Why Apple keeps unpopular Mac mini around

Why Mac mini is a starter drug, a controversial Spotify change, how to make selfies pop and more.

Author

Leander Kahney
August 30, 2024

When Steve Jobs introduced the first Mac mini back in 2005, Apple was struggling to build market share for the Mac.

It was before the iPod really took off and transformed Apple into the juggernaut the company is today.

At the time, Apple was still primarily a computer company, and the Mac mini was Apple’s shot at a low-cost computer designed to appeal to Windows switchers. (Remember the Apple “Switch” campaign with the unforgettable Ellen Feiss?)

The Mac mini was a “BYODKM” device — bring your own display, keyboard and mouse. The idea being that Windows switchers likely already had compatible peripherals and could easily switch to Mac without spending a ton of money.

The mini became a modest success over the years. But it never set the world on fire. In recent years, the small desktop machine suffered from ever-declining sales numbers.

It’d make a lot of sense for Apple to put a bullet in the Mac mini and discontinue the nearly 20-year-old machine.

But Apple keeps it around for a very important reason, and it’s not about racking up big sales volumes. The Mac mini is basically a starter drug for a hard-to-reach demographic that is very, very important to Apple. Here’s why the Mac mini is still kicking.

Also in today’s newsletter:

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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One more thing ...

❝

If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them away. The more the outside world tries to reinforce an image of you, the harder it is to continue to be an artist, which is why a lot of times, artists have to say, “Bye. I have to go. I’m going crazy and I’m getting out of here.” And they go and hibernate somewhere. Maybe later they reemerge a little differently.

— Steve Jobs, 1985.

Today’s poll

Should Apple keep the Mac mini or put it out to pasture?

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Results from yesterday’s poll: Do you want Clean Up, or is it a gross violation of photographic truth?

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