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

[ThomasJL]

$499 was the price point that the Mac mini was intended to sell at. Steve Jobs said so when he introduced it. It was likely meant, in part, for lower-income people who couldn't afford any other Mac to be able to afford. They could, as Jobs said, "BYODKM" ("Bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse") from their old Windows PC and use it with the Mac mini.

Tim Cook doesn't give a damn about lower income people, so of course he raised the prices on the Mac mini.

 

[nathansz]

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.

yeah it's a real bummer you can't run any windows/linux/bsd/whatever os on a new Mac anymore and soon won't be able to run current macOS on any x86 computer. it was great while it lasted. it certainly feels like one of the benefits for apple of use their own proprietary soc and instruction set is that you can't really compare them against the competition anymore, especially as their performance begins to lag.

 

[boomspot]

Nice prices. Wish I wasn't brushing up against the limits of of my 16GB M1 machines on a regular basis. My standard configuration is 16/1TB with a 4TB external SSD. Might go 32GB/4TB if an M3 arrives soon.

B

 

[Chocolatemilty]

I'm typing on this same computer right now, bought through the Edu store at this exact price. Since this computer is my main administrative computer in my office with a Mac Studio in my professional recording studio running the production and recording operations, this computer handles administrative tasks, media consumption and Zoom/Facetime, MS Teams online lessons with ease. It definitely uses swap memory a bunch, but with Apple Silicon, the issue is negligible and not really seen for what this computer is needed more. Plus with the 2TB SSD enclosure on the bottom, space isn't an issue for backups and online lesson recording backups.

If this is one's computing needs, it's a perfect machine.

 

[nathansz]

I'm typing on this same computer right now, bought through the Edu store at this exact price. Since this computer is my main administrative computer in my office with a Mac Studio in my professional recording studio running the production and recording operations, this computer handles administrative tasks, media consumption and Zoom/Facetime, MS Teams online lessons with ease. It definitely uses swap memory a bunch, but with Apple Silicon, the issue is negligible and not really seen for what this computer is needed more. Plus with the 2TB SSD enclosure on the bottom, space isn't an issue for backups and online lesson recording backups.

If this is one's computing needs, it's a perfect machine.

having not used apple silicon yet i certainly wonder if the soc makes swap so fast that lack of ram is a non issue

for context, my primary computer is 9900k 5700xt and 32GB of ram. it's not a Mac but I run macOS on it exclusively. I'm typing on it now and use it for browsing, excel and a bit of gaming, but it's main use is Logic Pro and it definitely uses the ram

 

[SFjohn]

$499 was the price point that the Mac mini was intended to sell at. Steve Jobs said so when he introduced it. It was likely meant, in part, for lower-income people who couldn't afford any other Mac to be able to afford. They could, as Jobs said, "BYODKM" ("Bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse") from their old Windows PC and use it with the Mac mini.

Tim Cook doesn't give a damn about lower income people, so of course he raised the prices on the Mac mini.

When it comes to Tim Cook you’re dead wrong:

Tim Cook: Charity Work & Causes

Profile of Tim Cook's support for charities including UNHCR, PETA, and Hollywood Charity Horse Show. We have 14 articles about Tim Cook's philanthropy.

www.looktothestars.org

Apple CEO Tim Cook donates $100 million to charity

Apple's CEO announces that he spent $100 million of Apple's money on charitable giving--something Steve Jobs would not have done.

www.cnet.com

Tim Cook plans to donate $800m fortune to charity before he dies

In an interview with Fortune magazine, Cook says his money will go to social causes, as well as his nephew’s education

www.theguardian.com

For those of you that think this is funny, let me know how much you’ve personally doing or given to help poor children… P.S. Have you even bothered to read those articles? 🫶🏻

 

[svish]

Great pricing for the mini

 

[HiRez]

Price drops are always appreciated, but the base price wasn't the problem with this machine, it's the insane upgrade pricing.

 

[NewOldStock]

Believe you me Apple knows how much the average disk space everyone uses built into their computers.
They may not know what is on that ssd but they know what space is used up you can count upon that.

