The Mac Mini has been given the usual going over by gadget surgeons at iFixit, who have given it a repairability score of six out of 10, a drop from the eight out of 10 awarded to the 2012 model.
The biggest problem uncovered by the organisation was that the machine cannot have its RAM upgraded as the unit is soldered fast to the logic board inside.
“Unfortunately, the RAM is soldered to the logic board. This means that if you want to upgrade the RAM, you can only do so at time of purchase,” the website noted.
The teardown also confirmed that the CPU is soldered to the logic board as well, so cannot be upgraded.
Another problem is that the Mac Mini has proprietary screws that make it far harder to get the unit open, a common difficulty with Apple products.
However, the issue was even worse with the Mac Mini as it contained three TR6 Torx Security screws that were so small the iFixit team had to manufacture a bespoke tool to get them open (pictured).
"This is the smallest Torx Security screw we've ever seen - our kits go down to T7 Security. Our packrat engineers produced a lone prototype T6 Torx Security screwdriver, a tool we originally abandoned because nobody had seen such a screw used in real life," the team said.
The site promised to make these new "ridiculous" screwdrivers available for purchase soon for anyone keen to carry out a similar teardown at home.
However, despite these issues, the website gave the new mini computer a reasonable six out of 10 repairability score, noting that it does not have any glue inside that has to be removed before it can be opened.
"With the proper tools, disassembly is straight-forward and simple," it added.
The iFixit team also recently stripped bare the iMac 5K, scoring it a middling five out of 10and noting that, beyond an improved screen, few other components had been enhanced.
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