Posted in: Desktop computers, Mac OS X

Mac mini 2014 gets an iFixit teardown

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After the recent iMac with Retina 5K display teardown, iFixit has now gotten its hands on the new 2014 Mac mini. Although the machine looks identical to the past several generations, there are some new bits inside, some of which are quite troubling.

For starters, the circular plate on the bottom can no longer be twisted to open. Inside is another metal gate with unconventionally small TR6 Torx Security screws. Apple has officially made it harder to get inside the new Mac mini. Why is that? Well, it doesn’t take long to figure that out.

You can no longer replace the RAM on the machine, as has been possible on all previous generation Mac minis. The RAM on the new model is soldered to the motherboard, just the way it is on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina display.

Thankfully, there are no more surprises beyond that. The hard drive is still user replaceable, if you manage to get inside the case in the first place. The CPU is also soldered to the motherboard but that’s not really a big deal.

iFixit gave the Mac mini a repairability score of 6/10. The soldered RAM is a bummer and it means you will have to be more generous while ordering it because you can’t upgrade later.

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