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Over the years, Apple has successfully created and led several product lines, including computers, laptops, wearable devices, and more. For all its success, Apple hasn't really managed to break into the gaming market, at least when it comes to computers or consoles. Interestingly, this could change with the new M4-equipped Mac Mini. According to the latest report from Mark Gurman, the M4 Mac Mini could be Apple's long-awaited answer to the PlayStation and Xbox.
Apple launched its latest Mac Mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chips. With a smaller size, insane processing power, ray tracking, and simplified connections for a living room setup, the M4 Mac Mini could become the Apple gaming machine we've been waiting for. Honestly, this is Apple's boldest and most compelling move into a market where it previously struggled.
Apple's gaming journey, from Pippin to Mac Mini M4
In the 1990s, before Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company made its first significant attempt at gaming consoles with the introduction of Pippin, a home console. Unfortunately, it was a direct failure and Apple abandoned it after a year. Over the next few years, Apple took a different approach to entering the gaming market, making it a major part of the App Store, iPhone, and iPad. That said, these attempts have been limited to small screens and Apple has not influenced living rooms with its gaming-centric offerings.
In 2015, Apple tried to create a departure from its revamped Apple TV set-top box, adding a new App Store with games and software. Due to limited processing powers and limited controller capabilities, Apple TV never became a rival to PlayStation or Xbox.
With the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, Apple has made a new effort to attract gamers. The Cupertino tech giant touted the Vision Pro's seamless integration with Apple Arcade, the M2 processor's advanced processing capabilities, and support for third-party controllers. However, it failed to impress the audience. The Vision Pro lacks hand controllers for VR games, which might otherwise be its greatest strength.
Now, with the M4 Mac Mini, Apple has another chance that could change its gaming trajectory and set a new standard.
M4 Mac Mini as a game console
With the latest M4 and M4 Pro chipsets, the new Mac Mini can become a strong contender in terms of performance and price. Starting at $599, the M4 Mac Mini features a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, which can rival the power and price of a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series you're ready to splurge, the $1,399 Mac Mini with M4 Pro outperforms the high-end Mac Pro and Mac Studio of recent years. Not to mention, the 16GB of RAM and ray tracing for graphics add to the Mini's prowess. So in terms of hardware, Apple is in really good shape.
Speaking of software, Apple recently upgraded its Metal graphics software. When combined with other macOS graphics technologies, a well-integrated App Store, and support for third-party controllers, the M4 Mac Mini makes for a near-ideal system.
That said, Apple faces a few challenges, the biggest being the lack of gaming titles. Apple has made some changes to strengthen its gaming space. This led Hideo Kojima to Death Stranding and I also promised Cyberpunk 2077. That said, it's clear that Mac's game library isn't even close to that of Sony and Microsoft. Apple still has a long way to go before the Mac Mini can truly compete with the PlayStation and Xbox. Given the potential, this shouldn't be impossible.
It would be interesting to see how Apple plays with its latest hardware to attract game developers so that they can bring the best of their work to Mac.
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