer, starring the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The laptop was able to outperform the Mac Pro despite being around $5,000 cheaper. When you compare the Mac mini to the Mac Pro, the price difference is even more jarring, because the base configuration of the Mac mini costs just $600 — a tenth of the price of the Mac Pro. Apple’s beastly workstation from 2019 runs on Intel hardware and still sells for $6,000. That’s a scary price, but back then, it definitely made sense to professionals — it was one powerful computer, all set to support resource-heavy tasks such as video editing and rendering. These days, over three years later, it’s safe to say that it no longer makes sense to buy a Mac Pro. What can you do if you want a new workstation PC? Buy the Mac mini instead or wait for Apple to release the long-awaited Mac Pro that will run on its own M2 silicon. Assuming it comes equipped with an M2 Ultra chip, it will once again be the king of Apple’s entire lineup, as it should be. When Apple introduced its new design language for the MacBook Pro with a notch at the top, I was flabbergasted. I was watching the event on a Dell XPS 15’s OLED screen and kept wondering why Apple couldn’t cram a webcam in the thin bezels, just the way Dell handled it.   A few months later, I upgraded to the M2 MacBook Air. And there it was. Doing nothing, except looking like a dark oddity. Apple drilled a hole in the iPhone’s screen and then built a whole functional system around it called the Dynamic Island.  Ever since I tried my first mechanical keyboard many moons ago, I’ve been totally sold on clicky switches and chunky keycaps. I use a mechanical keyboard for both my Mac and my PC, and typing on Apple’s Magic Keyboard, as good as it is, just feels weird to me these days. That means that when I saw that Apple has been granted a patent for a weird new keyboard concept, my ears immediately pricked up. Over the course of the past few months, I’ve tried a handful of Windows on Arm machines. The biggest takeaway is that if you buy a slim and light Windows laptop in 2025, you don’t need to hunt for a seat near a wall outlet. The battery life figures I’ve got from Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered laptops have been pretty amazing.  For the first time, I feel Windows laptops have reached a point where they can reach the high benchmark set by the MacBook Air. My most recent tryst was with the Asus Zenbook A14, and the Dell XPS 13 before that. I loved the thin and lightweight form factors, and the progress Windows on Arm has made with the app compatibility situation.