The Mac mini doesn't sell in huge volumes, but is a crucial part of Apple's ecosystem

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware

The Mac mini, initially an affordable entry into Apple's ecosystem, has evolved into a versatile machine, though sales data paint a mixed picture of its popularity.

A Mac mini with an Apple logo on it, accompanied by a black power cable on a white surface.
Mac mini computer



First introduced in 2005, the Mac mini was designed as an entry point into the Apple ecosystem. It's a compact box meant to be paired with peripherals the user already owns.

Fast-forward nearly two decades, and the Mac Mini is still around, still updated, and still selling -- albeit to a very specific group of people.

Recent data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) reveals that the Mac Mini appeals predominantly to two distinct age groups -- the young and the elderly. According to a study spanning twelve years of Apple consumer behavior data, 41% of Mac Mini buyers are under 24 or over 65.

For comparison, Mac laptop buyers tend to be younger, with nearly two-thirds under 34 and only 7% over 55. The data suggests that the Mac Mini continues to fulfill its original purpose of providing an affordable entry into the Apple ecosystem.

Why the Mac mini still matters



However, it's important to approach these claims with some skepticism. The market for a product like the Mac mini hasn't been static over the past twelve years.

When CIRP first began tracking Mac Mini buyers in 2012, the tech world was very different. The rise of cloud computing and the increasing importance of remote work have all influenced how and why people use the Mac mini.

Age demographics of Mac Mini and other Mac buyers (September 2012 - June 2024)
Age demographics of Mac Mini and other Mac buyers (September 2012 - June 2024)



The Mac mini has found a market among developers, media producers, and small business owners needing a reliable, customizable, compact desktop solution. These users might be looking for a secondary machine to complement a more robust setup or a dedicated device for specific tasks.

Moreover, the evolution of Apple Silicon has dramatically increased the Mac mini's performance capabilities.

While younger and older users may still represent significant portions of its user base, the device's evolving capabilities have likely attracted a broader audience than the data from 2012 to 2024 suggests.



Read on AppleInsider

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    My cat really likes the current form factor for taking a nap on.
    sandyman18nubuswatto_cobraFidonet127programmerTRAG
  • Reply 2 of 21
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 3,054member
    Mac Mini appeals predominantly to two distinct age groups -- the young and the elderly
    Elderly, why you whippersnapper, I ain’t elderly. Seasoned maybe, I’d give you well worn, but I ‘taint elderly dadgummit.
    The Mac mini has found a market among developers, media producers, and small business owners needing a reliable, customizable, compact desktop solution
    OK that’s more like it. All kidding aside I got an M2Pro MM last year to replace my very aged iMac. It was cost effective and drives my dual 4K monitors very comfortably. I use it mostly for work to remote into our office systems. On the side I’ve been doing art and making audio recordings. It was less expensive than a similarly equipped iMac, and I don’t have the annoyance of mismatched monitors. It’s a damn powerful system that will serve me for a long time. 


    thtnubuswatto_cobraFidonet127IreneW
  • Reply 3 of 21
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,581member
    DAalseth said:
    Mac Mini appeals predominantly to two distinct age groups -- the young and the elderly
    Elderly, why you whippersnapper, I ain’t elderly. Seasoned maybe, I’d give you well worn, but I ‘taint elderly dadgummit.
    The Mac mini has found a market among developers, media producers, and small business owners needing a reliable, customizable, compact desktop solution
    OK that’s more like it. All kidding aside I got an M2Pro MM last year to replace my very aged iMac. It was cost effective and drives my dual 4K monitors very comfortably. I use it mostly for work to remote into our office systems. On the side I’ve been doing art and making audio recordings. It was less expensive than a similarly equipped iMac, and I don’t have the annoyance of mismatched monitors. It’s a damn powerful system that will serve me for a long time. 


    I got a refurb m2 pro Mac mini earlier this year. I love it -- decent price, very powerful, quiet, takes up little space on my desk and looks good with my Studio Display. 

