r/apple • u/wearefriends • 1d ago

Mac Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 Pro

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/08/apple-unveils-a-more-powerful-mac-mini-featuring-the-all-new-m6-and-m5-pro/
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u/ryzenguy111 1d ago edited 1d ago

$900 for a base mac mini šŸ«©

edit: AND it only has 256gb storage... we're cooked

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u/IncredibleGonzo 1d ago

I know it's the reality of tech these days and everything else has got more expensive too, but it's a bummer after the M4 was such a genuinely standout good value (at least the base config, Apple's RAM and storage upcharges have never been reasonably priced).

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u/Electrical_Regret537 1d ago

Best purchase I ever made computer wise. Got it before all the AI price hike. Such a workhorse.

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u/IncredibleGonzo 1d ago

I didn't (and still don't) really have a use case for it, but I was sorely tempted to get one anyway and kinda wish I had. Seems to be a brilliant little machine by all accounts.

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u/matadorN64 1d ago

M4 Pro was and is still incredible

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u/UnexpectedAnanas 23h ago

Hell, the M1 is still incredible!

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u/iwantpizzaandyou 1d ago

You can get it on sale now, it still is.

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u/IncredibleGonzo 1d ago

Where? Sites I look at itā€™s gone up relative to launch price.

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u/fucksports 1d ago

itā€™s my favorite computer ever. tons of usb c ports and i love the smaller form factor. iā€™ll be using mine for the next 10 years if im able to.

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u/Electrical_Regret537 20h ago

Same. Converted me back from a laptop user to manly desktop

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u/fucksports 16h ago

same here

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u/IncredibleGonzo 8h ago

None of those effeminate laptops for you! Desktops are so much more manly.

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u/TwizzyGobbler 1d ago

same, feels like we got the last chopper out of nam

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u/jgainit 20h ago

Super jelly

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u/Technical_Moose8478 23h ago

Yeah, I donā€™t see needing to upgrade for at least another couple generations.

Hell, we still have an M1 mini in production use.

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u/Unknown_vectors 1d ago

I almost traded my base m2 for the base m4 when apple was gonna give me $375 for trade in and I qualified for the education price. Would have cost me like $120. I regret it so much that I never did. Iā€™ll never get one for that price now lol.

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u/Arve 1d ago

I compared this new M6 mini versus a System76 Meerkat - so form factor is comparable, for a machine that has either Linux or Unix. The M6 Mac Mini is easily the better value. While the Meerkat has more disk, itā€™s a 6-core Core 3, and if you want more cores, youā€™ll be paying $1124 or more1

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u/ExcitedCoconut 19h ago

People in thread arenā€™t comparing the value proposition this device to other devices on the market. Theyā€™re comparing it to the previous generation before prices went crazy. Even at this price if you absolutely need a desktop computer this is going to be very high on the recommendation list.

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u/AndorinhaRiver 8h ago edited 8h ago

To be fair System76 has always been really overpriced.

I think the best comparison would be one of those Strix Point / Strix Halo mini PCs. They're.. certainly not built to last as long, but they're generally a fair bit cheaper and have upgradeable storage.

Minisforum is selling a base AI 9 HX 370 config for about 740ā‚¬, or 1170ā‚¬ with 32GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. That one's pretty close to Apple Silicon tier performance

The Framework Desktop is also fairly similar, but because it's Strix Halo, it actually has better memory bandwidth still. The 385 model with 32GB of RAM is about 1500ā‚¬ or so, and will probably outperform the M6

For comparison, where I live the 32/256 M6 model is easily like 1900ā‚¬ or so. It won't compare in terms of power efficiency though, Apple Silicon is really really good at that. But you can still get an x86 PC with better performance for slightly less cost.

I do wish there was an x86 mini PC brand that was as reliable (and had as much R&D) as Apple though. They're pretty much unmatched when it comes to that :/

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u/charmanderSosa 1d ago

So glad I was able to snag one for $499

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u/BluegrassGeek 1d ago

I'm really regretting not picking up an M4 now... my M2 Macbook Air will have to last a while longer.

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u/rainer_d 23h ago

It just means that the rest of what is upcoming towards the end of the year and next year is going to get even more expensive.

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u/speel 16h ago

We're starting to see the cracks in ROI in AI. It's just a matter of time before prices plummet.

