Almost any monitor can work with the Mac Mini. It does not need to be made by Apple or have an official certificate. There’s a case to be made for using a cheap 1080p monitor with a Mac Mini, but most Mac users will want something more premium. As you can see with options like the Dell 27 Plus 4K, that doesn’t mean it’s expensive. Either way, here are four things to consider when shopping for a good monitor to go with your Mac Mini.
Size and resolution: 27-inch and 32-inch monitors are the most common sizes these days, and there are huge options. I would also consider a 34-inch ultrawide monitor if you prefer a wider, 21:9 aspect ratio with a curved shape. With Apple, decision is king. There’s a reason it invests heavily in high pixel density on every screen it sells, even below entry-level options like the MacBook Air. Pixel density is what gives a screen its sharpness, and you need more pixels when stretched on a large, external monitor. If you want to keep fidelity high, I wouldn’t buy anything less than 4K, and bumping up to 5K or 6K on a 32-inch monitor would be helpful. And you want to consider the refresh rate here. A 120-Hz refresh rate is what the MacBook Pro has, offering smooth animations, especially in games.
Correction: Apple monitors and iMacs are not well known for repairs. They usually don’t have any at all, and they are very expensive when they do. That’s not the best thing for your posture and ergonomics. Popularly, the Pro Display XDR charges an extra $1,000 to add an adjustable Pro Stand. For ergonomic purposes, the top of the screen you are working on should be as close to eye level as possible, and that depends on the person’s height. If the monitor does not have height adjustment, you will have to rely on a separate monitor stand or arm. Besides height adjustment, most monitors also have a stand that can swing, tilt, and swivel, all of which are important when using multiple monitors together. This is also necessary if you want to use a second monitor vertically, which has become very popular.
Ports: Even the cheapest monitors will always have HDMI as a connection, which is all you need to connect directly to the back of the Mac Mini. Some monitors have USB-C display support, 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 that 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 more than one external monitor. These monitors also often have other ports, such as USB-A. This can be useful, as the Mac Mini doesn’t have one.
Image quality: Apple prides itself on the image quality of its Macs, so in the case of the Mac Mini, you’ll probably want to find something that’s right for your Mac. This is especially important for content creators, photographers, and designers. Therefore, you’ll want to consider the monitor’s brightness, color accuracy, color coverage, and contrast. While some IPS displays offer decent color and contrast, mini-LED or OLED displays will ensure better image quality. This also has a very high brightness for HDR content, which brings games and movies to life.
