Deals: M2 Mac Mini Drops to Record Low Price of $499 ($100 Off)

[MacRumors]

Apple's 256GB M2 Mac mini has returned to its all-time low price on B&H Photo, available for $499.00, down from $599.00. B&H Photo offers free two-day shipping on the Mac mini, with delivery as soon as September 8 for most states.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple updated the Mac mini back in January, introducing the M2 and M2 Pro chips into the computer. We started tracking this all-time low price tag around springtime and as of now only B&H Photo is offering the sale.

M2 Mac mini (256GB) for $499.00 ($100 OFF)​

B&H Photo also has the 512GB M2 Pro Mac mini for $1,149.00, down from $1,299.00. This one is a second-best price on the Mac Mini, but it's been a few months since we last tracked a record low price on the model so it's still a solid price for anyone in the market for the M2 Pro model.

M2 Pro Mac mini (512GB) for $1,149.00 ($150 OFF)​

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Article Link: Deals: M2 Mac Mini Drops to Record Low Price of $499 ($100 Off)

 

[now i see it]

Viva 2007! A most welcome offering!

 

[CC77]

256gb storage for a desktop computer is madness. It's bad enough on laptops but that has the excuse of "being thina and light" (because another 256 gb card is so thick and heavy, after all 😂) but there's zero reason for the base storage price of all of Apple's computers to not start at 512gb other than greed.

edit for typo

 

[k1121j]

Its funny how and extra 8GB of Apple Ram cost almost as much as the entire computer.... it's truly magical at that price.

 

[zach-coleman]

Insanely good deal. Not a lot of ram or storage but what else is gonna have that kind of power for $500?

 

[k1121j]

256gb storage for a desktop computer is madness. It's bad enough on laptops but that has the excuse of "being thina and light" (because another 256 gb card is so thick and heavy, after all 😂) but there's zero reason for the base storage price of all of Apple's computers to not but 512gb other than greed.

aGREED. But there is a reason >>>> $$$$$$$$$

 

[JosephAW]

Too bad there wasn't a lower cost option for zero disk space because majority of those people will have to connect an external hard drive.
Or you think that macOS by now would have an option to automatically load the operating system and apps on the internal solid-state drive and automatically place the home folder on an external drive without having to tinker with macOS to do it manually.

 

[bommai]

Apple education store gives another $100 gift card.

 

[Juicy Box]

Great device for a really cheap price.

256gb storage for a desktop computer is madness. It's bad enough on laptops but that has the excuse of "being thina and light" (because another 256 gb card is so thick and heavy, after all 😂) but there's zero reason for the base storage price of all of Apple's computers to not but 512gb other than greed.

Are you saying that Apple should make the base 512GB, and increase the price for the base model by $200 to $799?

256GB is plenty for many entry-level users, no reason for those users to pay for storage they won’t need.

Now, if you are saying that Apple charges too much for storage upgrades, and you wish Apple would would give the 512GB at the 256GB price, yeah, that would be nice, but that is different than saying 256GB is not enough.

Apple’s storage and RAM upgrade prices are too high, but people (including myself) will still pay it.

 

[dockgaze]

Upgradable MacMini internals . . . . . “Ahhhh, those were the days my friends . . . we thought they’d never end . . . 🎶”

 

[Mr. Dee]

Can anyone give me a concrete answer if the M2 Pro Mac Mini can support 3 24 inch displays or not?

 

[jayducharme]

This guy seems to think the M3 mini is coming in March. But then, nearly all his info apparently comes from MacRumors:

 

[scheinderrob]

my computer from 15 years ago had more space and ram than this junk

 

[scheinderrob]

Apple’s storage and RAM upgrade prices are too high, but people (including myself) will still pay it.

what's sad is that you don't even get the irony in this statement

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

256gb storage for a desktop computer is madness. It's bad enough on laptops but that has the excuse of "being thina and light" (because another 256 gb card is so thick and heavy, after all 😂) but there's zero reason for the base storage price of all of Apple's computers to not but 512gb other than greed.

Perhaps a reason we are seeing so many sales from third parties on only base configs is that Apple over-manufactured base configs and demand is not there. Rather than dump them at discounts associated with Apple directly, they are dumping them through third parties.

If so, the lesson Apple could learn is that the masses have developed enough understanding to agree with you and thus wants more than 256GB and hopefully 8GB RAM... which MIGHT lead to Apple upping the minimums in the next generation.

