Teardown by Lou Bin (楼斌), WekiHome (微机分WekiHome) | Published 2024-11-22

The M4 Mac mini is the most notable teardown candidate among Apple's new products this year. The redesigned model replaces the previous flat enclosure with a much smaller body, roughly the size of a palm. With China's national subsidy program, the base model is priced from just over 3,500 yuan.

This teardown examines the internal layout, materials, and component suppliers. It also documents the disassembly sequence.

Chassis and Bottom Cover

The unit has a fully metal, one-piece body. The bottom cover, however, is plastic. It includes a ring of non-slip feet and has no visible screws.

• Opening method: Suction cups separate a gap in the cover. A pry tool then releases the clips around the perimeter. The author advises avoiding the power button area to prevent cutting the connecting cable.
• Power button cable: The cable runs along the upper right corner.
• Cushioning: Three foam pads on either side of the power button fill gaps and prevent rattling.
• Connectors: The cover is detached by separating the connectors.

Airflow Design

The perimeter of the bottom cover serves as both intake and exhaust.

• Exhaust: The area beneath the fan-shaped heat sink fins forms the exhaust. It covers about one-third of the perimeter.
• Intake: The remaining two-thirds form the intake.
• Separation: A foam strip below the exhaust prevents hot air from being drawn back into the intake.
• Internal channels: The chassis includes intake channels in the lower two-thirds. An additional ring increases intake area.

According to Apple's official animation, the airflow path matches this layout. Three protruding modules between the two intake layers house the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennas.

Securing the Cover

• A circular foam pad compresses the area above the CMOS battery.
• Four metal clips insert into four matching holes on the chassis.

Power Button and CMOS Battery

1. Four screws secure the power button board. Removing them frees the board.
2. The power button uses a dome switch (锅仔片).
3. The board PCB is supplied by Huatong Computer (华通电脑). It measures 0.65 mm.
4. Two screws secure the CMOS battery cover. The cover is metal and has three contact tabs for the positive terminal.
5. The battery is a 3V Panasonic BR1632A, made in Indonesia. This matches the previous generation.
6. Conductive metal foam contacts the negative terminal.

Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module and Antennas

Antenna Cover

1. All screws securing the antenna cover are removed.
2. The cover is lifted and rotated 90 degrees clockwise to the back.
3. A ribbon cable connects the cover to the Wi-Fi board.
4. Four screws secure the metal board cover. Foam pads press each connector to prevent poor contact.
5. Conductive metal foam at the cover edge contacts the enclosure to improve electromagnetic shielding and reduce interference with the antennas.
6. A foam strip beneath the fan-shaped vent separates the intake and exhaust channels.
7. Three adhesive strips secure the power button cable to the upper left corner of the cover.
8. Three coaxial cables connect the board to the antenna modules.

Wi-Fi Board

• Four screws secure the board.
• The board is 0.9 mm thick.
• Connectors and small components have no protective coating.
• A single Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module sits at the center. The silkscreen does not identify the manufacturer.
• The author estimates a Broadcom solution, based on Apple's historical supplier choices. This is an unconfirmed assessment.
• The module supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
• The back of the board is above the CMOS battery.

Antenna Modules

• Six screws secure the three antenna modules. Heating is required to remove them.
• Each module has a metal housing and a plastic top cover.

Internal Layout and Fan

The smaller chassis uses internal space more efficiently than the previous generation. The heat sink fins change from rectangular to fan-shaped. The fan design also changes. The speaker moves to the lower right corner, where an irregularly shaped acoustic chamber uses that space.

Fan

• Four screws secure the fan. Removing them allows the connector and ribbon cable to be disconnected.
• The fan is made by Nidec (日本电产尼得科), Apple's long-standing supplier.
• Rated power is 5W.
• A continuous foam seal surrounds the fan outlet. It directs airflow to the heat sink fins.
• Black rubber pads on the four mounting holes reduce vibration.
• Six screws secure the fan housing. The previous generation used adhesive for reinforcement. This generation does not.
• The fan is removable, which simplifies dust cleaning.
• The top cover is plastic. The base is metal.
• The centrifugal fan has densely spaced blades. Measured diameter is approximately 52 mm.

M4 and M4 Pro Thermal Differences

The thermal design differs between the M4 and M4 Pro versions.

The author notes that the difference in published weights suggests the base plate material may also differ. This is an inference.

Storage

Storage is not soldered to the logic board in this model. It sits on a daughter board inserted into a dedicated connector, similar to the Mac Studio design. The board positions also differ between the two models. One is at the bottom and the other is on the side. The overall dimensions also differ.

Removal

• One screw secures the SSD.
• Unlike standard M.2 drives, the module does not pop up when released. It must be rocked from side to side to remove it.
• Apple's repair manual calls this component an "SSD module." The author notes that some online discussions describe it as a "storage module" or "flash module" without a controller. The author checked Apple's documentation to confirm the official term.

Board Specifications

• Board supplier: Victory Giant (安捷利美维)
• Board thickness: 0.65 mm
• NAND configuration: The 256 GB model has two Kioxia (formerly Toshiba) NAND chips, one on each side. The base model is no longer a single-chip design.
• Controller and DRAM: No separate controller or external DRAM cache is present.
• Performance: Sequential read speed is significantly higher than the previous generation.

