Given that it's a desktop, most people should just get it with the default size and get an external thunderbolt NVMe disk. Only if you need >Thunderbolt 5 speeds (ie 80 Gbit/sec) do you really need the internal drive, and most NVMe is slower than this in any case.

I did this recently with a new Mac Mini that I set up. MacOS recently added the ability to locate the home directories on any volume. There's a somewhat hidden feature too that if you drag the Applications directory onto an external drive it will move selected apps there (the larger ones like Pages, etc.); combine that with the option in the App Store to keep large downloads on a separate disk.

So far it's been working quite well with the exception that VSCode does not seem to understand how to update itself if you keep it in the external Applications folder: every time it tries to update itself it just deletes itself instead. Moved it back into the /Applications folder and it's been fine.

Instead of dragging them over you should create a link. This way it's the same as before for Applications like VS Code.

Last I tried this, Spotlight didn't play well with symlinked application bundles.

> MacOS recently added the ability to locate the home directories on any volume

Mac OS has always been able to do this.

You can just use it as a boot drive, IIRC.

Or if you don't want ugly ass external boxes cluttering up your desk.

I don't get why they couldn't be arsed to stuff a few m.2 slots in there. They could keep the main nand their weird soldered on BS with the firmware stuffed in a special partition if they want. Just give us more room!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Pro#Apple_silicon_(2023), kinda. The most ultra-niche of Apple's products.

I remember this but never looked into it enough to get what the point is. They still sell it with an M2 chip.

"includes six internal PCIe 4.0 slots for expansion. It does not support discrete GPUs over PCIe." uhhh, so in case people want an AS chip with most stuff soldered on but also really need certain PCIe cards that aren't GPUs?

Audio interfaces, video capture interfaces, network interfaces, etc etc etc.

Would a TB-PCIe enclosure like the Sonnet ones not cut it? I get that it's still easier to have PCIe built in, but that's a big premium to pay.

Those cost hundreds of dollars and often only have 1 slot. The premium can’t be avoided.

Yeah, but it's either that or buying outdated hardware at this point because they don't refresh the Mac Pro. Idk why Apple didn't just make their own expansion add-on.

You seriously don't get why?

MONEY!

I don't know about thunderbolt, but the Apple Silicon macs I help my clients with have something really wrong and screwed up with how macOS or the firmware deals with USB 3.1+ external drives with constant disconnects despite sleeping hard-drives setting turned off etc. Searching on forums leads to similar issues others are having.

What brand and model of drive? This sounds similar to a hardware defect in some SanDisk Extreme SSDs; IIRC it was caused by firmware and/or overheating.

This is also quite convenient when you buy a new laptop and just unplug/plug and that's it, you have everything.

Yeah they really need to get that under control. It's a complete rip off at this point.

I don't mind them charging say $50 "Apple premium" for the fact it's a proprietary board and needs firmware loading onto the flash but the multiplicative pricing is bullshit price gouging and nothing more.

Get what under control? People (me included) still pay it.

And most (me included) would still end up buying the device anyways, maybe just with less storage than they want. And then need to upgrade earlier.

From Apple’s perspective, they seem to have figured it out.

And maybe the upgraded configurations somewhat subsidize the lower end configurations?

Exactly!! The prices are a result of extensive market research. Apple prices this things at a price they know people will buy it.

It's the beauty of having a product with no real competition in the market.

(BTW, I use Linux as my home and work OS But I'm a super geek and 20+ years full stack dev... not their target market, as I can handle the quirks and thousand papercuts of Linux)

I don't. I've got a 256 gig M4 mini with a 2TB disk hanging off it.

>I've got a 256 gig M4 mini

So you agree with me.

Tons of people happily pay for it, so I'd say it works out pretty well for them.

Years ago, someone on Usenet explained that Apple upgrade prices are so high because they use components made from the powdered bones of Unicorns and I truly believe that is the truth.

I remember being a PC enthusiast in high school, spending my lunch hours pricing up Mac's, comparing them to market pc component prices, to laugh at the cost of addons. Seems like nothing has changed.

the Studio doesn't use nvme but it does put its storage on a removable card. The mac mini does as well. So you don't have to pay Apple for the storage you want. There are places which sell storage upgrades for the Mini and the M1 Studio, and they, of course, are cheaper than what Apple charges for the upgrade when you buy the machine. dosdude1 on youtube has some videos of this exact upgrade, and a bit of googling will help you find vendors. I am assuming that this M3 and M4 Studio will be the same, but that's not a guarantee.

I see iFixit[1] rates the storage swap for the M4 Mini as "moderate", I remember thinking that popping RAM in my old 2018 Intel Mini was harder than most laptop repairs I have done... I think I will probably settle for an external nVME enclosure when I get one.

1: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Replace+the+SSD+in+your+...

They've obviously done the math on what percentage of Mac buyers will subscribe to what tier of iCloud storage, times how long people tend to keep each computer, then priced the local storage options above that: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108047

One can upgrade the SSD storage for a M1/M2 Mac Studio through a third party for a lot less money than what Apple requires at purchase time.

I'd expect an upgrade route for the new Mac Studio will appear.

Here's one YouTube video showing an upgrade to 8TB of SSD storage. see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDFCurB3-0Q

Are the SSDs soldered in place for the desktop machines? Criminal.