Question M4 Mac Mini announced

[lopri]

Mac mini

The new, smaller Mac mini with the M4 or M4 Pro chip. Built for Apple Intelligence. Now with front and back ports. And the first carbon neutral Mac.

www.apple.com

Looking to finally upgrade my M1 Mini. It has become quite sluggish. The new one offers an 10 Gbe ethernet option, which is a nice touch.

 

[gdansk]

M1 Mini. It has become quite sluggish

Really?

 

[Eug]

Looking to finally upgrade my M1 Mini. It has become quite sluggish. The new one offers an 10 Gbe ethernet option, which is a nice touch.

The 10 Gbps Ethernet option has been there since M1.

How is yours sluggish? What are your specs, what do you do with it, and how full is your SSD? Mine isn't sluggish but I have 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD, with less than 200 GB used. If I test it side by side against my M4 iPad Pro, the M1 does occasionally feel a bit slower than the M4, but it's like M1 is very fast and M4 is super fast.

Anyhow, I ordered an M4 with 24 GB RAM and 10 Gbps Ethernet. I don't need it, but I just want it.

 

[manly]

So brave.

Apple stuck the Mac mini power button on the bottom

Don't expect to fit the new M4 Mac mini into too tight a space because you're going to have to tip it to reach underneath every time you need to switch it on.

appleinsider.com

(Kudos for making 16GB RAM standard on all new Macs, after long insisting that 8GB was plenty.)

 

[Eug]

(Kudos for making 16GB RAM standard on all new Macs, after long insisting that 8GB was plenty.)

Even better, they bumped up the old M2 and M3 MacBook Airs to 16 GB RAM too. It's about time.

 

[manly]

MacBook Air has been updated. Unfortunately base storage is still 256GB.

Upgrades for RAM and storage are still ridiculous. Having said that, considering inflation, the value proposition for base configs is solid (esp when there's a sale). As a result, the Mac business is doing well for Apple even as hardware purchase cycles have extended.

Apple Announces New MacBook Air With M4 and 'Sky Blue' Color Option

Apple today announced refreshed 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models, now featuring the M4 chip, an upgraded camera, and a new "Sky Blue" color...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Eug]

MacBook Air has been updated. Unfortunately base storage is still 256GB.

Upgrades for RAM and storage are still ridiculous. Having said that, considering inflation, the value proposition for base configs is solid (esp when there's a sale). As a result, the Mac business is doing well for Apple even as hardware purchase cycles have extended.

For the M4 Mac mini, the RAM and storage upgrade prices are worse now in some countries. They updated the upgrade pricing last week.

The good news for the M4 MacBook Air, they dropped the base pricing. Also, in some countries like Canada, it's actually slightly cheaper than in the US.

 

[manly]

For the M4 Mac mini, the RAM and storage upgrade prices are worse now in some countries. They updated the upgrade pricing last week.

The good news for the M4 MacBook Air, they dropped the base pricing. Also, in some countries like Canada, it's actually slightly cheaper than in the US.

If you can live with meager storage, the base configs are solid buys IMO. Considering post-pandemic inflation, it's kinda nice that Apple reset the base price to what it was 5 years ago. Having said that, nobody pays full MAP price anymore unless you walk into an Apple store. Retailers like Amazon and Best Buy are often discounting the popular SKUs throughout the year, not just for the holidays.

But it's still lame that if you want to "future-proof" with RAM and storage, you pay a lot for the privilege. NAND has jumped in cost significantly since 2023, so at least there's a market basis for that.

Looking back at the OP and the Mac mini with M4 Pro. 8TB storage upgrade is $2400 LOL.
(By comparison, the WD Black SN850X 8TB is $600.)

 

[Sgraffite]

There's 3rd party options to replace the stock "NVME" drives. $320 for 2TB. It requires a second Mac to be able to do it.

 

[Muadib]

There's 3rd party options to replace the stock "NVME" drives. $320 for 2TB. It requires a second Mac to be able to do it.

Does doing this kill the warranty?

 

[Sgraffite]

Does doing this kill the warranty?

Not sure. I would hope not since it is using a slot meant for a replaceable part. You could put the original drive back in if there is a problem.

 

[Muadib]

Not sure. I would hope not since it is using a slot meant for a replaceable part. You could put the original drive back in if there is a problem.

Is putting the original drive back something easy to do? I heard that you need another mac to install the new SSD. Would you need another mac to go back to the original SSD?

 

[Sgraffite]

Is putting the original drive back something easy to do? I heard that you need another mac to install the new SSD. Would you need another mac to go back to the original SSD?

I don't own a Mac and only watched videos on this, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. My understanding is you only need the second Mac for the DFU (Device Firmware Update) and that is a once per SSD step you have to take. I expect putting the original SSD back in the slot it would just work.

 

[Muadib]

I don't own a Mac and only watched videos on this, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. My understanding is you only need the second Mac for the DFU (Device Firmware Update) and that is a once per SSD step you have to take. I expect putting the original SSD back in the slot it would just work.

Thanks for the reply! I was thinking along the same lines as you, but wanted to hear from someone that did it.