 

[sevoneone]

having not used apple silicon yet i certainly wonder if the soc makes swap so fast that lack of ram is a non issue

for context, my primary computer is 9900k 5700xt and 32GB of ram. it's not a Mac but I run macOS on it exclusively. I'm typing on it now and use it for browsing, excel and a bit of gaming, but it's main use is Logic Pro and it definitely uses the ram

For browsing the web and everyday stuff, absolutely. All modern browsers basically run each tab you have open as its own process. The SSDs in Macs are fast enough that it is easy to swap the 1 or 2 GB of memory of that idle tab in the background and you'll hardly know the difference unless you're looking for it.

It doesn't hold up with apps/tasks that by themselves use a lot of Memory. If you're editing UHD video and start hitting swap, you are going to feel it. Same with your Logic Pro use case. Especially now that we have a lot of "AI" and "Machine Learning" features that run on your GPU, and that GPU uses the same unified memory as the rest of the system. Yes, unified memory is very functionally better/different than shared memory like the integrated memory of yesteryear, but throw some 10bit 4k video on a timeline in Davinci Resolve, do some basic edits, color grading and ask it to analyze an object mask on one of the clips... If you have an off the self M2 "Pro" mac with 16GB of RAM, you will hit a hard wall pretty quick.

I hate the fact that there are no upgradable macs, and I hate Apple's upgrade pricing. It undersells and, IMO, underestimates their users. Apple Silicon was a huge leap that put a reality distortion field around what Apple charges for the same RAM and NAND as everyone else, but that will not always be the case.

 

[Aston441]

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.

Pretty much this. With no bootcamp any more, I am about to buy a new Dell Laptop, for the first time since 2008. Normally I would have bought a new MacBook of some flavor and BootCamped it. I wouldn’t have even bothered looking at regular PC pricing. But now that I am, I am stunned how Dell Laptops are crazy cheap compared to Apple pricing.

 

[vgmrm]

I'm sorry but I need to renew the mac mini of a family member who works with windows with 1 TB of disk, and even to my regret, I must look for an alternative PC that allows to work with windows and expand RAM and disk within a season and at a reasonable price.
I have no use for it a premium game console.

 

[spcopsmac21]

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

Io. A $399 Ryzen 8 core sysytem with stellar gpu that can play current triple A game titles.
We can't even really play games on the Mac mini that are not mobile ports from apple arcade....

 

[spcopsmac21]

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

[Gaming PC] Ryzen Mini PC, AMD Ryzen 7 5800U(up to 4.4Ghz) 16GB DDR4 512GB NVME SSD Mini Desktop Computer,11 Pro Mini Computers [WiFi6/BT5.2] [4K UHD/RGB Lights/3 Adjustable Mode PC Gaming]

mini gaming pc AMD ryzen 7 5800U mini pc mini computers 11 pro desktop computers NVME SSD DDR4 RGB Lights 4k WIFI 6

www.amazon.com

And on top of this its got $120 off coupon. And it runs rings around the Mac mini. Has dual NVME slots and upgradeable ram.

The Mac mini is priced way to high. With the base Mac mini specs comparable mini PCs ( with upgradeable storage and ram run $249) Mini PCs have come a long way.

 

[GalileoSeven]

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.

Pretty much what I think happened here.

$499 is about what I paid for one of these in 2011 - had 4GB of RAM (that I later upped to 8GB) and a 500GB 5200RPM HD. Did great for a while before I retired it in favor of my 27" 5K iMac (solely because the latter topped out at a relatively current version of macOS as opposed to the mini, that I think was stuck on Big Sur)

 

[Heat_Fan89]

The Mac mini is priced way to high. With the base Mac mini specs comparable mini PCs ( with upgradeable storage and ram run $249) Mini PCs have come a long way.

If you want to run macOS it's not priced that high. I have several Mac Mini's including a 2012, 2018 and the base model M2 Mini. The M2 Mini runs circles around the 2018 Mini and that one has 32GB of RAM. Windows PC's are typically less expensive. Now if Apple were to license out macOS so you can install it on any PC then yes I would agree that the Mini would need a price drop.

 

[nathansz]

If you want to run macOS it's not priced that high. I have several Mac Mini's including a 2012, 2018 and the base model M2 Mini. The M2 Mini runs circles around the 2018 Mini and that one has 32GB of RAM. Windows PC's are typically less expensive. Now if Apple were to license out macOS so you can install it on any PC then yes I would agree that the Mini would need a price drop.

