Experts from iFixit, a company specializing in device repair, disassembled several copies of the updated Apple Mac mini computer on M4 series processors and rated the model’s maintainability at a fairly high 7 points out of 10.
Image source: ifixit.com
Compared to the previous version of the Mac mini, the model based on M4 chips is distinguished by a denser layout of components, because the size of the computer has been significantly reduced: it was 190.5 × 190.5 mm, and now 127 × 127 mm. The power supply is a board that stretches across the entire top of the case – a similar solution was previously used in the HomePod design. Traditionally, the power supply takes up quite a lot of space, and Apple managed to reduce its size without compromising the operation of the device.
The Apple Mac mini on the M4 Pro chip (right) has a larger copper heatsink
A fan is placed in the center of the Apple Mac mini, which ensures the operation of the machine’s updated cooling system: air is drawn in from the environment, passes through all levels of the computer and is discharged through the bottom. The M4 Pro version of the computer needs more efficient cooling, so it uses a larger copper heatsink than the standard version.
As it became known earlier, the Mac mini uses a removable drive, which theoretically can be replaced with a more capacious one. iFixit was able to replace the 256 GB SSD on the Mac mini with the base M4 chip with a 512 GB drive taken from the same base version of the computer. At the same time, the Mac mini with a more powerful M4 Pro processor turned out to have an SSD of a different type – the drives of different versions of computers are not interchangeable, and this should be taken into account by those who want to independently expand the disk space on the machine. RAM is integrated into the M4 chip and cannot be replaced; The ports are also soldered, so replacing them will be difficult.
Other components, as determined by iFixit technicians, are easy to replace, so the review authors rated the Mac mini’s repairability 7 points out of 10: easily removable components, a replaceable SSD, and a detailed repair manual prepared by Apple were included. The service life of the computer, according to iFixit, will be at least ten years.