When the M4 Mac mini came out, I called it an “absolute steal” at $599 in my review. There’s just never been a PC being offered at that price with this much bang for your buck. It’s the best mini PC ever made.
But on Cyber Monday, it’s only $16 off at Amazon. Don’t get me wrong, that’s still absolutely worth a buy. It gets a full endorsement from me, especially if you’re interested in the smaller size or added performance of the M4. But there is, perhaps, an even better deal out there — at least, for some people.
I’m talking, of course, about the M1 Mac mini, which is on sale today as well. You can currently pick up a refurbished model for $391 — both at Amazon and Walmart. That’s $74 cheaper than the price for a new M1 Mac mini, which is currently selling for $465. An Apple Silicon Mac mini for under $400 is fantastic — even if it’s an M1 with 8GB of RAM. Now, I wouldn’t buy one if you need some serious performance, but if it’s just a basic computer for general web browsing, office work, and studying, you won’t be disappointed.
The refurbished M2 Mac mini is also out there, of course. It’s selling for $435 but only really provides a small bump in performance over the M1.
Now, don’t be fooled by the “retail” price and percentage drop. The M1 and M2 Mac mini are no longer officially a part of the lineup, so there’s no set price anymore. Still, picking one of these up for under $500 (or $400 for the refurbished M1 Mac mini) is absolutely worth it if you’re on a tight budget. I’d argue the jump up to only $583 for the M4 Mac mini is still worth the money, especially since it comes with 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB. That alone would be worth a $200 price jump.
But again, if you’re trying to save as much money as possible, that $391 price of the M1 Mac mini is unbeatable.