Deals: M1 512GB Mac mini Hits New Low Price of $829 ($70 Off)

[Lemon Olive]

Your posts are conflating two separate issues here. One, are the base models adequate for many (most) home users? And the answer is yes, more than adequate. Two, are the upgrades overpriced? Again the answer is yes, very overpriced. So I’m glad they offer the existing $699 base model, but I absolutely think a 16 GB / 1 TB model should not be twice the price of that base model.

I agree.

I attempted to get away with a base model (prior to the M1 release) for my son for school, because base model user for sure, right?

Well, no, because once you add 2 user accounts that are logged in to iCloud, goodbye storage. Even with optimize everything turned on and hardly ever using the admin account, I had to remove it and make my son the admin of his own machine, because storage would just grind to zero. iCloud Drive is designed to upsell storage, in my bitter opinion, because it uses too much local storage.

 

[GDF]

I think at Costco it is $799 now.

 

[Nihilvor]

Sure, but in 5 years the difference between an used 8 and 16GB M1-Mini will be 10$ and if you also skip on an storage upgrade that "saved" money plus the retail value of the 8GB-M1 might be enough to buy a new base model Mini (wich will have at least 16GB more storage and a faster SoC)

I've seen this statement before. I have to assume that you are talking about the Apple trade ins, where it will only be about a $10 difference. However, on Ebay, I've always made a lot more money on the upgraded versions. They are rarer to find, and there's always someone waiting for a particular model to show up.

There's two kinds of people when it comes to buying computers. Some like to buy the newest model every few years, and others buy for six to ten year uses. Neither is wrong, and it comes down to your personal economic strategy and what makes sense to you.

 

[elmateo487]

Reread my post and do the math.
"Save" 200$ now going 8GB (more if you use the deal in the topic), loose 10$ when selling it. Take what you got for the 8GB M1 add the 190$ and look for a deal like the above and buy a bas M5-Mini.

Compare to: Spending $$$$ on a BTO M1 keeping it 10 years, selling it after Apple dropped OS-support and then buy another BTO M9-Mini.

Um you quoted me asking me to reread, yet you didn't read what I wrote. lol. The difference won't be 10 dollars. All historical data proves that.

Not to mention you get 5 years of faster performance. For 200 dollars. Its a no brainer getting 16GB if you are keeping the device longer than 3 years. Not to mention, Apple will probably try and sell you 8GB of ram in 10 years anyways.

Your argument holds no logic.

 

[dazz87]

Yet when you look at all the posts in the MM forums everyone swears by 8GB as all anyone will need..

Heard the same o story back in 2011 when people here said 4GB is all you need for a MacBook.

 

[Thekevan]

I think at Costco it is $799 now.

Coming here to say the same thing:

https://www.costco.com/new-mac-mini-–-apple-m1-chip-8-core-cpu%2c-8-core-gpu-–-8gb-memory-–-512gb-ssd-–--silver.product.100694240.html

 

[jml12286]

Heard the same o story back in 2011 when people here said 4GB is all you need for a MacBook.

4GB is still plenty for many people even today. The biggest performance boost is when changing from HD to SSD in the old Pro models. I know plenty of people with 4GB MacBook airs that have no complaints about using their machines to this day.

 

[fishmongerer]

Apple is starting to get competitive. Most people are still using Windows and finding that Windows is just fine. Laugh all you want (former Mac user).

 

[jml12286]

Apple is starting to get competitive. Most people are still using Windows and finding that Windows is just fine. Laugh all you want (former Mac user).

Competitive with performance? Mac OS and Windows have been running on similar processors for years. Windows doesn't make processors.... Machines that use Windows will always be more competitive price wise because they exist in lower price points. Is this what youre referring to?

 

[McScooby]

Exactly. The regular MR posters are not typical of the whole, in my opinion. Many, many people do just fine with 8GB of RAM with the base model.

The complaining here of the sale price because it doesn't offer the 'typical' MR build is not unexpected.

the not typical of MR then complain like mad how crap macs are vs windows when either they run out of space/RAM on the base model not realising/caring about their mistakes, often too late after the horse has bolted.

 

[Apple_Robert]

the not typical of MR then complain like mad how crap macs are vs windows when either they run out of space/RAM on the base model not realising/caring about their mistakes, often too late after the horse has bolted.

You are right. Many do that very thing.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Costco has it for $799 now.

 

[Kar98]

You’re joking right? The vast majority of consumers use macOS for word processing, email, web browsing, and lightweight media playback/streaming, and teleconferencing. The base models can handle these tasks without issue (and much more).

Yeah you don’t need a Mac for that. A $399 Acer can do that.

 

[phrehdd]

Yet when you look at all the posts in the MM forums everyone swears by 8GB as all anyone will need..

Probably people who bought the 8 gig models may do that to convince or assure themselves.

 

[jml12286]

Probably people who bought the 8 gig models may do that to convince or assure themselves.

Nope, bought 8GB on purpose because of benchmarks and reviews. It has done everything Ive needed and more with a swiftness. Editing in 4k and running a win 10 VM using 4GB produce no slowdown, so I'm impressed and satisfied.

 

[Gary Z]

I'm really tired of Apple disguising the Mac as affordable by creating entry level models that are not adequate for anyone, and then charging obscene amounts of money for upgrades (which only they can provide).

Yeah, the Mac mini is $699. Except it's not. When I want 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of internal storage (which is not "a lot" by any standard today), now it's $1299, the real price of this machine.

This is very different than what they do with iOS devices. The base model iOS devices are more than good enough for the majority of the market, and higher tiers are usually only $100 increments.

I’m surprised at your opinion on the Mini. Having worked for Apple at one time I can tell you that the vast majority of buyers are using it for simple, basic work. The Mini by design was originally intended to induce Windows users who already opened a monitor, to step across to Apple via the Mini. It did that and more and took on a bit of a cult following.

So, if you need more horsepower, it’s there in the 16GB/1TB model which is what I just bought. But, at the same time, I just bought one for my sister and brother in-law with 8GB/256GB because their needs are much more basic.

The nice thing is that Apple offers a range that accommodates a broad range of users.

 

[Lemon Olive]

I’m surprised at your opinion on the Mini. Having worked for Apple at one time I can tell you that the vast majority of buyers are using it for simple, basic work. The Mini by design was originally intended to induce Windows users who already opened a monitor, to step across to Apple via the Mini. It did that and more and took on a bit of a cult following.

So, if you need more horsepower, it’s there in the 16GB/1TB model which is what I just bought. But, at the same time, I just bought one for my sister and brother in-law with 8GB/256GB because their needs are much more basic.

The nice thing is that Apple offers a range that accommodates a broad range of users.

It's twice the price to go from 8GB/256GB to 16GB/1TB. It should be maybe $200 more, not $600 more. That's all pure Apple profit, not value.

 

[norwaypianoman]

M1X in november 2021 ?

Do we expect these to be updated every year like the iPhones ? Isn´t that the whole point. And will it happen this year ?

Kind of waiting in line to buy one Mac Mini in november 2021.