Apple's Mac Mini Turns 20 Today
Apple launched the original Mac mini 20 years ago today, kickstarting a trend of small but powerful computers.
The Mac mini was originally designed as a gateway for users to enter the Apple ecosystem without the expense associated with the company's higher-end offerings of the time, such as the Power Mac G5 and iMac G5, and costly peripherals. Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs described the Mac mini as "the most affordable Mac ever" during its unveiling at Macworld Expo 2005, noting that its $499 starting price was intended to appeal to PC users looking to switch to the Mac platform. Today's base model Mac mini with the M4 chip costs just $599.
The original Mac mini featured a PowerPC G4 processor available in 1.25 GHz and 1.42 GHz configurations, an ATI Radeon 9200 GPU, 256MB of DDR SDRAM (expandable to 1GB), and 40GB or 80GB of HDD storage. Connectivity included two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 400 port, and DVI output. It shipped with Mac OS X Panther and iLife '05. The Mac mini's aluminum and polycarbonate casing measured just 6.5 x 6.5 x 2 inches—far smaller than the bulky tower PCs and even many contemporary Macs of the time.
Today's Mac mini has evolved considerably from the model introduced in 2005, featuring an even smaller casing, recycled aluminum, Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, and Apple's custom silicon for a massive leap in performance and efficiency. While the first-generation Mac mini was powered by the PowerPC architecture, Apple transitioned to Intel processors in 2006 and its own custom silicon in 2020. Today's high-end version can be equipped with the M4 Pro chip and up to 64GB of memory, offering a super-compact workstation that rivals even the Mac Studio.
Popular Stories
While the spotlight has been on CarPlay Ultra lately, the regular version of CarPlay is set to receive some enhancements alongside iOS 26.
Apple will announce iOS 26 at WWDC 2025 next week, and the software update is expected to upgrade the CarPlay experience in at least two ways.
The first iOS 26 beta should be seeded to developers shortly after Apple's keynote, and the update will...
Apple is planning to announce several new features for the Messages and Phone apps on iOS 26, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In a lengthy report outlining his WWDC 2025 expectations today, Gurman said that the two main changes in the Messages app will be the ability to create polls, as well as the option to set a background image within a conversation.
9to5Mac was first to report...
Designer Sebastiaan de With has published an impressive preview of what Apple's rumored iOS redesign might look like, complete with detailed mockups and a design philosophy that he believes could reshape how users interact with their devices.
With WWDC just days away, de With – co-founder of photography app maker Lux and former Apple designer – has created what he calls "Living Glass"...
The 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference is coming up quick, with less than a week to go before the big keynote event. We're sharing a series of rumor recaps this week, for those who want to get a sneak peek at some of the features expected in Apple's upcoming software updates.
iOS 26 is definitely the OS that we've heard the most about, and rumors suggest that it's going to get a major...
If the Mail app on your iPhone is not working lately, you are not alone.
A growing number of iPhone users are seeing a blank screen in the Mail app, according to comments posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, Apple Support Community, and other online discussion platforms. Affected users are unable to view any emails in their inboxes, and the app can also become glitchy and...
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device.
Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including worse battery life, only a single ...
The Apple Watch provides highly accurate measurements of heart rate and step count, but their estimates of calories burned can be significantly off, according to a new peer-reviewed meta-analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Mississippi (via CNET).
The study reviewed 56 previously published studies evaluating the Apple Watch's performance against gold-standard clinical tools ...