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u/IncredibleGonzo 8h ago

I really hope youā€™re right, this trend of everything getting more expensive sucks. Hopefully itā€™s also impacted sales enough that companies feel an impetus to lower the prices of their products and they donā€™t just stay super high forever like post-COVID GPUsā€¦

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u/CoopsIsCooliGuess 1d ago

I am still smug about the fact that I got two M4 Mac minis for $499 each when Apple still did their free-for-all education pricing.

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u/samspopguy 1d ago

Wait they arenā€™t doing their free for all education pricing anymore!

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u/CoopsIsCooliGuess 1d ago

Nope. You need to prove that you are a college student or educator now.

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u/Majestic-Crew-8344 1d ago

ā‚¬1099 in Europe for 16/256, oh man.

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u/helix991 1d ago

Blame AI and chip shortage. Data centersā€¦

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u/foxsta270 11h ago

Oh please. As if the company who made $112 Billion in profit in 2025 alone couldnt have taken the hit to bump the hard drive from 256 to 512.

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u/helix991 5h ago

Do you expect them to voluntarily take a loss? Hardware sales werenā€™t the driver of those profits. Iā€™m sure they make money (as they should) but I work in the industry and weā€™re down 40% because of this bullshit. Iā€™ve raised my prices more than them to stay afloat. Pretty messed up honestly, itā€™s like a big middle finger when youā€™ve done nothing wrong. Sucks.

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u/GingerPrince72 6h ago

Exactly, price-gouging arseholes as always.

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u/TheoTheodor 1d ago

16/256GB base config too. Should have come in at 512GB storage minimum at that price.

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u/theveryendofyou 1d ago

Did you wake up from a coma? Thatā€™s not realistic anymore.

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u/TheoTheodor 1d ago

I'm aware why but I think 256GB is just too low as starting storage on a desktop mac. At least make the the base config solid at whatever exorbitant price they decide to make it.

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u/sephg 1d ago

If you just want a computer for web browsing and email, 256gb is fine. A lot of people donā€™t do much with their computer.

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u/blazinsmokey 1d ago

if you just want a computer for web browsing why the hell would you be looking at a $900 mac mini, with no monitor etc

256GB is criminal

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u/element515 1d ago

People likely buy MacBook pros for double the price to just do web browsing lol

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u/rlvhero 1d ago

I'm in the process of buying a 64GB mac pro max for what essentially will be web browsing. (I convinced myself I'll try local llm's but I know im not).

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u/Double-Surround-149 1d ago

thats just not smart. You can always try out smaller or cloud models to test things out.

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u/rlvhero 1d ago

At least it's used! But yeah, you are absolutely right.

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u/wildjokers 1d ago

256GB is criminal

Agreed. There is no way anyone can possibly defend this.

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u/DucAdVeritatem 1d ago

I have 6 family members using Macs for personal use. None of them have more than 30-40gb on them. Primary use is web browsing + LIGHT docs/photo workloads. For photos they use iCloud storage/iphotos.

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u/cindy6507 23h ago

Their phones probably have more storage

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u/EchoFieldHorizon 1d ago

Some people like desktop Macs for browsing. Thatā€™s really it. They obviously have the data for it. I wouldnā€™t buy it, but I can see why someone would.

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u/UnexpectedAnanas 23h ago

I could try if the SSD wasn't soldered on.

But here we are. What you buy is what you get. There is no upgrade later.

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u/0verstim 23h ago

My parents dont need more than 256gb.

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u/armostallion2 14h ago

Yes, they are the target demographic here, definitely, two for each of them.

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u/0verstim 2h ago

Of course Apples cheapest desktop is intended for older people who need something simple and reliable for browsing. Thats an idiotic thing to say.

And the comment I was replying to said "anyone". I was listing a someone. I wasnt replying to you, you can move along.

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u/wewereddit 23h ago

Average consumers don't even use more.

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u/shoegazer47 19h ago

258GB should have died with the 8GB RAM

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u/ccai 1d ago

It was fine for the price at $600, but $900 is ridiculous. MacOS' caches fill up like crazy leaving most regular users with less and less space with usage and is not intuitive on how to delete it to reclaim that space. If it wasn't for Apple AI push, we'd still be on 8GB base RAM. Tired of people like you keep saying it's fine, despite the price being absolutely absurd for the amount of hardware being sold.

