With the release of the M6 Mac mini and its M5 Pro counterpart, Apple quietly killed off one of the machine’s most compelling features. The M4 Mac mini had a slot for upgradable storage, allowing users to replace the NAND module with a third-party SSD up to 2TB. This saved nearly $500 compared to Apple's $800 2TB upgrade.
Now, Apple has soldered the SSD directly to the logic board, eliminating user upgrades. The base price rose from $600 to $900, and the 2TB upgrade from $800 to $1000. An M6 Mac mini with a 2TB SSD costs $1900, versus roughly $920 for an upgraded M4 model—a 106% price increase.
Apple may have acted due to rising component prices, but the reason for soldering SSDs remains unclear. A used base M4 Mac mini remains an excellent value with its upgradable SSD and baseline performance.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing