This story is a part of Holiday Gift Guide 2021, our listing of concepts, by matter, by recipient and by worth, that will help you uncover the proper reward.
The Mac Mini, together with its extra cellular cousins the MacE book Air and 13-inch MacE book Pro, was one of many first Apple computer systems to ditch Intel silicon in favor of Apple’s spectacular M1 processor. It didn’t obtain the M1X replace this fall that the 14-inch MacE book Pro and 16-inch MacE book Pro did, however the Mac Mini stays the corporate’s least costly MacOS laptop and is promoting at respectable reductions on Amazon proper now.
The baseline mannequin of the M1-based Mac Mini prices $699 from Apple and options 8GB of RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive. The step-up mannequin prices $899 from Apple and doubles the storage capability to 512GB. Amazon is presently providing a $50 low cost on the baseline mannequin and an $80 low cost on the extra helpful step-up mannequin with twice the storage capability.
One advantage of paying full worth and shopping for from Apple, nonetheless, is you’ll be able to customise the machine and add extra RAM or a higher-capacity SSD, whereas the fashions offered on Amazon and different retailers are mounted configurations. And in contrast to in most different desktops, the Mac Mini’s RAM shouldn’t be user-upgradable. Apple’s M1 system-on-a-chip integrates the CPU, GPU, RAM and different parts for better energy and effectivity, however the draw back of this integration is the shortage of DIMM slots that might assist you to add extra RAM after buy.
It’s value noting that the Apple Store presents college students an academic low cost, however you may save solely $20 on the worth of a brand new Mac Mini, although some upgrades are discounted, too. For instance, doubling the RAM to 16GB prices $180 with the schooling low cost as a substitute of the standard cost of $200.
Also at Apple, you would possibly discover a refurbished M1 Mac Mini. Apple has began promoting refurbs of the M1 Mac Mini at its Certified Refurbished Mac web page. Currently, you may get a refurbished M1 Mac Mini with a 256GB SSD for $589 with a $110 low cost, or the step-up mannequin with 512GB SSD for $759 with a $140 low cost. Refurb stock adjustments quickly so it’s possible you’ll not at all times discover an M1 Mac Mini listed. It’s value retaining a watch out, nonetheless, as a result of you’ll be able to lock in substantial financial savings. Rick Broida, CNET’s Cheapskate emeritus, is an enormous fan of refurbs — notably Apple’s, which are sometimes pretty much as good as new.
Keep studying to see the most effective US costs presently out there for Apple’s Mac Mini. We replace this web page recurrently and provides costs which are correct at time of publication, however notice that they fluctuate.
Mac Mini reductions, in contrast
Model w/ CPU and storage capability
List worth
Best worth (present)
Best worth (all-time)
Mac Mini w/ M1 chip, 256GB SSD
$699
$649
$600
Mac Mini w/ M1 chip, 512GB SSD
$899
$819
$750
Note that “all-time” means the most effective worth that we have seen at an Apple-authorized retailer within the product’s lifetime.
The baseline Mac Mini options Apple’s new M1 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Amazon is promoting it for $50 lower than its $699 listing worth. That’s half the Black Friday low cost from final week however nonetheless places a large dent in the associated fee.
Dan Ackerman/CNET
The step-up Mac Mini with a 512GB SSD is $80 off at Amazon proper now. That’s down from the $149 low cost supplied for Black Friday, however we do not anticipate to see that worth break return anytime quickly. The lowest the 512GB Mac Mini dropped on Amazon earlier than Black Friday was $800, so the present low cost is close to that mark. Most folks will profit from the added space for storing; 512GB is the smallest SSD we might suggest for any desktop.
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