When it was introduced during the white plastic heyday of peak iPod-era Apple, the Mac mini was pitched as the cheapest way to buy into the Mac ecosystem. It was $499. And despite some fluctuation (as high as $799 for the entry-level 2018 mini, $599 for this year's refresh), the Mac mini has stayed the cheapest entry-level Mac ever since.

Apple’s week of product announcements leading up to its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report continued Wednesday with the launch of an updated MacBook Pro laptop powered by its M4 family of chips.

Apple’s latest line of MacBook Pro models now feature the M4 silicon chip inside. This is either the standard M4 or one of the more advanced Pro or Max versions. I’ve used most of the generations of the Apple silicon over the years and it never ceases to impress me how fast and efficient they really are.