With the new M6 Mac mini jumping to R17,699 while sticking to a meagre 256GB SSD, Apple’s once-unbeatable desktop value proposition is suddenly a much tougher sell. Picture: Apple
About a year ago, I wrote about an unusual shift in the tech market: Apple was offering some of the most genuinely affordable value-for-money devices, anchored by the runaway success of the Mac mini.
Back then, the M4 model launched at R13,999—frequently dropping to R11,999 on sale via Amazon.co.za—and packed a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 16GB of unified memory. Its only real shortcoming was the skimpy 256GB SSD.
Apple’s latest iteration flips that value proposition on its head. The updated Mac mini now starts at a steep R17,699, boasting a new M6 chip with a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU. Yet despite the higher entry fee, Apple stubbornly kept the base configuration at 16GB of unified memory and that same laughably small 256GB drive.
In late 2026, shipping a premium device with so little local storage feels borderline criminal. It is especially frustrating given that the Mac mini is heavily marketed toward power users like video editors, who can easily fill a 256GB drive in a single afternoon.