Up to and including Sonoma you can still install macOS on many pcs

 

[spcopsmac21]

If you want to run macOS it's not priced that high. I have several Mac Mini's including a 2012, 2018 and the base model M2 Mini. The M2 Mini runs circles around the 2018 Mini and that one has 32GB of RAM. Windows PC's are typically less expensive. Now if Apple were to license out macOS so you can install it on any PC then yes I would agree that the Mini would need a price drop.

you can run Ventura on a PC. I have an HP Z440 running Ventura 100%. Imessage, find my, air drop, icloud. Everything. Took about 10 min to compile the OS and it's running on a 16 core xeon with 64gb ddr4 ram. With an AMD 5700xt GPU. All for under $500.00

And it wipes the floor with my wife's $3000 Mac studio.
The abismal adoption rate of the M2 Mac Mini and competition from Mini Pcs is what has apple scrambling to lower it's price. Because at $499 it just doesn't make sense.

Mac minis are over priced period.

Why I returned the Mac Mini M2 Pro

I was super excited when my M2 Pro Mac Mini arrived. But I returned it. Read to find out why.

www.jeremymorgan.com

 

[spcopsmac21]

Pretty much what I think happened here.

$499 is about what I paid for one of these in 2011 - had 4GB of RAM (that I later upped to 8GB) and a 500GB 5200RPM HD. Did great for a while before I retired it in favor of my 27" 5K iMac (solely because the latter topped out at a relatively current version of macOS as opposed to the mini, that I think was stuck on Big Sur)

opencore my dude. My son's 2014 I7 Mac mini is running Ventura perfectly. He uses it for homework and YouTube and it's chugging along just fine.

Research opencore to get more life out of your mini.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

you can run Ventura on a PC. I have an HP Z440 running Ventura 100%. Imessage, find my, air drop, icloud. Everything. Took about 10 min to compile the OS and it's running on a 16 core xeon with 64gb ddr4 ram. With an AMD 5700xt GPU. All for under $500.00

And it wipes the floor with my wife's $3000 Mac studio.
The abismal adoption rate of the M2 Mac Mini and competition from Mini Pcs is what has apple scrambling to lower it's price. Because at $499 it just doesn't make sense.

Mac minis are over priced period.

Why I returned the Mac Mini M2 Pro

I was super excited when my M2 Pro Mac Mini arrived. But I returned it. Read to find out why.

www.jeremymorgan.com

But most people are not willing to do that. I am referring to, simply running the macOS installer on any PC without having to perform Hackinstosh.

 

[nathansz]

But most people are not willing to do that. I am referring to, simply running the macOS installer on any PC without having to perform Hackinstosh.

I don’t think it’s so much that people aren’t willing to do it but rather that they don’t know it can be done or how simple and easy it is

 

[spcopsmac21]

But most people are not willing to do that. I am referring to, simply running the macOS installer on any PC without having to perform Hackinstosh.

the opencore forums offered just that. Pre built builds of installers with no hardwork involved. Just find your system, select the flavor, download and install.

 

[SFjohn]

Believe you me Apple knows how much the average disk space everyone uses built into their computers.
They may not know what is on that ssd but they know what space is used up you can count upon that.

How is that? Any proof? 👍🏻

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

Pretty much this. With no bootcamp any more, I am about to buy a new Dell Laptop, for the first time since 2008. Normally I would have bought a new MacBook of some flavor and BootCamped it. I wouldn’t have even bothered looking at regular PC pricing. But now that I am, I am stunned how Dell Laptops are crazy cheap compared to Apple pricing.

BootCamp used to give us the best of both worlds: Windows programs on (IMHO) better hardware. I hate jumping through hoops to get my stuff working on these M-processors.

 

[SFjohn]

Pretty much this. With no bootcamp any more, I am about to buy a new Dell Laptop, for the first time since 2008. Normally I would have bought a new MacBook of some flavor and BootCamped it. I wouldn’t have even bothered looking at regular PC pricing. But now that I am, I am stunned how Dell Laptops are crazy cheap compared to Apple pricing.

Enjoy your new PC, hopefully you’ll get to chat about it on a dell forum… 💙