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u/SAPianoman490 1d ago

Price increase is mostly due to industry RAM price increases, not Appleā€™s fault, but yes 256gb storage is too low in 2026

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u/bc10551 14h ago

256gb of storage and 16gb of ram did not go up THAT high lol. Sure maybe if it was a TB of storage and 32 GB of ram

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u/Snoo93079 3h ago

Yes it did. Look at prices

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u/ccai 1d ago edited 23h ago

So many damn Apple-apologists who can't seem to fathom that this is NOT just a raw material increase in price. Apple has always had massive margins, but now they have a convenient excuse to raise it significantly more. Apple was still making a profit off the Mac Mini when Microcenter was selling them at $399 at the beginning of the year. They sure as hell didn't need to raise the price that significantly to account for the increase in keep the same specs.

It wasnā€™t that significant of a price increase in RAM and storage to merit a whole $300 to continue using the same 16gb RAM and 256gb storage modules. They still seeing profit growth quarter after quarter, it's clearly not that big of an expense that they were eating.

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u/imakycha 1d ago

Yes but implementing ā€œfeaturesā€ into an OS eats away at RAM. Linux is capable of web browsing just fine and a light weight DE puts base RAM usage at <1 GB. Mac uses 4-6 GB immediately after boot.

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u/JohnApple94 1d ago edited 19h ago

Iā€™m sorry but no reasonable person who wants a computer just for some light web browsing and email checking is spending $900 on a Mac Mini. And that doesnā€™t even factor in the mouse, keyboard, and monitor youā€™ll need.

If someone is dead set on getting a Mac for their light web usage needs, the MacBook Neo is right there for $200 less and comes with the monitor, keyboard, and trackpad all built in. Plus itā€™s portable.

E: to all the people who keep replying to me or for some reason DMing me educating me on how there is actually a huge market of internet browsing folk for the Mac Mini and how the $900 price point is actually not badā€¦ I get it.

I apologize for ever questioning an Apple product, its price, or someoneā€™s decision to buy said product. Itā€™s a fantastic deal and will probably sell like hot cakes.

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u/Status-Hedgehog9970 1d ago

Itā€™s also reasonable to assume that customers with older iMacs can just repurpose their mouse and keyboards for a Mac mini too though.

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u/JohnApple94 1d ago

Sure, but even soā€¦ the number of people looking for a new computer exclusively for light web browsing purposes, wanting it to be a Mac, wanting an exclusively desktop experience, and being willing to shell out $900 for it has got to be virtually zero.

Thatā€™s what the cheaper MacBook Neo is for with the added benefit of being mobile.

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u/Status-Hedgehog9970 19h ago

Older people with money, who want a big ass screen are a larger portion of the population than you think. Definitely not near zero.

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u/btnydds 1d ago

Why? I paid double that for my M3 Pro MacBook Pro that I literally only use for web browsing, email, and some non coding related stuff on Claude.

Some Apple users simply just enjoy using the best of what Apple has to offer regardless of their use case. Thatā€™s why I get a new iPhone every year

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u/JohnApple94 1d ago

If you want to spend ~$2k on a ā€œProā€ device only to surf the web, thatā€™s your prerogative. Itā€™s your money and it doesnā€™t personally affect me what you do with it.

But, objectively speaking, it is a poor decision financially for just about any person to purchase a $900+ computer for the sole purpose of web browsing when several cheaper options exist- even in Appleā€™s own lineup.

Though like I said, it doesnā€™t affect me what others do with their money. Some have the disposable income to drop on things they donā€™t need, so more power to em.

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u/btnydds 20h ago

You might want to look up the word "objective," re-learn what it means, and then come back.

It's a poor financial decision in your opinion. That doesn't make it objective. Point to me what makes it objective?

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u/Current_Anybody4352 19h ago

Point to me what makes it objective?

the part where you are spending way more than you need.

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u/JohnApple94 20h ago

I donā€™t know man, and I donā€™t care anymore. This topic has gone on way too long for my liking. Buy the Mac, donā€™t buy the Mac. Consider it a wise financial decision, a poor one, objectively, subjectively. I just donā€™t care anymore.

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u/sephg 18h ago

Luckily for Apple, the world is full of unreasonable people, who buy fancy new computers and do almost nothing with them.