Or one can hope anyway.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Are you saying that Apple should make the base 512GB, and increase the price for the base model by $200 to $799?

I'm guessing he's NOT. But no need spinning the option at only Apple pricing. One can hop on Amazon right now and buy 4TB SSD at retail for $160... quantity ONE unit (a profit for Amazon and a profit for the manufacturer too). So Apple can easily up the base to 512GB for substantially less cost to Apple than the $200 upgrade price they currently demand for the same in their store. I suspect the difference for Apple buying in Apple volume for ALL base models might amount to $10-$25 to embrace 512GB if that.

If so, price would not have to jump $200 to get Apple's overall target margin on that piece of the whole. About $50 should do it, if not overshoot it. It only has to jump $200 if Apple wants to make upwards of (my guess) 7-19 times cost on that part.

 

[CC77]

Great device for a really cheap price.


Are you saying that Apple should make the base 512GB, and increase the price for the base model by $200 to $799?

256GB is plenty for many entry-level users, no reason for those users to pay for storage they won’t need.

Now, if you are saying that Apple charges too much for storage upgrades, and you wish Apple would would give the 512GB at the 256GB price, yeah, that would be nice, but that is different than saying 256GB is not enough.

Apple’s storage and RAM upgrade prices are too high, but people (including myself) will still pay it.

I'm saying at $599 they should include at least 512gb of storage, which is essentially the minimum required for even basic computing tasks in 2023. Hell, the iPhone 15 Pro is rumored to start at 256gb - an Apple desktop computer should have more base storage than a smartphone.

If their storage upgrades and base prices were less expensive, then sure, have the base model be the lowest possible amount of storage to keep prices down and serve the widest variety of customers, but Apple isn't interested in being a cheap computer supplier, nor are people looking for the absolute cheapest computer looking seriously at Apple.

 

[spcopsmac21]

256gb storage for a desktop computer is madness. It's bad enough on laptops but that has the excuse of "being thina and light" (because another 256 gb card is so thick and heavy, after all 😂) but there's zero reason for the base storage price of all of Apple's computers to not start at 512gb other than greed.

edit for typo

Yea when Ryzen mini systems are shipping for $399 with just as much or more performance than the base Mac mini, WITH 1TB NVME 3 drives and more expansive interfaces There is zero reason for the Mac mini not to start at $299.99
Imagine the adoption apple would see with a base spec 256gb Mac mini at $299.
Most people spending $500 for a system are getting all in one devices. Screen, keyboard, mouse. 16GB of ddr4 ram and 500gb ssds. They might not be as polished or inside apples garden. But for $500 they still do 100% of what people use them for.
We just replaced my father in laws 2014 Mac mini with an All in One HP 27" desktop with the above specs.

 

[Juicy Box]

Apple’s storage and RAM upgrade prices are too high, but people (including myself) will still pay it.

what's sad is that you don't even get the irony in this statement

Just like many others, I pay the price because that is what it cost to use a Mac.

It beats the alternative, at least for now.

I'm guessing he's NOT. But no need spinning the option at only Apple pricing. One can hop on Amazon right now and buy 4TB SSD at retail for $160... quantity ONE unit. So Apple can easily up the base to 512GB for substantially less cost to Apple than the $200 upgrade price they currently demand for the same in their store. I suspect the difference for Apple buying in Apple volume for ALL base models might amount to $10 or $25 to embrace 512GB.

I too would like Apple's prices to be cheaper, but spinning it that 512GB is minimum required for a desktop is silly.

But, Apple's storage and RAM upgrade prices do suck.

I'm saying at $599 they should include at least 512gb of storage, which is essentially the minimum required for even basic computing tasks in 2023.

Nope.

If that was the case, the 256GB models would never sell.

I can speak from experience that a 256GB is perfectly adequate for some, and even overkill for others. For example, my wife's daily driver Mac is only 64GBs. She has about half of that full.

My daughter has an iMac with a failed HDD part of a 1TB Fusion Drive, but runs great on the 128GB SSD, and she never has storage issues.

Another example, I bought my parents a 256GB M1 MM to replace their aging 2007 iMac, and they have plenty of storage remaining. So much so, that I have my own profile on their Mac, and I have WoW installed on it.

While my personal examples may not the norm, I am sure it isn't uncommon either.

