With the Mac mini getting a long-awaited update today, Apple took the opportunity to highlight the use of the tiny computer in a number of unique areas where full-size machines might not quite fit — literally.

In The Secret World of Mac mini, Apple takes a look at country star Dierks Bentley's live show, the touring production of the Finding Neverland musical, and the Mac mini-focused datacenter provider MacStadium.

Dierks Bentley to Neverland Mac mini production setup wires 10302018
When Dierks Bentley performs live, Mac minis travel with the show to monitor the band's 18 wireless guitar rigs. According to the piece, Dierks' sound engineer uses a Mac mini to power his equipment — well, actually it appears to be a Mac Pro in the picture, weirdly. Not sure what's going on there, but there is a Mac mini with a banana sticker on it:

Dierks Bentley to Neverland Mac mini setup 10302018

“If Dierks is out in the crowd and this setup alerts me that his guitar’s wireless strength is going down, I can adjust it and avoid an issue,” says Gutierrez. “And I’ve always run this setup on Mac mini — I’ve been using the same Mac mini for five years, and I’ve never had a problem.”

The Finding Neverland performance uses a Mac mini running software to produce sound that can't be sung or played live, including electronic music and sound effects.

Finding Neverland is the true story of how author J.M. Barrie conceived the fantastic world of Peter Pan. The production takes the audience on a journey that floats between the author’s real life and the make-believe world of his imagination. And bringing that imagination to life requires a lot of sound effects — from ticking clocks and thunder claps, to cannon booms and the sound of Tinkerbell’s…well, Tinkerbelling. All those effects are possible because of Mac mini, triggered throughout the show by the conductor.

Dierks Bentley to Neverland Mac Stadium 10302018
Finally there's the Mac-only datacenter MacStadium, which manages thousands of Mac minis across several data centers for its clients. The firm manages almost 8,000 minis, for a wide range of developers who want Macs for development work and more.

"Candy Crush, Shopify, Day One — so many of your favorite apps and games run on Mac mini. It’s truly the Swiss Army knife of computers," says Brian Stucki of MacStadium.

The new Mac mini is available for preorder today, shipping on November 7. It starts at $799, but fully loaded, it prices out to a decidedly not-mini $4,199.

Related Roundup: Mac mini
Buyer's Guide: Mac Mini (Neutral)
Related Forum: Mac mini

Top Rated Comments

coolfactor Avatar
87 months ago
In the keynote, Apple briefly touched on daisy-chaining several mini's together, but didn't explain how they can operate as a single system. We used to have Xgrid built into OS X (pre-macOS), but Apple sadly dropped that technology. They are suggesting it's possible to leverage several mini's as one computer, but how??? Anybody got any info? This truly is the ultimate Mac... upgrade by adding another mini to your setup, not replacing your existing system. And truly environmentally-friendly. It's where Apple needs to get to. Modular.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miniyou64 Avatar
87 months ago
“Never had a problem” ? Sounds like an Apple setup from 2010 not any recent Apple experience
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
87 months ago
They are suggesting it's possible to leverage several mini's as one computer, but how??? Anybody got any info?
The stacked minis in the picture above illustrate a very expensive way to build a tiny render farm for 3D work. The minis are likely all connected to a network router via Ethernet cables.

But a Mac mini render farm, although cool looking, would be extremely expensive compared to the typical Windows multi core high powered monsters usually used.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
york2600 Avatar
87 months ago
I use Mac Stadium to build mac apps at work and I imagine they're going to make a very large order with Apple now that the new models are out. There's a growing need for Macs in the "cloud" since so many people run their entire build pipeline in AWS or GCE or Azure, but need to build a macOS or iOS app.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iLilana Avatar
87 months ago
while I thought the Mac mini update was great I started to wonder. If a top tier mini is 5119.00 Canadian dollars, how many tens of thousands is the new Mac Pro going to cost?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R2FX Avatar
87 months ago
The new Mac Mini really is quite expensive, as is the new MBA. I appreciate the specs are better but it seems odd not to have a low cost option.

I’m a little confused about Apple’s product line. The Mac Mini was always touted as a low priced desktop for people’s first experience into the Apple ecosystem. The MacBook was always the cheapest consumer laptop, the MBA prioritised portability over all other factors, and the MacBook Pro was the machine with the best hardware.

I just think if Apple made a really low cost Mac Mini, or even kept the previous iteration at a cheaper price with a 32GB SSD/500GB HDD fusion drive, it would be a really popular low-cost machine that would seemingly run very fast for most consumers due to the Flash storage.

Same with the MBA. They could have introduced the new one but kept the old one at a lower price. Sure it’s hugely outdated but it’s still a great machine for what it does, and at an even more competitive price I really think it would be popular.
I'm glad you're not in charge of product lines at Apple...and I'm saying it as someone who still uses MBP 17" from 2006/2008, Mac mini 2012 and MBP 15" 2014 ;)

New mini and MBA are exactly what Apple should have done 2y ago, let's see how long will be the next upgrade cycle
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

Leaker Reveals Amount of RAM in iPhone 17 Through iPhone 17 Pro Max

Wednesday July 9, 2025 8:08 am PDT by
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors. The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...