With the release of the M6 Mac mini and its more powerful M5 Pro counterpart, Apple has quietly removed one of the machine’s most exciting features. While both new Mac mini models look similar on the outside to their predecessors, Apple has removed the hidden feature that made the previous generation Mac mini an incredible value.
When it launched, the M4 Mac mini offered excellent value for money. Not only did it feature Apple’s M4 SoC, but it also came with 16GB of unified memory, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, two front-facing USB 3 ports, HDMI, and Ethernet. At just $599 or $499 student discounted, the M4 Mac mini was not only the most versatile Mac in Apple’s lineup, but also, pound for pound, the best Mac in the lineup.
Video: Apple removed the best hidden feature from the Mac mini 🙁
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But Apple’s smallest Mac had a secret up its sleeve that made it an even more valuable machine: a slot for expandable storage. Users could literally open the back cover of the machine, unscrew a few screws, and access a removable NAND module that could be easily replaced with a third-party SSD up to 2TB.
The advantages were multiple. Not only could you easily upgrade the SSD or repair a failed drive, but you could also save money by foregoing Apple’s make-to-order upgrade option and doing it yourself with a much cheaper third-party SSD.
At the time, Apple charged $800 for the 2TB upgrade, turning the “budget” computer into a $1,400 computer with the click of an option. By upgrading after purchase with a third-party SSD, users could save almost $500.
Of course, as someone who loves to tinker, I was extremely excited about this and ended up posting a full video tutorial showing step by step how to upgrade the original SSD with a third-party drive. It proved very popular, garnering half a million views.
Video: How to Upgrade Mac mini M4 SSD
It was nice while it lasted.
With the launch of this latest generation of Mac mini, Apple soldered the SSD directly to the motherboard, eliminating the option of upgrading it after purchase with a third-party NAND module.
The Mac mini went from what was arguably the best value to a significantly more expensive product, not only for the base model, which ranges from $600 to $900, but also for the 2TB upgrade, which ranges from $800 to $1,000.
Today, if you want an M6 Mac mini with a 2TB SSD, you’ll have to pay Apple $1,900. The M4 Mac mini equivalent, with a 2TB aftermarket upgrade, would have cost you around $920 if you factor in the $320 aftermarket upgrade price charged at the time. Obviously things have gotten more expensive, so it’s not exactly Apple to Apple (see what I did there), but it represents a $1,000 price increase, not only because Apple charges so much more, but also because Apple removed the ability for customers to upgrade the machines themselves.
I have a good idea why Apple chose to increase the price of the base Mac mini by $300, and I can even understand why the prices of its SSDs have increased so much. Due to AI and other factors, the prices of components, SSDs, and memory have all skyrocketed. But that doesn’t explain why Apple chose to solder the SSDs to the motherboard instead of leaving them user-replaceable like before.
We can speculate, but we may never know the true answer to Apple’s decision to return to soldered SSDs. What we do know however is that these machines are significantly more expensive, and even that seems like an understatement. In the case of the Mac mini M4 with a 2TB aftermarket upgrade compared to the Mac mini M6 with a 2TB on-order upgrade, this is a price increase of approximately 106%.
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It can be difficult to find a base model M4 Mac mini on the used market at a reasonable price, but if you can, it’s still a great machine for its basic performance, features, and upgradeable SSD.
The good news in all of this is that all of Apple’s Mac mini models feature Thunderbolt connectivity, so you can easily add high-bandwidth external storage via a USB or Thunderbolt SSD. I’m personally a big fan of the Samsung T9, which offers a relatively affordable way to add extra storage.
What do you think Apple’s reasoning is for getting rid of user-replaceable SSDs in the Mac mini? Do you have any particular theories? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts.
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