Best Mac Mini Deals: Save Up to $99 On the New M2 Mac Mini – CNET

Apple’s latest lineup of Mac Mini desktops officially hit shelves earlier this year, and offer some welcome improvements over the previous generation. Not only are they equipped with the company’s new M2 and M2 Pro processors, but they also feature a starting price that’s $100 lower than their M1-powered predecessors — starting at $599 for the 256GB model. And, somewhat surprisingly, we’re already starting to see some discounts pop up, with Amazon currently offering up to $100 off. There’s also a new upgraded model that features a Pro-level chip, and starts at $1,299. 

You’ll find the new M2 Mac Minis available now at Apple, as wells as major retailers. And while Apple no longer sells the M1 version, you can still find a few of these older models floating around out there. And while you can even pick up some of these previous-gen models on sale, between the older hardware and the new generations lower starting price, you’re probably better off with an M2 model. 

Amazon is just about the only retailer offering discounts right now, but there are some benefits that come with paying full price at Apple. Shopping at Apple directly allows you to customize the machine and add more RAM or a higher-capacity solid-state drive, while the models sold on Amazon and other retailers are fixed configurations. And unlike in most other desktops, the Mac Mini’s RAM is not user-upgradable. Apple’s M2 system-on-a-chip integrates the CPU, GPU, RAM and other components for greater power and efficiency, but the downside of this integration is the lack of DIMM slots that would allow you to add additional RAM after purchase.

Apple’s student discounts and refurbs

It’s worth noting that the Apple Store offers students an educational discount, where you can save $100 on the price of a new Mac Mini. Some upgrades are discounted, too. For example, doubling the RAM to 16GB costs $180 with the student discount instead of the usual charge of $200. 

Also at Apple, you might find a refurbished Mac Mini on the Certified Refurbished Mac page, but it’s too early to find an M2 refurb, and we’d caution against buying an older Intel-based Mac Mini. And an M1 refurb would need to be priced substantially less than the new M2 models at their lower starting prices. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye out, however, because you can lock in substantial savings. Apple refurbs are a great way to save some cash, and are often just as good as new.

Keep reading to see the best US prices currently available for Apple’s Mac Mini. We update this page regularly and give prices that are accurate at time of publication, but note that they fluctuate.

Note that “all-time” means the best price that we’ve seen at an Apple-authorized retailer in the product’s lifetime.

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Amazon

The baseline Mac Mini features Apple’s new M2 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. It supplies two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port and a headphone jack. It lists for $599 at Apple, which is already $100 less than the M1 version, and right now you can save a few dollars at Amazon and snag one for $580. While it’s not a huge discount, this is the best price you’ll find on the base model M2 Mini at the moment. 

You’re receiving price alerts for Apple – Mac mini Desktop – M2 Chip – 8GB Memory – 256GB SSD (Latest Model) – Silver

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The step-up Mac Mini bumps the storage up to 512GB, an increased capacity that most people will benefit from, as 512GB is about the smallest SSD we’d recommend for any desktop. It already lists for $100 less than the M1 version, and right now you can save $100 at Amazon, dropping it down to the best price we’ve seen since these next-gen Minis hit shelves. 

You’re receiving price alerts for Apple 2023 Mac Mini Desktop Computer M2 chip with 8‑core CPU and 10‑core GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD Storage, Gigabit Ethernet. Works with iPhone/iPad

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Apple

For the first time, the Mac Mini offers a Pro chip from Apple’s lineup. The baseline Mac Mini with the M2 Pro costs $1,299 and features 16GB of RAM — double that of the M2 models — and a 512GB SSD. The M2 Pro chip has 10 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores compared with the eight-CPU core, 10-GPU core M2 chip. The M2 Pro model also doubles the number of Thunderbolt 4 ports to four.