Apple Cancels Major Upgrade in Mac mini... Buyers Will Pay Hundreds of Dollars More, According to TechCrunch.

Apple has reverted to soldered storage on new Mac mini models with M6 and M5 Pro processors after introducing M4 and M4 Pro in 2024, which offered a more flexible design allowing for the replacement of internal storage and the addition of larger capacities at lower cost.

In previous Mac mini models equipped with M1 and M2 processors, Apple used direct soldering of NAND chips to the mainboard, making upgrading storage after purchasing the device impractical. However, the company changed this approach with the M4 generation by placing storage units on removable modules, which, while different from traditional M.2 drives, later introduced compatible modules that allowed users to increase internal capacity at a lower cost.

However, Expand Mac mini, a company selling alternative storage modules for M4 and M4 Pro models, found that the new Mac mini models are soldered with NAND chips directly onto the mainboard in both configurations, without providing any removable storage port or module.

As a result, the storage modules used with M4 devices will not be compatible with the new models, and the company believes developing similar external storage upgrades for M6 and M5 Pro seems unlikely at present. In contrast, owners of M4 and M4 Pro models will remain unaffected and can continue using compatible modules for their devices.

This change makes increasing capacity much more expensive, as Expand sells a 1TB M4 Mac mini unit for $300 while the 2TB unit costs around $420. Apple charges an additional $500 to increase the storage of the M6 Mac mini from 256GB to 1TB, and upgrading to 2TB costs $1,000.

As a result, buyers will need to choose the appropriate storage capacity when purchasing the device or rely on external SSDs if they need additional space later.

On the other hand, Apple has maintained its different design in the new Mac Studio. Repair documents for the M5 Max and M5 Ultra versions show that removable storage units will continue to be used. The device may use one or two units depending on the configuration, with each unit needing to be connected to a specific port in models with two units.

However, this does not mean upgrading Mac Studio is easy. Apple uses its own storage units instead of standard M.2 drives, and users need another Mac running the latest version of macOS to reconfigure the device after replacing a unit.

Apple explains how to replace faulty storage units but does not clarify whether larger capacity units can be installed as an actual upgrade. Thus, Mac Studio maintains removable storage for repair purposes, while Apple has removed the low-cost upgrade option that appeared with the M4 generation from the new Mac mini.

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Apple Cancels Important Upgrade in Mac mini... Buyers Will Pay Hundreds of Dollars More appeared on Tech Wala Aam.