Best monitor recommendations which is compatible with my Mac mini

If coming from a 21.5 iMac, to get the most out of your Mac mini, I recommend looking for a monitor with these features otherwise it could feel like a downgrade:

• HDMI input → The Mac mini has a native HDMI port, so you can connect directly without adapters and keep your Thunderbolt/USB-C ports free.

• Minimum specs → greater than or equal to the following: antiglare, 27", QuadHD, IPS Panel, HDR, DCI-P3,sRGB, and >350nits

• Mounting options → If desk space is a concern, consider a monitor with clamp arm design or a model that supports VESA mounting.

You can always try different color profiles in your display settings or create new ones with the Display Calibrator Assistant in Expert Mode.

Since color is critical in graphic design, cheap monitors aren't recommended.

EIZO's ColorEdge line are about the best you can get. And as I'm sure you've guessed, they're expensive.

When I needed a second high end monitor, rather than going with another EIZO, I tried a BenQ monitor. They're supposed to be good. They weren't. Literally impossible to profile, even with their own profiling software. I ended up getting another EIZO.

I've read about another brand that gets excellent reviews, but I'd have to be at my Mac to find the info I saved about it.

The M4 and M4 Pro Mac minis are compatible with a wide range of monitors.

Things you may want to look for in a monitor intended for graphic design work:

• An IPS panel, to avoid color shifts if you view the monitor at an angle
• 100% or near-100% coverage of sRGB. This is a minimum standard for color accuracy. If the manufacturer does not provide this specification (and the manufacturer is someone other than Apple), it usually means Bad Things.
• [Optional] 100% or near-100% coverage of the wide gamuts DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB. These overlap but are not identical. Adobe RGB has its backgrounds in the print world, whereas DCI-P3 comes from the movie/cinema/TV world.
• [Optional] Features to support calibration, and to support storing calibration profiles in the monitor ("hardware calibration")
• [Optional] 10-bit-per-channel color. Whereas a color gamut (sRGB, DCI-P3, or Adobe P3) determines the range of colors a monitor can show accurately, a greater color depth gives you more fine gradations within a particular color range.

I'm starting to get out of my depth, but you get the idea.

Some manufacturers / model lines that you could consider:

• Asus (ProArt line)
• BenQ
• Dell (UltraSharp line)
• Apple (Studio Display)
• Eizo

If cost is a consideration you would be hard pressed to come up with a better overall monitor than the Apple Studio Display, but if its internal speakers and camera are not important considerations for your needs, there are too many additional choices to enumerate.

The Pro Display XDR is even more impressive.

If you don't even know where to start I'd call B&H Photo in NY and discuss it with them. They have been around a long time, they know Macs, and they are reputable.

ha_fernandez wrote:

Now, i've a last question: imac M4 24" 24gb 512Gb or mac mini with similar features?

It depends on your preferences.

The 24" M4 iMac has an entry-level variant with only two USB-C / Thunderbolt ports, and higher-end ones that have four USB-C / Thunderbolt ports. I would recommend a variant with four ports, and I believe that the stock model with 24 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD has four ports.

The big advantage of the 24" iMac is its gorgeous Retina screen. There aren't many standalone monitors with the same pixel density. (The 27" 5K Apple Studio Display and a few third-party 27" 5K displays come to mind – but none of them are especially cheap.). Another advantage for the iMac is that it comes with a Magic Keyboard and a Magic Mouse. The Mac mini comes with neither - and Apple charges a lot for them when purchased separately.

The big disadvantage of the 24" iMac is that the screen measures only 24", and is forever tied to the computer – you can't reuse it as a monitor for any future Mac or PC that you might buy.

With the Mac mini, you can buy whatever monitor you want, and when it's time to replace the Mac mini, you can take that monitor with you to your next system. You can also get the Mac mini with a M4 Pro chip, if you want a stronger GPU, or a CPU that can chew through long batch jobs more quickly. The downside here is that the 27" and 32" 4K monitors that are so large, plentiful, and relatively inexpensive do not have a PPI that comes close to that of the 24" 4.5K Retina iMac's screen. So they're not going to be quite as sharp.

Now, i've a last question: imac M4 24" 24gb 512Gb or mac mini with similar features?

Since you asked, I'd get the Mini, but only because 24" is just too small for me — I don't like multiple monitors and prefer to use Split View on one big screen. On the other hand the monitors you are considering don't have built-in cameras or speakers, and that's important to me. On yet another hand if sound and camera quality are important considerations then you'd probably want better ones than the iMac incorporates — which are very good, but require compromises for the paper-thin-ness that's important to Apple.

So... it comes down to what's important for you.