    I anticipate my next Mac purchase might be an M4 Ultra Mac Studio if/when such a thing becomes available. 
    AniMilldanoxwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 21
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 3,054member
    blastdoor said:
    DAalseth said:
    Mac Mini appeals predominantly to two distinct age groups -- the young and the elderly
    Elderly, why you whippersnapper, I ain’t elderly. Seasoned maybe, I’d give you well worn, but I ‘taint elderly dadgummit.
    The Mac mini has found a market among developers, media producers, and small business owners needing a reliable, customizable, compact desktop solution
    OK that’s more like it. All kidding aside I got an M2Pro MM last year to replace my very aged iMac. It was cost effective and drives my dual 4K monitors very comfortably. I use it mostly for work to remote into our office systems. On the side I’ve been doing art and making audio recordings. It was less expensive than a similarly equipped iMac, and I don’t have the annoyance of mismatched monitors. It’s a damn powerful system that will serve me for a long time. 


    I got a refurb m2 pro Mac mini earlier this year. I love it -- decent price, very powerful, quiet, takes up little space on my desk and looks good with my Studio Display. 

    I anticipate my next Mac purchase might be an M4 Ultra Mac Studio if/when such a thing becomes available. 
    I went with a Refurb one as well. At that point it cost about the same as a M2MM once I added the 16GB RAM and 512SSD. Plus I got more USB ports and the Pro chip essentially for free. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 21
    I got an M2 pro version and Studio Display early last year because Apple was ignoring the iMac.  They still don’t offer anything beyond an entry level chip in the iMac.

    it is a great setup for my home office.  I actually prefer the look of the mini over the Mac Studio, whose design I feel was phoned in.
    appleinsideruserzeus423watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 21
    I’m waiting for the new Mini to come out to replace my 27” intel iMac. I don’t want to drop $3k+ on a Mini and Studio Display, but I want retina scaling and I REALLY don’t want a 24” screen. So what’s a guy to do?
    The absence of the 27” iMac is likely driving more Mac Mini sales. I also suspect most will go outside the Apple ecosystem for a monitor rather than shell out for the Studio Display. Lost opportunity for Apple. 
    DAalsethappleinsideruserzeus423watto_cobramacike
  • Reply 7 of 21
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,581member
    I’m waiting for the new Mini to come out to replace my 27” intel iMac. I don’t want to drop $3k+ on a Mini and Studio Display, but I want retina scaling and I REALLY don’t want a 24” screen. So what’s a guy to do?
    The absence of the 27” iMac is likely driving more Mac Mini sales. I also suspect most will go outside the Apple ecosystem for a monitor rather than shell out for the Studio Display. Lost opportunity for Apple. 
    I also was coming from a 27” iMac. 

