Almost any monitor can work with a Mac Mini. It doesn’t have to be made by Apple or have official certification. There are good reasons to use an inexpensive 1080p monitor with the Mac Mini, but most Mac users will want something a little more premium. As you can see with options like the Dell 27 Plus 4K, that doesn’t necessarily mean too expensive. Either way, here are the four things to consider when purchasing a good monitor to accompany your Mac Mini.
Size and resolution: 27-inch and 32-inch monitors are the most common sizes these days, and there are larger options. I would also consider a 34-inch ultrawide monitor if you like the wider 21:9 aspect ratio with the curved shape. At Apple, resolution is king. There’s a reason it invests so much in high pixel density for every display it sells, even down to entry-level options like the MacBook Air. Pixel density is what gives a screen its sharpness, and you need a lot more pixels when stretched out on a large external monitor. If you want to maintain high fidelity, I wouldn’t buy anything below 4K, and upgrading to 5K or 6K on a 32-inch monitor can be helpful. You also want to consider refresh rate here. The MacBook Pro has a 120Hz refresh rate, providing smoother animation, especially in games.
Adjustability: Apple monitors and iMacs aren’t really known for their adjustability. They often don’t have one at all and cost more when they do. It’s not the best for your posture and ergonomics. Famously, the Pro Display XDR charges $1,000 more to add Pro support with proper tuning. For ergonomic reasons, the top of the screen you are working on should be as close to eye level as possible, and this varies depending on the person’s height. If a monitor is not height adjustable, you will need to use a separate monitor stand or arm. Besides height adjustment, many monitors also have a stand that can swivel, tilt, and swivel, which is important when using multiple monitors together. This is also necessary if you want to use a second monitor vertically, which is increasingly popular.
Port : Even the cheapest monitors will still have an HDMI connection, which is all you need to connect directly to the back of the Mac Mini. Some monitors have a USB-C port that supports the display, which will allow you to connect to one of the Mac Mini’s Thunderbolt ports. The M4 Mac Mini comes with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, and an Ethernet jack. The M4 Pro model has the same ports, except the ports are Thunderbolt 5 instead of 4. You will need to use at least one of these Thunderbolt ports if you want to connect multiple external monitors. These monitors also tend to have other ports, such as USB-A. These can be useful, as the Mac Mini doesn’t have any of its own.
Image quality: Apple prides itself on the picture quality of its Macs, so in the case of the Mac Mini, you’ll probably want to get something worthy of your Mac. This is especially important for content creators, photographers, and designers. So you’ll need to consider a monitor’s brightness, color accuracy, color coverage, and contrast. While some IPS screens offer decent colors and contrast, mini-LED or OLED screens will guarantee better image quality. These also have significantly higher peak brightness in HDR content, which really brings games and movies to life.
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