Apple's $299 Apple TV 4K Draws Criticism as Discounted Mac mini M4 Offers Value
9to5Mac calls the $299 Apple TV 4K a poor buy; TechRadar cites a $649 Mac mini M4 deal as a cheaper option than the M6.
9to5Mac said the new Apple TV 4K costs $299 and only slightly less on Amazon. It adds built-in microphones, an upgraded remote, and support for surround sound with the HomePod mini 2. The report said the tech-world consensus appears to be that almost nobody should buy this model, especially because Siri AI support is available on second- and third-generation boxes and large-screen TVs can cost less.
The 9to5Mac article cited a chart by tech journalist Glenn Fleishman showing the price increase is above inflation when upgrading from almost any previous model. The second-generation Apple TV sold for $99, and the third-generation Apple TV 4K launched at $129, according to the report. It also said the first Apple TV box sold for $299 in 2007, equivalent to $491 today after inflation.
In the Mac mini report, TechRadar said Best Buy is selling the Mac mini M4 for $649, down from $799, for a limited time. Amazon lists the newer Mac mini M6 at $779.99, down from $899, according to TechRadar. The M4 has a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, a 256GB SSD, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, and Apple Intelligence support.
TechRadar said the M6 has a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, a 256GB SSD, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and 2.5Gb Ethernet. It described the M4 as suitable for home and office work, students, photo editing, and occasional video projects. It said the M6 could justify its higher price for regular demanding video editing, complex graphics, or local AI applications.
The Mac mini M4 deal is $130.99 less than the Amazon price for the M6 in the TechRadar report. TechRadar ranks the M4 as the best mini PC for Apple users and said the older chip still supports Apple Intelligence.