User profile for user: sszd22
sszd22 Author
User level: Level 1
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iMac as display for M4 Mac mini

I'm looking at purchasing a Mac mini M4, but want to wait before purchasing any type of display. In the interim, I was wondering about using my 2017 27" iMac as a temporary display for the M4. To do this, I was researching a few ideas and was wondering if any of this would be possible. One solution would be to set up the M4 as a headless system using an HDMI dummy display dongle. I would then attach the M4 through an ethernet cable via a switch on my local network. Then, using screen sharing from the iMac over the ethernet, access the M4's screen from the iMac. Second possibility would be to again use an HDMI dongle and an ethernet connection, but instead of using the MacOS screen sharing feature, use the Apple Remote Desktop application. Of course, this would require purchasing the ARD application (~$80). A third possibility would be to purchase a third party product called Luna Display (~$90). It has a USB dongle that would connect to the M4, and then an app for the iMac and another for the M4. All of these solutions would of course require some initial setup on the M4 through some sort of display. I was thinking of using an LCD TV with an HDMI connection to accomplish any initial setup on the M4. Would any (or all) of these solutions work?

Posted on Jan 7, 2026 8:03 PM

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User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
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Posted on Jan 8, 2026 5:27 AM

While you can do what you want after initial setup with a TV, how well it works would depend on what sort of work you will be doing on the Mini.


Using a network interface for video will severely impact performance and you will only have a limited range of screen resolutions. Anything that is graphics intensive will be severely hampered.


I suggest keep using the iMac until you can afford both the Mini and a Display. Actually, if you aren't doing anything that is super color critical, you can get quite inexpensive displays that work quite well with the Mini. You can then either repurpose the iMac, give it to some family member, friend, or neighbor or donate it to some organization that is tight on budgets.

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User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
21,045 points

Jan 8, 2026 5:27 AM in response to sszd22

While you can do what you want after initial setup with a TV, how well it works would depend on what sort of work you will be doing on the Mini.


Using a network interface for video will severely impact performance and you will only have a limited range of screen resolutions. Anything that is graphics intensive will be severely hampered.


I suggest keep using the iMac until you can afford both the Mini and a Display. Actually, if you aren't doing anything that is super color critical, you can get quite inexpensive displays that work quite well with the Mini. You can then either repurpose the iMac, give it to some family member, friend, or neighbor or donate it to some organization that is tight on budgets.

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User profile for user: Servant of Cats
Servant of Cats
User level: Level 8
35,027 points

Jan 8, 2026 5:22 AM in response to sszd22

sszd22 wrote:

I'm looking at purchasing a Mac mini M4, but want to wait before purchasing any type of display. In the interim, I was wondering about using my 2017 27" iMac as a temporary display for the M4.


Target Display Mode went away when the first 27" 5K Retina iMac came out in Late 2014 – and never came back. Your 2017 iMac does not support it. Apple later added restrictions such that no Mac released after 2019 or that's running anything later than Catalina supports using any iMac as a Target Display.


A third possibility would be to purchase a third party product called Luna Display (~$90). It has a USB dongle that would connect to the M4, and then an app for the iMac and another for the M4.


Luna Display might let you use that iMac as a second display, but you'll still need at least one real display. Even if you run a cable between the two Macs, the connection is not as good as with a real hardware display. In an article on the vendor site, they acknowledge this. They say the product isn't recommended for high-motion applications like video editing and gaming, and that when things change on screen, there may be artifacts and lags.


The attraction of Luna Display is that standalone 27" 5K (5120x2880) pixel displays – even competitors to Apple's $1599+ USD Studio Display – are still fairly expensive. By the time that you buy a 27" Apple Studio Display, and an Apple Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, you've spent an amount that once would have bought you a 27" 5K iMac, except that you still need to buy the computer …


Some decent (if basic) 27" 4K displays can be had for $300 to $400 USD, and while they aren't as sharp as 27" 5K displays, a M4 Mac mini could drive them without the drawbacks associated with workarounds like Luna Display.

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User profile for user: sszd22
sszd22 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jan 8, 2026 7:36 AM in response to Servant of Cats

Thanks for the info. During my research so far I did stumble across the "Target Display Mode" option, but discovered it was not supported on my system, and so did not mention it in my post. The other three options is what I was really interested in learning about. In the Luna Display option, I learned that you can use just the iMac as your only display (once things were set up properly), and not have to use a dual display setup. But, I really don't like the idea of spending $90 when that could be used towards an actually monitor. I saw some video's online that showed exactly that type of setup, which is why I thought a TV could be used to at least download the Luna app onto the Mini, then move the Mini over to the iMac. I am entertaining a third party 4K display since the 5K displays are still too expensive, especially the Apple Studio Display. But, before I can do enough research on displays to see what would be a good solution for the Mini, I just thought the iMac would be a decent temporary solution.

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User profile for user: sszd22
sszd22 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jan 8, 2026 8:08 AM in response to woodmeister50

Thanks for the info. During my research so far I did stumble across the "Target Display Mode" option, but discovered it was not supported on my system, and so did not mention it in my post. The other three options is what I was really interested in learning about.


I'm curious though... will using the Apple Remote Desktop as a solution over a network connection really be that slow, and hamper the video quality? I am now retired, but when I was employed, we used to use Remote Desktop applications on Linux and Windows systems to view other Linux and Windows systems interchangeably on our networks. We could remotely perform work on other systems, and I don't recall there being really any noticeable lag. I've never used the "Apple" Remote Desktop application though, and when I ran across it, I thought that maybe that would be a decent solution, at least until I can research a decent 4K display since the 5Ks are too expensive.


As far as waiting until I can do some really good research on 4K displays, and purchase one along with the Mac mini, unfortunately I am unable to do that. I am in need of an upgraded computer immediately. The reason is that I recently discovered the 2017 iMac is no longer supported by Apple as of November 2025. And, the latest OS I can run on this iMac is Ventura. This system is still a perfectly good running machine, and I am extremely happy with it. But, it so happens, because of this older OS, Intuit will not support this system and does not allow the latest TurboTax software to install. Since we are now in tax season, and I prefer to do my own taxes, I have no choice but to upgrade (oh, and I am very leery of using Intuit's online version over the internet). I do plan on keeping the iMac though. The whole situation is just unfortunate.

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iMac as display for M4 Mac mini

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