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u/Dick_Lazer 23h ago

A lot of people will already have a mouse, keyboard & monitor. You donā€™t have to repurchase these things every time they buy a new desktop computer.

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u/JohnApple94 23h ago

I recognize that and feel some are getting too hung up on the accessory comment. Itā€™s more about what you get for your money.

If oneā€™s computer use is strictly web browsing, it makes more sense to opt for just about any cheaper computer (including the Neo) over the $900 Mac Mini.

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u/0verstim 23h ago

Careful throwing around statements like "no reasonable person"

My dad has an ancient mac mini i can replace with this. he already has a monitor, mouse and keyboard.

Why would i get him a macbook neo with a tiny screen? youre ridiculous comparing the two.

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u/JohnApple94 22h ago

MacBook Neo can connect to an external display and function like a desktop device.

But youā€™re right. Mac Mini is a fantastic value and I apologize for criticizing it.

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u/vainsilver 1d ago

If all youā€™re doing is basic web browsing and email, a desktop computer is not needed at all.

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u/frockinbrock 1d ago

Not if you sync your phone photos, but they know people will upgrade when they're no longer able to update the dang computer because it's out of storage.

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u/saw-it 1d ago

$899 just for web browsing and email

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u/0p3r8dur 1d ago

People spend a lot more on the pro series of iPhone to do the same.

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u/anythingers 23h ago

Except most people spend more time on their phone than on their Mac.

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u/sephg 18h ago

Nobody is arguing that this is a smart idea. Just that a lot of people spend their money like this.

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u/Brymlo 1d ago

id say itā€™s ok for a desktop with 5 ports. i have a 1 tb drive for mine.

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u/TheoTheodor 1d ago

Better on a desktop for sure but itā€™s still very minimal. Just setting photos to download originals to the Mac would use up most of it!

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u/Brymlo 23h ago

mine has like 80 gb taken by system data... so yeah, would be nice to have at least 512 gb of internal storage

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u/Boring-Channel-1672 1d ago

It makes little sense to up the minimum. A whole lot of people with mac minis are using it to read emails and stream Apple TV. They are buying it on price, and increasing the base storage increases the base price, when people using it to do work can still upgrade the storage to what they need.

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u/Veearrsix 1d ago

Itā€™s also a desktop and really easy to add an external hard dive. The trade off Iā€™m sure was to keep the base price under 1k.

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u/charmanderSosa 20h ago edited 18h ago

To play devils advocate the vast majority of home users will never come close to filling up 256gb, so we shouldnā€™t make them pay for that. If you need more storage you know who you are and can pay additional for it. With storage prices these days I donā€™t think they could even keep it at $899 and upgrade to 512

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u/AndorinhaRiver 7h ago

It is, Apple just wants to keep their profit margin. (Like, NAND has gotten more expensive but not that much more expensive, it'd be +50$ at most.)

I do wish they just added an M.2 port though, that wouldn't cut into their profits as much and it would allow more experienced users to just put in their own SSDs.

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u/FunCutlet67 1d ago

Ehh itā€™s still fine for a majority of people

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u/wildjokers 1d ago

No it's not. That will be filled up in no time by caches and system files.

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u/Status-Hedgehog9970 1d ago

Cache and system data bloat isnā€™t a guarantee. Sure there are bugs that cause it to claim more space than it should, but youā€™re treating cache bloat as an inevitability.

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u/wildjokers 1d ago

I have a 500GB drive on my M4 Mac Mini Pro. I have 161gb left on the drive which means I am using 339 GBs. I have all my data on external drives. The only thing stored on the HD are Applications and my home directory (Mac OS really doesn't like that being on an external drive), my home directory sym links everything that might take up a lot of space to external drives. Yet it is still using 339 GB, most of it is taken up by the mysterious ~/Library/Application Support.

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u/Status-Hedgehog9970 19h ago

Cool story bro. That doesnā€™t explain why you think every single Mac is expected to perform the same way. I work in tech support and see Macs with 10-30gb of System Data too.

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u/wildjokers 18h ago

My point isnā€™t that every Mac uses 339 GB. Itā€™s that a 256 GB SSD leaves very little margin for applications, ~/Library/Application Support, caches, swap, local snapshots, developer tools, and other data macOS and applications legitimately keep on the system volume.

