The Ultimate Mac Mini M4 Setup: Must-Have Accessories for 2024

The Ultimate Mac Mini M4 Setup: Must-Have Accessories for 2024

Introduction

Now, if you remember a couple of weeks ago, I had written an article about the Mac Mini M4. So this year, I bought the base variant of the Mac Mini M4 because I genuinely feel that it is one of the best deals out there for a lot of people. But when you buy a Mac Mini M4, you also need to buy accessories with it, because by itself, the Mac Mini M4 is just the brains. You need to buy accessories to complete the setup. I personally have been using a Mac Mini M4 for the past year or so. Therefore, I already have a setup, and I thought, let’s make a video about that setup, like which are the accessories that I use with my Mac Mini M4. That is going to give you a fairly good idea about what you need to buy if you go for the Mac Mini M4, and all of these are non-Apple accessories. Why? Because Apple accessories are way too expensive. So, yeah, sit back, relax, and have a cup of chai.

Essential Accessories

Display

I’m going to start this video by talking about the essentials. There are three essential things that you need to buy with the Mac Mini M4. First up on that list is the display. So, you need to connect the Mac Mini M4 to some sort of display. It can be a monitor, a TV, or a projector, and there are a couple of ways in which you can connect a display to the Mac Mini M4. There’s an HDMI port on the backside and also Thunderbolt ports. Now, as a matter of fact, this Mac Mini supports up to three displays. So, essentially, you can simultaneously connect up to three displays to this Mac Mini M4 to have a multi-display setup. I personally don’t prefer that, but if you are a stock market trader or something like that, then you might want to have multiple displays. A setup which is possible with the Mac Mini M4. As far as my setup goes, I have a very basic monitor connected to the Mac Mini M4. This is a BenQ monitor, which I have been using for the past couple of years. The price of this monitor is only a few rupees, and it gets the job done for me. It is fairly color-accurate, anti-glare, and works really well. I have literally zero complaints with this monitor. It connects to the Mac Mini M4 via HDMI. It doesn’t have a Thunderbolt or USB Type-C port, but that is completely okay because HDMI works just fine. Now, depending upon your use case, you might want to invest in a good monitor, multiple monitors, a TV, or a projector. But if you’re a person like me, then this monitor will do just fine. I will make sure to drop a link to it in the description box below.

Keyboard and Mouse

Alright, next up on the essential list is a keyboard and mouse. Now, here’s where you need to pay close attention if you’re not buying an Apple accessory. See, not all keyboards out there are compatible with a Mac. If you just go and buy a random keyboard, there are chances that the keyboard might not work the best with a Mac. So, you need to buy a keyboard that specifically works well with the Mac. Now, recently, I bought a new keyboard. This is from HP. It’s a white keyboard, which I really like. The form factor is slim, and the keys have a good amount of travel to them. The typing experience is great. Now, this specific keyboard is compatible with a Mac. You can see the command and option buttons on the keyboard. These are two important buttons for macOS. So, whenever you buy a keyboard, make sure you look out for these two buttons: command and option. One more recommendation that I would like to give over here is that you invest in a Bluetooth keyboard. Don’t go for a USB dongle keyboard because there are no USB Type-A ports on this Mac Mini M4, and most of the keyboards out there use a Type-A dongle. So, go for a Bluetooth keyboard because that will be much better. And same goes for the mouse. I like to invest in a good mouse. This is the Logitech MX Master S, and I absolutely love this mouse. Why do I love this mouse? Because it is great for video editing. It has a vertical as well as a horizontal scroll. The grip is amazing, and it is ergonomic. So, when I’m editing for long hours, my hands don’t hurt. So, this mouse is really great. The only downside is the micro USB port, like this mouse is very old. The newer versions have a Type-C port, so maybe I’ll upgrade soon. But for now, it is working great. So, those were the essentials. Now, let’s move on to other accessories.

Additional Accessories

Dongles

Now, I use cameras and mics on a daily basis, and these cameras and mics use SD cards and microSD cards, so I need those slots to transfer data. But those slots are not built into the Mac. That’s why I have to use a dongle. The good part is that Apple has given two USB Type-C ports on the front, so connecting dongles becomes that much easier. Now, I use a couple of dongles. First up is this big dongle from Belkin. I actually got this almost 2 years ago with my MacBook Air M1, and I’m still using it. That’s why it’s not the fastest out there, but it does have a lot of ports, so it’s a pretty convenient dongle. But make sure that if you’re buying a dongle right now, it should be high speed. I’ll do one thing: I’ll make sure to drop a link to a few affordable dongles in the description box below that will give you very good speeds. Now, to solve the problem of speed, I’ve actually got a new dongle specifically for SD cards and microSD cards. This one is from Lexar, which works absolutely amazing. It is very fast and reliable, and dongles will also depend upon the type of accessories that you use.

Storage

Next up, we have storage. By default, the base variant comes with 256 GB of storage, which is very less, so you need to buy external drives. For that, I would suggest buying high-speed SSDs. I personally use Samsung T7 SSDs, which are insanely fast. You can also buy high-speed SSDs from other companies out there. Just make sure to buy SSDs because, number one, they are small (the form factor is small), and they are very reliable. Also, they connect via the USB Type-C port, and if you want, you can permanently connect a 1 TB SSD to the back of the Mac Mini M4, so you never have to see it, and you have 1 TB of storage available on the Mac Mini M4.

Audio Accessories

Alright, this gets me to audio. Now, the Mac Mini M1 does have an inbuilt speaker, which is very average. I think it’s only for alerts and notifications. If you want good audio, you will need to invest in good audio accessories. Now, I personally have invested in a pair of speakers from Edifier. Again, I’ve been using these speakers for the past year or so, and they are absolutely brilliant. The sound output is incredible and customizable. Now, I like to connect the speakers via the 3.5 mm headphone jack. I do not like Bluetooth that much because, number one, there is a slight lag, and the audio output is not the best out there. But with this new Mac Mini M4, the headphone jack is on the front, so that cable comes to the front, which I don’t like. I prefer the headphone jack to be on the backside because that way, I never have to see that cable. But now, I have to see that cable. But I think it is good for people who like to connect wired earphones or wired headphones. For them, this is very convenient. Now, one more important point over here is that the Mac Mini M1 does not have a microphone by default. So, if you want to attend meetings or take video calls, you will have to connect a microphone externally. Now, you can do this in multiple ways. First up, you can connect headphones that already have a microphone, or you can invest in a separate microphone altogether. I personally use my iPhone as a webcam and also as a microphone whenever I want to attend video calls or online meetings. You can do the same if you have an iPhone. Just use it wirelessly as a webcam.

Future Accessories

Now, at some point in the future, there is one accessory that I would like to add, and that is a monitor bar, like a bar light above the monitor because I’ve heard that it helps a lot. If you want to see that happen, comment below, and I will specifically make a video about, you know, some budget and some expensive light bars out there. Let me know about that, and I guess that pretty much sums it up for the accessories that I use with my Mac Mini M4. Now, depending upon your work, you might need other accessories. Like, if you are a music producer, you need a lot of other accessories, and if you are a software developer, you might need some other accessories. This is my setup as a video creator. Do let me know what you feel about this setup in the comment section down below. If you have any questions about the Mac Mini M4 or its accessories, please let me know about them in the comment section down below. I would love to help you out.

 

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