Thinking of buying Apple’s new Mac mini? Make sure you get plenty of RAM when you place your order. Unlike its predecessors, the new machine’s RAM is soldered to the logic board, so you’re unable to add your own later on.
Macs have never been the most flexible machines when it comes to replacing and upgrading parts yourself, and in recent years, Apple has been taking steps to make that even harder. However, the Cupertino company has been allowing users to upgrade the Mac mini’s RAM and storage themselves… until now.
Several sources has confirmed that the Mac mini’s RAM is soldered to the logic board this time around, so you’re stuck with what you buy. You can, however, still upgrade the hard drive yourself — but in doing so you will void your computer’s warranty, which is a shame.
Apple does allow you to add up to 16GB of RAM to the Mac mini when you buy online, but the company famously charges more than third parties. To add 8GB of RAM to the base model Mac mini, it’s an extra $100. To add 16GB, it’s an extra $300, pushing the price of the machine up to $799.
Source: iFixit