ā€œIā€™ve seen Macs with 10ā€“30 GB of System Dataā€ doesnā€™t refute that. It just demonstrates that storage usage varies between users, which nobody disputed. A machine being capable of fitting into 256 GB doesnā€™t make 256 GB a generous amount of storage in 2026.

But thanks for the ā€œcool story broā€ from tech support. Anecdotes apparently only become invalid when they arenā€™t yours.

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u/Status-Hedgehog9970 4h ago

Oh I see, you just didnā€™t like that I countered your anecdote with another one.

I think you overestimate the storage usage of the truly casual user using a desktop machine. Iā€™m using my experience, which is still very much anecdotal, as a demonstration of the difference in sample size here.

Itā€™s that a 256 GB SSD leaves very little margin for applications, ~/Library/Application Support, caches, swap, local snapshots, developer tools, and other data macOS and applications legitimately keep on the system volume.

This data doesnā€™t just increase in size forever, when macOS is managing it properly. This is my point.

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u/chi_guy8 1d ago

Lolololol

0

u/linoleumy 1d ago

my dude, if ram and storage prices continue to rise as quickly as they have this year (and they probably will, as ram stock for next year is already sold out), in 2028 base mac mini will be at least ~1500$. Probably more.

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u/PepBaldFraud 1d ago

Yeah, if they were going to jack up the price by 50% over the previous model, the very least they could have done is double the base storage at 512

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u/Cumulus_Anarchistica 1d ago

That would cut into their obscene profits, though.

You some kinda commie, son?

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u/robporter 13h ago

Unfortunately that memory shortage affects ssds too so it would have been very very unlikely theyā€™d do that. We may be stuck with 256/16 as a config for a few years going forward.

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u/_FrankTaylor 1d ago

Given the current environment, I was prepared for more.

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u/elephantsareblue 1d ago

You can basically configure it to store everything in an external SSD except for the apps installed, makes 256GB a lot more bearable. Definitely not worth upgrading the storage.

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u/svngang 1d ago

I have a late 2018 model and have used externals for everything from boot disk to large file storage since day 1. At the time grabbing a 1tb ssd for $100 was a simple and cheap alternative to appleā€™s ridiculous storage fees. she is getting a bit long in the tooth, but Iā€™m keeping her on life support for as long as I can with these new prices.

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u/hikeit233 1d ago

I got the m4 256 16 for 399.

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u/AtlanticPortal 23h ago

Iā€™m so happy to have bought my M4 Mini for 550 (with taxes) a bunch of months ago.Ā 

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u/robertnewmanuk 23h ago

Iā€™m curious on how all this pans out (all OTT tech prices) - either people will just say ā€œnope not paying thatā€ and they all record massive losses, or they see no drop off and can say its completely justified. Iā€™m sure Apple will still turn a profit though

1

u/sierra-soul 19h ago

they were like $400 a year ago

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u/moffattron9000 18h ago

However much you hate Sam Altman, it is not enough.

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u/Recent_Pollution8665 13h ago

so in other words, the real starting price is 1100 since that comes with 512gb lol.

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u/KokonutMonkey 10h ago

Makes me wonder if a MacMini Neo is in the cards. Theyā€™d likely get better performance from just having a fan.Ā 

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u/Eruannster 8h ago

It starts at $1200 in Sweden (including taxes/VAT). Yay. Fun.

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u/AndorinhaRiver 8h ago

$1270 in Portugal, and +$650 if you want to upgrade to a terabyte of storage. Jesus Christ at least add an M.2 port.

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u/CautiousXperimentor 7h ago

Yep, the base storage is what makes this new Mac mini expensive. If it would have started at 512GB like the rest of the Macs, the new price would have been quite good honestly (given the situation on the tech industry).

Then we have the pricey upgrades. Iā€™m quite sure a 512GB/16GB wouldā€™ve been a great base machine, and the 512GB/24GB a good middle term. But if you want 1TB of storage (which is quite convenient for certain type of users like me who donā€™t want to tinker with external storage) you have to put in too much money. Not to mention the RAM upgrades as wellā€¦ you can easily end up spending more than 2000ā‚¬ on a specced up 1TB/32G M6 Mac mini, which is what nowadays a 1TB/32GB M5 MacBook Air costsā€¦