    I tried a cheaper display but I couldn’t stand the downgrade from the display in my iMac. So I sprung for the Studio Display. It seems like it should be less expensive, yet obviously I was willing to pay. 
    zeus423watto_cobraheadfull0wine
  • Reply 8 of 21
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 1,178member
    Just a reminder that the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners "data" that Apple Insider is so fond of reposting as if it were fact has, in fact, no factually-supported, direct correlation to whatever the real numbers might be. I'm not saying the numbers they report couldn't be valid, only that there is no way to verify that they are, while CIRP cloaks its methodology in exclusive sourcing and algorithms that it doesn't reveal. Also a reminder that getting their name into articles like this is how they market themselves for their actual business, which is convincing clients that that they're experts with "secret" information worth paying for. The more times your name gets quoted in the press, the greater the illusion of expertise and the more expert you become. 
    DAalsethDoctorQwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 21
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 3,054member
    I’m waiting for the new Mini to come out to replace my 27” intel iMac. I don’t want to drop $3k+ on a Mini and Studio Display, but I want retina scaling and I REALLY don’t want a 24” screen. So what’s a guy to do?
    The absence of the 27” iMac is likely driving more Mac Mini sales. I also suspect most will go outside the Apple ecosystem for a monitor rather than shell out for the Studio Display. Lost opportunity for Apple. 
    I got two ASUS 28” 4k monitors that look pretty good. I got them off of Best Buys refurbished page, ~$900 for the pair. 
    watto_cobraheadfull0wine
  • Reply 10 of 21
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,581member
    charlesn said:
    Just a reminder that the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners "data" that Apple Insider is so fond of reposting as if it were fact has, in fact, no factually-supported, direct correlation to whatever the real numbers might be. I'm not saying the numbers they report couldn't be valid, only that there is no way to verify that they are, while CIRP cloaks its methodology in exclusive sourcing and algorithms that it doesn't reveal. Also a reminder that getting their name into articles like this is how they market themselves for their actual business, which is convincing clients that that they're experts with "secret" information worth paying for. The more times your name gets quoted in the press, the greater the illusion of expertise and the more expert you become. 
    I really wish Apple still reported sales volumes. I would think that software developers, for example, might benefit from having hard data on how many Macs of different models and different SOCs were really sold. For example, if you're a game developer, wouldn't it be helpful to know exactly how many M Pro or Max machines are out there? 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 21
    blastdoor said:
    I’m waiting for the new Mini to come out to replace my 27” intel iMac. I don’t want to drop $3k+ on a Mini and Studio Display, but I want retina scaling and I REALLY don’t want a 24” screen. So what’s a guy to do?
    The absence of the 27” iMac is likely driving more Mac Mini sales. I also suspect most will go outside the Apple ecosystem for a monitor rather than shell out for the Studio Display. Lost opportunity for Apple. 
    I also was coming from a 27” iMac. 

    I tried a cheaper display but I couldn’t stand the downgrade from the display in my iMac. So I sprung for the Studio Display. It seems like it should be less expensive, yet obviously I was willing to pay. 
    Yeah, me too. Couldn’t stand the thought of a display downgrade from my 5k iMac. Got a cool 3D printed stand to attach the Mac mini vertically to the ASD stand. Neat and easily movable too.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 21
    Does AI not realize how useless and flawed the data from CIRP is?  They are essentially two friends with a blog, who only survey 500 people to get their "data".  You don't need to be a statistics major to know that that sample size is far too small to be salient, even if they did sample it properly (which they don't).  

    Their data is completely worthless, and shame on publications that report on their junk "data" without doing any due diligence.
    tenthousandthingswatto_cobraappleinsideruser
  • Reply 13 of 21
    nubusnubus Posts: 623member
    The desktop line could be mini and Studio. And perhaps just Studio unless the price and size of mini goes down.
    • Pro isn't really Pro these days with everything glued. Drop it and go Studio.
    • iMac 23.5" is an expensive mini with a small display, bad ergonomics, a terrible mouse, and only the base processor. Do we need it?
    • The old iMac Pro was a bad fix for not upgrading Mac Pro for 5 years and for making it far too expensive. Studio or mini + display is the fix for those big iMacs.
    There are currently too many product lines with not enough upgrades.
    DAalsethzeus423williamlondon
  • Reply 14 of 21
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,486member
    escargot said:
    Does AI not realize how useless and flawed the data from CIRP is?  They are essentially two friends with a blog, who only survey 500 people to get their "data".  You don't need to be a statistics major to know that that sample size is far too small to be salient, even if they did sample it properly (which they don't).  

