Apple’s redesigned M4 Mac mini is disassembled to reveal a removable SSD. More importantly, you can upgrade your storage, although it’s a big deal.
However, the new Mac mini uses a non-standard SSD. Therefore, you cannot buy an off-the-shelf disk drive for replacement.
The new Mac mini comes with a user-upgradable SSD.
Shortly after the M4 Mac mini went on sale on November 8, a teardown of its internal details surfaced. It was revealed that, unlike previous Mac minis, Apple did not solder an SSD to the logic board of the new model. Instead, the SSD is removable. However, since this device uses Apple’s proprietary SSD format, replacement may be difficult.
Now, the folks at iFixit have posted a teardown of the M4 Mac mini. Along the way, I replaced the Mac mini’s SSD with a larger capacity SSD, and after using Apple Configurator, it worked just fine!
Apple is known for pairing and locking down parts of its devices, so it’s surprising that the M4 Mac mini doesn’t have any software blocks. That wasn’t the case with Mac Studio 2022. Replacing the modular SSD caused the system to stop booting.
Apple is unlikely to sell SSD replacements for the Mac mini. However, as the machine ages, spare components from used M4 Mac minis become available, allowing you to upgrade the SSD.
The M4 Pro Mac mini uses a more powerful cooling solution.
iFixit’s teardown also revealed differences in the cooling systems between the M4 and M4 Pro Mac mini. The latter chips are much more powerful and generate more heat. To better dissipate this heat, the M4 Pro Mac mini sports a sturdier copper heatsink with thicker heat pipes and more fins.
Photo: iFixit
Another notable change to the M4 Mac mini is the modular USB-C port and headphone jack on the front. Because they are not soldered to the logic board, each port can be removed and replaced individually. However, the rear Thunderbolt 4/5 ports are soldered and cannot be replaced.
Still, thanks to all the basic changes and the focus on repairability, the M4 Mac mini earns a provisional repairability score of 7 out of 10 from iFixit.
