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Updated · The Verge · Sep 22Apple Solders Storage in New Mac mini, 256GB SSD Speeds Trail 512GB by About 50%
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Sep 22Summary
- New Mac mini models with M6 and M5 Pro chips no longer allow aftermarket storage upgrades because their NAND storage is soldered to the logic board.
- That reverses the M4 and M4 Pro generation, whose removable storage let buyers start at 256GB and later install cheaper third-party modules.
- 256GB configurations also use a single NAND chip instead of two 128GB chips, cutting benchmark speeds to about half those of 512GB models or larger.
- AAPL Ch. measured the M6 Mac mini at 3,216.8 MB/s read and 3,000.2 MB/s write for 256GB, versus 6,371.5 MB/s and 6,577.4 MB/s for 512GB.
- Even so, the new 256GB model still outperformed the prior M4 256GB version in testing, while Apple has not commented on the design change.
Insights
Why did Apple quietly kill the Mac mini's best upgrade feature, and is the base model secretly a performance trap? Does soldering the M6 Mac mini's storage genuinely boost reliability, or is it purely a calculated move to maximize corporate profits?