Compatibility

• The connector differs from the standard M2 interface and from the Mac Studio SSD. Per the author's count, the module has one connector marked "36" and one marked "38," one on each side.
• The connector matches the M4 Pro version, but the board shapes differ substantially. The two modules are not interchangeable.
• The author questions whether this design aligns with environmental principles.
• iFixit swapped SSDs between two identical M4 units with different capacities. After reinstalling macOS, the larger SSD functioned in the smaller Mac mini.
• The author concludes that users can expand capacity by purchasing an SSD for the same model. This route costs more than replacing NAND chips.

Speaker

• Three screws secure the speaker. Removing them allows the speaker to be lifted, rotated 90 degrees clockwise, and disconnected.
• The diaphragm size is unchanged from the previous generation.
• The acoustic chamber shape differs significantly.
• The author describes audio quality as basic, though an improvement over no speaker.

Port Module

• Rotating the module 180 degrees exposes the screws securing the connector cables. Removing the cover and disconnecting the cables frees the module.
• The front connectors and headphone jack are secured with screws.
• A heat gun softens adhesive around the indicator light, which is then removed to extract the port module.
• The three frequently used front ports each use an independent, modular design for easier repair.
• The 3.5 mm audio jack continues to support high-impedance headphones.
• The two 10 Gbps front USB-C ports use a surrounded (enclosed) design. This replaces the single-tongue design used on the Mac Studio.
• The author suggests Apple may abandon the single-tongue design due to a high failure rate. This is a speculation.
• Conductive fabric around the connectors where they meet the metal enclosure provides electrostatic protection.
• All pins carry an inert metal plating to improve resistance to oxidation and corrosion.

Logic Board and SoC

Removal

1. All screws securing the logic board are removed.
2. The board is pushed back and flipped to the rear.
3. The cable connecting to the power board is disconnected.
4. The board is removed.

Board Specifications

• Board supplier: Avary Holding (鹏鼎控股)
• Board thickness: 1.25 mm
• Shielding: Black anti-interference stickers cover the front shields.
• Heat module: No screws secure the module around the core. The heat module is held by spring-loaded fixing plates on the back.

Back of the Board

• A black insulating sheet covers the rear. It hosts two screw holes at the lower left that carry the 12V positive and negative connections to the power board.
• Copper foil sits beneath the insulating sheet to prevent interference between the power board and the logic board.
• A second insulating sticker covers the copper foil to prevent short circuits from components on the rear of the board.

Heat Module

• Two screws on the front secure the fins. Removing them separates the heat module from the board.
• The heat module weighs 34.4 g.
• The heat pipes and fins are blackened. Scraping the coating reveals aluminum alloy fins. The heat pipe is copper alloy.
• Conductive fabric wraps the base plate to prevent interference between the SoC and surrounding components.
• A copper alloy base plate sits over the SoC for higher thermal conductivity.
• Two memory chips with lower heat output use an aluminum base plate.
• Thermal paste fills the gaps over all three chips.

SoC and Memory

• After removing the thermal paste, the SoC is visible beneath the Apple logo.
• Internal code: APL1206.
• Two Micron LPDDR5X memory chips, marked D8DNV, sit beside the SoC.
• Total memory: 16 GB. The base model includes 16 GB.
• The memory and processor share one substrate, with encapsulation on both ends.
• A large empty solder pad on the back of the board marks the location of a 10 Gigabit Ethernet controller. The option costs an additional 750 yuan.

Rear Ports

The rear ports are integrated on the logic board. From left to right, the unit includes three Thunderbolt 4 ports, one HDMI port, and one Gigabit Ethernet port. All port surroundings include metal conductive foam, and all pins carry inert metal plating.

Shielding

The author removed the shield cover and anti-interference sticker. The remaining chip information appears in the accompanying images.

Power Supply

• Four screws secure the power connector. Removing them and the power board screws releases the connector.
• The power board is lifted upward.
• Board thickness: 1 mm PCB.
• Manufacturer: Dongguan Souluyan (东莞搜路研).
• Maximum continuous output: 155 W. The author notes this exceeds the peak power of the M4 chip.
• Several components use a "sunken board" design to reduce overall thickness.
• The author states that the design includes redundancy and considers power delivery to each port.

Chassis Construction

The one-piece metal enclosure uses stamping followed by CNC machining.

• A thick black insulating sheet covers the interior where the power board sits, to prevent short circuits.
• The thinnest wall section measures approximately 1.5 mm.
• Other sections measure more than 3 mm.

Summary

The unit contains 23 screw types and 73 screws in total. The author concludes that the design does not show clear cost reduction in structure or materials. Some components use custom designs.

The author's assessment of value and recommendations:

• The Mac mini offers strong value in terms of price, performance, and use cases.
• The internal design remains well organized.
• The standard 16 GB configuration is included at no extra cost.
• The author personally recommends the 16 GB configuration, combined with an external SSD and docking station, for better value.