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TechActive · 41h

Apple solders M6 Mac mini storage, killing third-party upgrades

The new M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini models return to soldered storage, ending the upgrade path available on M4 predecessors.

newest coverage 23h agosummary written 1d ago8 pieces16 likes & upvotes NewswiresMastodonRedditHacker News

What to know

  • Apple's new M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini models have soldered storage, reversing the user-upgradeable design of the M4 generation.
  • The change eliminates third-party upgrade options like Expand Mac mini's modules, which cost significantly less than Apple's official upgrades ($300 vs. $500 for 1TB).
  • Users must now pay Apple's premium pricing for storage upgrades, as there is no removable storage slot available.

“When Apple released the M4 Mac mini two years ago, teardowns quickly revealed a pleasant surprise: the internal SSD was not soldered to the logic board.”

9to5Mac, Tech publication · 9to5Mac ↗ · Sep 21

Apple Mac mini manufacturerExpand Mac mini Third-party storage upgrade vendor

Apple solders M6 Mac mini storage, killing third-party upgrades
9to5mac.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in one hour at Sep 22, 8 AM; 8 pieces over 42 hours (4 articles · 4 posts) Sep 22, 8 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 22, 9 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Sep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Sep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Yesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Yesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 1 AM — quiet 1
4 PMyesterday8 AM4 PMnow · 2:01 AM ET
  1. 1

    Expand Mac mini says M6/M5 Pro support 'looks unlikely'

    The third-party storage upgrade vendor announced it will no longer support the M6 and M5 Pro models, while continuing to offer modules for the older M4 Mac mini.

    “support for the M6 and M5 Pro now looks unlikely…”
    — Expand Mac mini
    1. 2 outlets New Mac mini drops support for aftermarket storage upgrades - 9to5Mac

      first by Mastodon, 1d ago · also 9to5Mac

      1 more headline
  2. background

    Teardowns reveal M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini storage is soldered again — Expand Mac mini tested the new M6 and M5 Pro models and discovered the NAND storage is soldered to the logic board, making it non-removable and incompatible with aftermarket upgrade modules.

  3. background

    Apple releases M4 Mac mini with user-upgradeable storage — The M4 Mac mini launched with an internal SSD that was not soldered to the logic board, allowing users to perform their own storage upgrades.