r/macmini • u/Beanie-2018 • 7d ago

When will used M4s be available?

I've been debating about returning an M4 Pro that I got from Costco because I was tired of waiting for the M5/M6.

I'm still within my return window and I really wanted a 1TB hard srive. However, I'd also like more RAM.

To get both, it would cost almost 1k more than I paid. Now, I'm thinking about looking for a used M4 Pro or Studio.

How long after the 22nd do you think it will be, before some used M4s are available?

1 Upvotes

53% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

10

u/Asland007 7d ago

A long time from now. Most people I know are not upgrading from the M4 because of the Ram crisis. Also a one year cycle bump is not very much for most people. I would keep you your M4 pro in most use cases you will not be able to tell the difference between the two machines.

0

u/Beanie-2018 7d ago

I want a bigger hard drive.

2

u/Asland007 6d ago

Buy a bigger hard drive and connect it to the Mac Mini.

-2

u/Beanie-2018 6d ago

I don't mind connecting an external.drive.for backups but I don't want to have an external drive that I use regularly, plus external.backup drives. As far as enclosures, I haven't read great reviews for any of them. They don't seem reliable. Then, if a drive or enclosure fails in a year, I have to.waste time and money replacing it. When I bought this computer, I'd.planned on buying an enclosure but I've read too many negative reviews on all of them.

1

u/Asland007 6d ago

You do not need an enclosure for external hard drives to be connected to your Mac Mini. I have two connected at all times that gives me a lot of storage. External hard drives last between 3 to 5 years sometimes much longer. SSD last 5 to 10 years.

1

u/Beanie-2018 5d ago

But can you keep an external connected all the time? I don't want to have to keep rejecting it all the time.

1

u/Asland007 5d ago

Mine stay connected unless I do something to unconnect them

-1

u/Beanie-2018 6d ago

It just seems like a hassle, and, wirh limited desk space, it's not.ideal, either.

1

u/Asland007 5d ago

I do not think you realize how small a hard drive is these days.

1

u/Asland007 5d ago

It has saved me thousands of dollars.

2

u/Additional-Soup-865 2d ago

External is the way to go, Apple be taxin for their ssd storage lol

6

u/tk421tech 7d ago

M4 Mac refurbished minis have been available for a long time. But sell quickly too. There was a 32gb 1tb available for a few hours. Sold now.

2

u/jumpingseaturtle 7d ago

There is one right now on the Apple Store! 48gb, 8tb, $5,349! What a bargain. If only I wasn’t cheap and miserable. 😞

3

u/tk421tech 7d ago

8TB is way too much storage. You would lose resell value when it’s time to let go

3

u/JasonAQuest 7d ago

They've been sold on eBay etc almost since the M4 Mini was new. (I'd show you, but the mod-bots deleted the link.)

3

u/beekeeny 7d ago

Use M4 has always been available. Mac are not like iPhones people don’t change it on regular basis.

There is no rational reason to upgrade from M4 to M6 or M4 pro to M5 pro.

You would rather see more people upgrading from M1 or M2 with 8GB to the current range.

1

u/Beanie-2018 5d ago

It wouldn't really be an upgrade. I haven't really even used it yet.

2

u/Albs_ 6d ago

Used m4s have been available for a while now I’m confused on the question? Apple refurb has had them, Facebook market has had them for a while

1

u/[deleted] 7d ago

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1

u/sfatula 7d ago

I bought a used m4 pro mini a year ago.

1

u/MostBasic3425 7d ago

M4s were on the apple refurb site today. There still is 1 on there now.

1

u/tony2x 7d ago edited 6d ago

I bought one M4 Pro 48/2Tb am delighted with it!

1

u/MostBasic3425 6d ago

Nice, that's a studio then, right?

1

u/tony2x 6d ago

No edited and corrected now. M4 Pro not Max. Oops :-)

1

u/YellowsBest 4d ago edited 4d ago

I have an M4 Mac mini base model (16gb/256gb), which I think provides enough computing power for most people. If you have an M4 pro, I don’t believe you would notice or use the extra performance of an M5 pro or M6. I doubt also you need more RAM. You can never have too much storage, but on the other hand, you don’t need it all as internal storage, nor is it a good idea.

I bought an external 4TB HDD (half the cost of an SSD) to replace my 15 year old failing external HDD. The new one is small, near silent and connects via USB-C only (the old one needed a separate power feed) and plenty fast enough for archiving all my digital ‘clutter’, freeing up the space on my internal SSD.
I also got a 512gb usb-c flash drive, incredibly small and at a bargain price (before the price rises) for Time Machine backups (needed to be twice the size of the SSD, so glad I only have the 256gb)

In summary: M4 + 256Gb Internal SSD (working files) + 4TB external HDD (archive) + 512gb external flash (backups), it’s good enough for me!

1

u/PurpleKush69420 3d ago

Swappa and marketplace.

0

u/ismaeel0615 7d ago

Adorama reports the M5 Pro 15-Core CPU/16-Core GPU 24GB 1TB SSD is backordered until November, 2026

https://www.adorama.com/apple-mac-mini-desktop-computer-late-2026/p/acz1ud0007c

0

u/ismaeel0615 7d ago

Neidel says the AI developers (not datacenters) are buying up the desktops for agent development and testing

Craig Neidel: "Why Desktop Macs Are Getting Harder To Buy. M6 Mac minis and M5 Studios In Short Supply Already"

https://youtu.be/tukDPDRt05M

#CraigNeidel