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The Offer
Direct link to offer (our affiliate link)
- Amazon has the Apple 2023 Mac Mini Desktop Computer M2 chip with 8‑core CPU and 10‑core GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, Gigabit Ethernet for $499
Our Verdict
17% discount on list price and can also stack with other Amazon discounts.
FYI…use 2k 27 inch or 4k 32 inch as monitor for better scaling.
Great price .. i got M1 version last December and i think i paid around $600 – this is the newer version. These machines are superb and run flawlessly. My last Macbook air laptop lasted probably 7-8 years. Eventually, old mac/laptops cannot upgrade to a newer versions of OS.
These crippled units have slow SSDs.
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Phew!!! I saved $499 today. No 5G for me, thank you.
$499 is too expensive .
$99 (including tax) maybe .
Isn’t this the same price as getting one from Mac education store?
This is basically the new Macbook Air without the screen and keyboard/touchpad. Might be useful for some.
I’m asking this honestly. What do other people use these for? I’ve seen/read about home media setups, but other than that, I don’t see a need for a mac mini.
It’s a computer.
Anything you’d use a desktop computer for? If you’re not someone who travels with a computer this way cheaper than even the least expensive MacBook. And it’s $800 cheaper than an iMac with the older gen processor. Grab a $100 monitor and $30 keyboard and mouse and you have a very respectable budget desktop.
WhAt Do PeoPlE uSe COmpUtErS fOr??
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Adult entertainment, I think. Not really sure.
Any money-conscious person who wants a Mac for more than just browsing but doesn’t need it at the professional level (i.e. Mac pro). It’s more bang for the buck if you don’t need to be mobile and prefer large/multiple monitors as opposed to a laptop screens.
So it’s for people who want a Mac Desktop that’s compact, quiet and power efficient. Obviously you could pick up a budget laptop for around half the price or throw together a low power small desktop with Newegg parts that would be compact, quiet and power efficient, but that’s not as “nice” as a prepackaged Mac. Most Apple customers operate in the mindset of “which apple product do I want? Only Apple products exist, and this Apple product does things differently than the other Apple products, therefore I see how it fills a niche”
If one is already in the Apple ecosystem, it makes no sense to throw together a low power small desktop with Newegg parts. This is a good little machine that I picked up to install at my elderly mother’s house. Will pair well with her iPhone and iPad.
I use Apple because my profession required it. Progress in Windows-based software over the years would allow me to switch but I’m still running computers from 2009 so I stay in the Apple ecosystem.There are a lot of Apple users that started out as Apple users, not just jumped on the iPhone bandwagon.
These also come with MacOS pre-installed. The OS is bundled out of the box with several useful, well-designed programs like Garage Band, iMovie, and office-type apps without any additional cost or install steps. Sure, an Intel NUC or similar small desktop machine can be had for cheaper, but if you just want to plug it in and be done with setup in about 5 mins, a Mac Mini is the only way to go.
It’s a desktop computer. The kind of thing that used to be a big tower or mini-tower a couple decades ago. In some ways, these are better than the iMac and MacBook Air because you can use whatever display and keyboard/mouse you have lying around; and if you need to upgrade the computer at some point, you only replace the computer, where with all-in-ones like iMac or MacBook, you’ve also paid for a display (and keyboard and touchpad and camera) that can’t be used anywhere else.
That said, Apple’s M1 and M2 systems are incredibly powerful and efficient – way more than most people need for everyday tasks. In many respects, these tiny machines surpass the computing power of the older massive Mac Pro towers from 2010. I’m using an M1 MacBook Air for photo processing in Lightroom and video editing and light grading in Resolve, and it absolutely flies compared to my old Mac Pro with hundreds of dollars in upgrades. Plus it’s quiet and doesn’t use anywhere near as much electricity. I’m considering a Mac mini for a new desktop system to replace my old Pro tower soon (i’d opt for 16GB RAM and more storage and 10G Ethernet).
It is a desktop computer and lot more stable than Windows. I keep it running/turned on – do all my office work (remoting into work computer), and basically everyday stuff. Rock solid in terms of stability.