New Mac mini has a slotted & removable SSD — but don't expect upgrades

Apple isn't soldering the SSD to the logic board in the M4 Mac mini, but given the company's history with Apple Silicon, don't expect upgrades.

Older Intel-based Mac minis provided intrepid users with the ability to disassemble the computer and to upgrade a few components. The 2018 model had upgradeable RAM, but easily replaceable internal storage on the Mac mini has been a thing of the past for a decade.

A question posed to the iFixit forums innocently asks if the SSD in the 2024 Mac mini is soldered in place. Soldered storage is practice that Apple has performed throughout the Apple Silicon age, for the most part, making it extremely difficult for anyone to replace.

One answer from a new user to the forum identified as "KianWee Lim" posts a single picture in response, accompanied by the text "It's not soldered." The photograph appears to be the insides of a New Mac mini, with the baseplate removed and some components extracted.

In the middle of the picture is a slot-in board equipped with a large chip, similar to the boards used in the Mac Studio and Mac Pro to hold its storage. There is also an empty slot towards the base of the image, where the small board fits in.

Still not really upgradable

The photo indicates it is possible for the storage to be removed and potentially replaced by another board. However, it's not a confirmation of easy upgradability at all.

For a start, that small board holding the storage chip is not a part consumers could easily acquire for themselves. It's a custom Apple part, so it's intended more for in-house repairs.

This hasn't stopped the more motivated hardware tinkerers from coming up with their own solutions.

YouTubers have posted videos where they desoldered original memory chips from the board before carefully replacing them with other chips in a delicate process.

There have also been efforts to create custom PCBs for similar storage cards used in the Mac Studio, as well as a MacBook Pro. Again, these were difficult processes to accomplish, requiring careful soldering and undergoing a configuration process to get them working.

These certainly do demonstrate that you can replace the memory chips, but it's a risky and difficult task to accomplish.

There's also no real chance of Apple creating kits for users to change out these storage cards anytime soon, as it would've done so by now for other models. Apple did supply storage module replacement kits for the Mac Pro, but that seems to be the exception to the rule.

AppleInsider recommends that anyone seeking to upgrade their Mac's storage to consider buying an external drive instead. The drives are certainly fast enough to be usable, and are considerably safer to perform as an upgrade without risking your hardware.

To purchase a Mac mini at a discount, be sure to check out the AppleInsider M4 Mac mini Price Guide.