The Mac mini with M2 Apple silicon was one of the biggest surprises of the year, and it was only announced back in January. It has more processing beef to go in its small chassis and a great price, it's easily taken the prize as the best Mac in our eyes.
It's also now available on Apple's Refurbished Store, and there are some pretty good savings; with one notable exception.
If you want an upgraded Mac mini and don't mind if it's refurbished, then the entries into the Apple refurb program are going to save you some money – if you're looking for a base model, however, it looks like you're better off shopping around.
Go for the new one
The Mac mini base model with M2, 8GB of Ram and a 256GB SSD is currently $509 when you buy it refurbished. That's a $90 saving on the full price – an excellent saving on any other day. It's also, however, available to buy brand new from Amazon for $499, a grand $100 saving – and you get a brand new computer.
There are some benefits to the Apple refurbished program, however, which might make it worth heading over there. All the machines sold in the program are completely reconditioned by Apple, all by Apple engineers using genuine Apple parts. Essentially, you're getting an 'as new' machine with a great saving, which is always good.
It also means that if you're looking for one of the upgraded models, say with more RAM, or with more storage, the Apple refurb route may be a really good option that helps you save money.
You can't even get the 16GB RAM version of the Mac mini from Amazon, but a 16GB model will save you $130 at the Apple refurbished store.
This all highlights the need to shop around – don't just jump on what seems to be a deal the first time you spot it, as it might not be as cheap as it looks.
Remember to sign up for the iMore forums to chat with our community – they know of some great deals.
