The 2024 Mac mini has been torn down, revealing that it lacks user-upgradeable parts. The teardown shows a custom SSD with a unique pin count and controller, making it difficult to upgrade with standard parts. While some have managed to upgrade storage by soldering new memory modules, external SSDs remain the easiest option. The Mac mini features an internal power supply and a small heatsink for the M4 chip, but overall, users should configure their desired specs at purchase as internal upgrades are not feasible.
Apple's new Mac Mini M4 features a removable SSD module, marking a shift from the soldered SSDs in previous models. While this allows for some upgradeability, the SSD controller remains embedded in the SoC, limiting DIY upgrades. Teardowns reveal the base model uses two 128GB NAND chips, avoiding performance bottlenecks. Similar to Mac Studio and Mac Pro, this design change offers limited storage flexibility.
AMD has announced new CPUs, including the Ryzen 5000XT series and two new 8000 series CPUs, catering to users with older AM4 motherboards. The Ryzen 5000XT marks a mysterious addition to the lineup, and the company also unveiled the Ryzen 7 8700F and Ryzen 7 8400F, likely binned versions of recent APUs. There are questions about whether these chips will hit the global market or remain China exclusives. Additionally, AMD revealed its new lineup of desktop APUs with built-in graphics, the Ryzen 8000G series, which can run AAA titles without requiring a discrete GPU.
With the introduction of Apple Silicon, it's hard to imagine why a Mac Pro with Apple silicon even needs to exist, except for Apple to save face. The Mac Studio has squeezed the market for the Mac Pro even more. The latest rumors suggest that the Mac Studio won’t get its expected update at WWDC. The problem is Apple silicon, which achieves fantastic performance at relatively low power consumption in part because they’re so tightly integrated. It’s not impossible to disassociate these things, but it’s a huge technical challenge that would almost certainly come with a performance cost.
