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The Mac mini M4 is a killer value, but buy this during Cyber Week instead

By Luke Larsen Published December 3, 2024

The Mac mini M4 Pro on a desk. — Chris Hagan / Digital Trends

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 during Cyber Week, 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 Mac mini on a wooden desk. — Luke Larsen / Digital Trends

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.

Topics

Senior Editor, Computing

Luke Larsen is the Senior Editor of Computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.

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