And again, I am not saying that I would be against Apple releasing a 512GB M2 Mac mini for the price of the current base M2 MM, but to say 256GB isn't enough for a desktop just isn't accurate.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I too would like Apple's prices to be cheaper, but spinning it that 512GB is minimum required for a desktop is silly.

But, Apple's storage and RAM upgrade prices do suck.

When a company can position itself as ONLY source of such parts, pricing is always ridiculous. Consumer exploitation to the extreme usually leads to GOV intervention eventually. But history repeats this over and over and over again anyway.

The 8TB upgrade is about $2200 from Apple. Because I also needed Windows for some client work, I went the "old fashioned bootcamp" route and assembled a whole gaming-power-level PC with 10TB of fast SSD and 32GB of RAM for less than only that upgrade price. There's LOTS of competition on that other platform, and competition is required for capitalism to work like it is supposed to work (which is NOT entirely for the benefit of enriching sellers).

However, the real magic of Apple is getting fans (aka CONSUMERS) to defend such stuff... even argue how great it is vs. seeing right through it.

 

[Juicy Box]

When a company can position itself as ONLY source of such parts, pricing is always ridiculous.

The 8TB upgrade is about $2200 from Apple. Because I also needed Windows for some client work, I went the "old fashioned bootcamp" route and assembled a whole gaming-power-level PC with 10TB of fast SSD and 32GB of RAM for less than only that upgrade price. There's competition on that other platform, and competition is required for capitalism to work like it is supposed to work (which is NOT entirely for the benefit of enriching sellers).

However, the real magic of Apple is getting fans (aka CONSUMERS) to defend such stuff... even argue how great it is vs. seeing right through it.

Yeah, you do what you got to do.

I am not ready to make the switch to PC, but that option is always on the table.

MacOS, at least to me, has always been better than Windows since I started using Macs in the 90's, but the gap between the two has been narrowing. I still use PC for work, and I see that the switch wouldn't be has hard as it would have 20 years ago.

That being said, the M2 Mac Mini selling for under $500 is an amazing deal. It is the cheapest Mac Apple has ever release when adjusted for inflation, but has single-core performance on par with their most expensive Macs.

Compare that to the any of the base model Mac Mini G4s or any of the Intel base model Mac Minis.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I didn't switch to PC- just added one so I would have complete bootcamp equivalent vs. hoping emulation with ARM Windows could cover all bases (contrary to popular spin, it can't). I also much prefer doing as much as I can on Mac and in macOS... but the bulk of the world (clients) are very much Windows and some need Windows files opened, edited, viewed, etc in Windows apps. The vast majority of apps in the world do not run on Macs. Even some that have a Mac version is not fully compatible with the Windows version and can "mess up" files if opened in a Mac version. Some stuff just absolutely requires a PC- no option at all on Mac.

I shared the relative costs example to remind all of us that competition is key to consumer benefits in our system. No competition means crazy prices... or "another quarter or record revenue & profit" depending on the lens most important to the individual.

 

[apparatchik]

256gb storage for a desktop computer is madness. It's bad enough on laptops but that has the excuse of "being thina and light" (because another 256 gb card is so thick and heavy, after all 😂) but there's zero reason for the base storage price of all of Apple's computers to not start at 512gb other than greed.

edit for typo

It's an M2 Mac for $500, which is also thin and light, it actually beats the prior Mac Pro tower in performance, if they would offer it for $300 you would still complain it's not enough storage.

Pro tip: you can add cheap external storage in the form of a usb-c stick or a small external ssd with great performance.

 

[apparatchik]

Yea when Ryzen mini systems are shipping for $399 with just as much or more performance than the base Mac mini, WITH 1TB NVME 3 drives and more expansive interfaces There is zero reason for the Mac mini not to start at $299.99
Imagine the adoption apple would see with a base spec 256gb Mac mini at $299.
Most people spending $500 for a system are getting all in one devices. Screen, keyboard, mouse. 16GB of ddr4 ram and 500gb ssds. They might not be as polished or inside apples garden. But for $500 they still do 100% of what people use them for.
We just replaced my father in laws 2014 Mac mini with an All in One HP 27" desktop with the above specs.

Do you have any metric or benchmark at hand of that $400 system performance? what do you mean by expansive interfaces?

 

[SFjohn]

Can anyone give me a concrete answer if the M2 Pro Mac Mini can support 3 24 inch displays or not?

Yes, absolutely.

How Many Monitors Can An M2 Mac Mini Connect To?

M2 Mac Mini supports multiple external monitors.

screenrant.com