iFixit tears down new Mac Mini, confirms soldered RAM

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
last updated

Not satiated by iFixit's teardown of the Retina iMac last week? Well then feast your eyes on their latest teardown adventure: the new Mac Mini.

Though this is the first refresh of the device in two years, one could easily mistake this 2014 model as a carryover, as the design hasn't been changed at all; the 2014 Mac Mini features the same dimensions and nearly the same weight as previous versions.

One of the bigger changes with this new Mini, and something the internet has been abuzz over for the last few days, is that the RAM is now soldered to the logic board. Why Apple chose to do this is unclear, as it only inhibits end-user upgradability.

Finally, iFixit scored this new Mac Mini as a 6/10 on their repairability scale. It gained kudos for its lack of glue, and relatively straight-forward dissassembly process. However, it lost points for the use of T6 Torx screws, CPU soldering, and the aforementioned RAM soldering.

Head on over to iFixit for the full breakdown. And in the meantime, tell us what you think of the new Mac Mini. Are you considering an upgrade?

Source: iFixit

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster
8 Comments
  • I was half expecting the cover allowing access to the soldered innards to be soldered. Sent from the iMore App
  • LOL!!! The cover might as well be soldered on, since they are making it difficult to even remove the screws!
  • I'm definitely thinking about grabbing one of these. The iMacs are amazing but this little beautiful device is speaking to me like never before. Sent from the iMore App
  • "Why Apple chose to do this is unclear, as it only inhibits end-user upgradability" that is the question, and the answer.
  • Exactly. I thought that was obvious. They want you to either spend the max cash and upgrade when you buy it. Or you will be stuck buying a new product when it comes out because you can't upgrade your old one. It is a win-win for Apple.
  • It's not a win-win for Apple because they lost my business over it. For me it's a loss as much as it is for them. 1) I won't buy a new product that doesn't offer the best tech - mac minis don't offer quad cores anymore 2) when a company blatantly locks you into extravagant purchasing schemes like this, I only see greed and I won't buy it. They've lost my business, even after waiting almost a year for an update. I personally think this is Apple's way of exterminating a product. Sent from the iMore App
  • I love the new Mac mini. I plan to order one within a week or two. Most users do not upgrade the ram, or even know the benefit. As for the do it yourself, that is an incredibly small percentage of users. It just happens to be the same users who post on here. For me, I'll order it with 16gb. Sent from the iMore App
  • Where do you get your statistics ? A quick hop over to Amazon show that the crucial 16gb upgrade kit for macs was it's #1 selling upgrade kit. Heck, the 1st thing I did after I purchased a 2012 Mac mini was upgrade the memory. Until I could experience it's performance at home, I didn't know if I needed to buy memory or not. Another reason that upgradability is important is that needs change over time. A user may not use memory intensive apps initially , but later start a hobby or job that requires a memory hungry app. The ability for the system to grow along with a users needs is a huge selling point that builds consumer loyalty to the product .