The latest Mac mini, equipped with the M6 and M5 Pro chips, features a built-in solid-state drive firmly soldered to the motherboard, definitively confirming that the new Mac mini SSD cannot be removed or upgraded post-purchase.
In preceding iterations powered by the M4 and M4 Pro processors, the storage architecture was modular, affording users the liberty to independently expand their storage capacity. Indeed, pre-configured upgrade kits have long proliferated across AliExpress and various online marketplaces, serving a robust community of hardware enthusiasts.
Prospective proprietors of the M6 Mac mini are strongly advised to meticulously determine their required storage capacity prior to purchase; acquiring a base 256 GB model with the intention of later retrofitting a 2 TB drive is no longer a viable strategy.
Furthermore, every new Mac mini harboring the M6 chip and 256 GB of storage utilizes a singular NAND chip, eschewing the dual 128 GB configuration of yesteryear. Consequently, the inherent SSD velocities will be halved compared to configurations boasting 512 GB of storage or greater.
It is worth noting that earlier iterations, specifically those featuring the M1, M2, M3, and M2 Pro chips, similarly employed soldered memory and a solitary NAND chip within their baseline models.
