Should I Buy a Mac Mini Now?. Is this question going through your mind? I know this is one of the many questions that go through many people every day. Many people are not sure what kind of laptops they can buy so they use them in their daily lives.
In this post, I will be explaining to you the reasons why I think the Mac mini could be a better alternative for you to consider while thinking about what to buy.
Mac mini is something that you will not avoid especially if you have plans of using an operating system of macOS. Should I wait buying the apple mini?
Even though Mac Mini doesn’t come with a display, keyboard, mouse, or trackpad, this is not a bug but a feature, it gives helps you save some money by using the ones that you have or choosing your monitor or peripherals.
Most of us have always loved Mac Mini and from the time Apple introduced a new version of it named M1 in 2021, our loved for it increased even higher as the M1 chip has given it a new face.
Before we move further, Apple has recently introduced another new version of the Mac to the market.
The 3.0GHz Intel Core i5, 6-Core Mac mini with 512GB SSD costs more than the M1 mini at $1,099.
The new model has more features some of which the M1 model lacks such as ports, support for 64GB RAM, and support for up to three 4k displays since the M1 only supports only two displays.
So the question of whether you should buy yourself a new Mac mini depends on two things. The first thing is the type of Mac mini you want to buy and the second depends on whether you want to wait for good discounts before you make the step.
Should I wait for Mac mini discounts?
Most of the time there are always good discounts during Black Fridays, so it is always a good practice if you can try and find out things that are on offer before you make any purchases.
To be frank, in this one, it is not that often that you will find great deals on Apple products especially current models rather than the previous generations that are being refurbished.
One of the best places that most people look at is the Apple Refurbished Store since it sells current products at a 15% discount and warranties of not less than one year.
If you want to save some coins, it is always advisable to go for refurbished ones from respected retailers.
Should I buy the M1 Mac mini or the Intel Mac Mini?
As we discussed above, there are two types of Mac mini currently available on the market. I know that now the question has changed to whether to buy an M1 Mac mini or the Intel Mac mini.
The M1 version has impressed many of us because of its affordability, performance, and quiet operation.
On the side of the Intel Mac mini, there are a few things that they have on their side that the M1 doesn’t such as support for external GPU.
There have been rumors that there will be a release of a new GPU but that is the story of another day.
Also, the Intel Mac mini can power three displays while the M1 Mac mini only supports two displays. I know this is not a big problem to many people but if it is, then go for the Intel one.
Another thing that is a demerit on the M1 Mac mini is the amount of RAM it supports. The M1 Mac mini can only support a RAM of 16GB. Maybe in the future, there could be an upgrade to RAM of 32GB or higher.
Differences between the M1 Mac mini and the Intel Mac mini
M1 Mac mini |
Intel Mac mini |
| It does not support external GPUs | It does support external GPUs |
| It can only support a RAM of 16GB | It supports a RAM of 64GB |
| It supports only two 4k displays | It supports up to three 4k displays |
| It supports fewer ports. | It supports more ports |
When will Apple update the Intel Mac mini?
Since its last update in 2018, it seems that Apple has kept on this version to suit the pro customers who need the support of more RAM among other things some of which we have discussed above.
We are anticipating that very soon we will have a new release or an upgrade of the Intel Mac mini.
When will Apple update the M1 Mac mini?
It was in November 2020 that Apple introduced the M1 Mac mini. It is now around two years from the time it was launched. That means that anytime now, there might be an upgrade.
Should I wait for the upgrade of the available models?
We are not sure when the new upgrade will happen but we are anticipating the same.
The question of whether to wait for the new models is personal, it depends on what you want to use them for because it’s something that is not urgent, then you can wait but if it is urgent, then you will have to buy the available one.
Technology things cannot be predicted, so as long as they have not announced when that would be happening, then you might wait and wait and never see anything. So it is better to do some research and find out if there will be any update soon before you make up your mind.
Final thought
If you want to buy a Mini Mac now, at least now you know that two models are available on the market, the M1 Mac mini and the Intel Mac mini. Depending on what you want to use for and the amount of money you are willing to spend, then you can now make a perfect choice.
In case you want to wait for the outdated models, then do some research and find out if there will be any release soon. Depending on what you will find out, you can choose to wait or buy the available ones.
My advice is that if you want to make savings, go for the refurbished ones, you will get the products in good condition working similar to the new ones. Many people have the syndrome of not buying refurbished products because they believe that the products are old not knowing that most of those products work as well as the new ones.
Related article:
Should I Buy Mac From A Third Party Retailer or Apple Directly? (Explained)