Apple Mac mini (2024, M4): problems, parts and running costs

Checked: 2026-10-17

Summary

The 2024 Mac mini on the M4 chip has no recurring mechanical failure reports in the research; the complaints owners and reviewers raise are about money and limits — soldered memory, expensive Apple upgrades, an underside power button and no SD card slot. Nothing on the machine is a consumable, so there are no parts to budget for each year beyond the display, keyboard and mouse that are not in the box. It was a good buy at the $599 base configuration (Apple, November 2024) and stays one only at the base or mildly upgraded builds; the $1,399 32GB/1TB configuration was called poor value.

Common problems and fixes

Memory cannot be upgraded after purchase — RAM is soldered on both the M4 and M4 Pro, so the configuration bought on day one is final; the workaround is choosing the right amount at purchase. [3][5]
Apple’s RAM and storage upgrades are expensive — The Verge called the upgrade pricing “greed” and “farcical”, with a 32GB/1TB build reaching $1,399; its advice is to buy the base or a 24GB/256GB build and use external Thunderbolt storage instead. [3]
No SD card slot and no USB-A ports — memory cards and USB-A accessories need a dongle or hub; no built-in alternative exists. [3]
SSD upgrades mean chip-level work — the SSD is a removable module on the 2024 model, but it carries only NAND chips with the controller inside the SoC, so a real capacity upgrade means replacing NAND chips. [2][4]
The model is discontinued — the 2024 Mac mini was discontinued on August 25, 2026 and replaced by the M6/M5 Pro generation, which returned to a soldered SSD; remaining stock is clearance or refurbished. [2][8]

Parts and consumables

No consumables (filters, pods, fluids) and no other replaceable parts were reported for this model.

Yearly running cost

Not enough data for a computed yearly figure. The machine has no consumables, filters or wear parts; the main extras a owner pays for are a display, keyboard and mouse, none of which are included [1][3]. Power draw is up to 155W maximum continuous from an internal supply, but no electricity-cost estimate was reported [1].

When it is a good buy

$599 for the base M4 16GB/256GB (Apple, November 2024) is the configuration reviewers recommended; a 24GB/256GB build was singled out as the other sensible choice. [3]
$799 for 16GB/512GB and $929 for 24GB/512GB (Apple, November 2024) are smaller steps up; the $1,399 32GB/1TB build was called poor value. [3]
The 2026 M6/M5 Pro Mac mini at $899 from Apple (Wirecutter, September 2026) is the better choice when buying new, adding Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and 2.5GbE; pick the 2024 M4 only when it is priced clearly below that. [2][5][7]
The 2024 model is discontinued, so it sells as clearance or refurbished stock; exact street pricing for the 2024 SKUs was not verified in the sources. [2]