    Their data is completely worthless, and shame on publications that report on their junk "data" without doing any due diligence.
    I guess that answers my question… how did they account for institutional buyers buying crate loads of them for embedded uses and data centres. 
    Simple they didn’t.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 21
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,581member
    nubus said:
    The desktop line could be mini and Studio. And perhaps just Studio unless the price and size of mini goes down.
    • Pro isn't really Pro these days with everything glued. Drop it and go Studio.
    • iMac 23.5" is an expensive mini with a small display, bad ergonomics, a terrible mouse, and only the base processor. Do we need it?
    • The old iMac Pro was a bad fix for not upgrading Mac Pro for 5 years and for making it far too expensive. Studio or mini + display is the fix for those big iMacs.
    There are currently too many product lines with not enough upgrades.
    The Pro might make sense with AI accelerator cards. It will be interesting to see if Apple rolls their own cards. Or if they support AMD cards for that purpose. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 21
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 3,054member
    nubus said:.
    • iMac 23.5" is an expensive mini with a small display, bad ergonomics, a terrible mouse, and only the base processor. Do we need it?
    I agree. I did look at the iMac, but the MM was just all the way around better, and cheeper even figuring in the cost of the monitor. 
    zeus423watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 21
    zeus423zeus423 Posts: 272member
    I finally went the Mini route also after giving up hope on ever getting a decent sized iMac. I just can't downgrade to the smaller screen after having a 27" iMac for so many years.

    I have no regrets about the Mini and the Studio Display, though. In fact, I see the benefit of the Mini because now I can just upgrade the Mini and still use the same monitor. In the long run, it's more cost effective than a new iMac every time.
    danoxentropyswatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 21
    I have an iMac 27” 2020 that still serves me well, but when it’s time to replace it I’ll probably get a mini and a Studio Display, or maybe a MB Air and the display. I also have a Mac mini 2018 as Plex server, it is more then adequate for what I use it for so no need to replace that for a while.
  • Reply 19 of 21
    blastdoor said:
    I’m waiting for the new Mini to come out to replace my 27” intel iMac. I don’t want to drop $3k+ on a Mini and Studio Display, but I want retina scaling and I REALLY don’t want a 24” screen. So what’s a guy to do?
    The absence of the 27” iMac is likely driving more Mac Mini sales. I also suspect most will go outside the Apple ecosystem for a monitor rather than shell out for the Studio Display. Lost opportunity for Apple. 
    I also was coming from a 27” iMac. 

    I tried a cheaper display but I couldn’t stand the downgrade from the display in my iMac. So I sprung for the Studio Display. It seems like it should be less expensive, yet obviously I was willing to pay. 
    Yeah, me too. Couldn’t stand the thought of a display downgrade from my 5k iMac. Got a cool 3D printed stand to attach the Mac mini vertically to the ASD stand. Neat and easily movable too.
    I was also hoping to mount the Mini to the back of the display. Hopefully with the new smaller form factor, this will be even easier and cleaner to mount. 

    … or they come out with a 27”+ iMac. One can dream.
    appleinsiderusermacike
  • Reply 20 of 21
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,486member
    blastdoor said:
    I’m waiting for the new Mini to come out to replace my 27” intel iMac. I don’t want to drop $3k+ on a Mini and Studio Display, but I want retina scaling and I REALLY don’t want a 24” screen. So what’s a guy to do?
    The absence of the 27” iMac is likely driving more Mac Mini sales. I also suspect most will go outside the Apple ecosystem for a monitor rather than shell out for the Studio Display. Lost opportunity for Apple. 
    I also was coming from a 27” iMac. 

    I tried a cheaper display but I couldn’t stand the downgrade from the display in my iMac. So I sprung for the Studio Display. It seems like it should be less expensive, yet obviously I was willing to pay. 
    Yeah, me too. Couldn’t stand the thought of a display downgrade from my 5k iMac. Got a cool 3D printed stand to attach the Mac mini vertically to the ASD stand. Neat and easily movable too.
    I was also hoping to mount the Mini to the back of the display. Hopefully with the new smaller form factor, this will be even easier and cleaner to mount. 

    … or they come out with a 27”+ iMac. One can dream.
    Would love to see them do a series of screens that accept and power a user selected computer modules. 

    Take the MPX module design language of a nice high flow heat sink. Snaps together with power and extra ports to make Mac mini. With a screen to make an iMac. On to a carrier card inside a Mac pro case to make a Mac cluster (with MPX options for higher end Mchips)


    appleinsideruser
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