A Mac mini can be made portable for about three times the cost of a MacBook Air

AppleInsider

You've got to be inspired by the incredibly cool concept to do this, but you can now spend a lot of money to wedge a Mac mini into a case with a keyboard and monitor.

Well, it works. If you plug it in. Image credit: Scott Yu-Jan

Back in 2022, talented YouTuber Scott Yu-Jan took a then-current M1 Mac mini and nearly made it portable. He made a clever combination of a Mac mini with an iPad for the screen, but you still had to find a keyboard, and you still had to plug the whole thing in.

Nonethless, Yu-Jan reportedly used that Frankenstein's monster of a Mac mini, because he's also complained about it. "I hated carrying around the keyboard for my other portable builds," he said, "so this time I wanna incorporate the Apple Magic Keyboard into the design."

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So fast forward to today and the far smaller M4 Mac mini, and he's back with a totally new design that fixes that pesky external keyboard problem. His new design fastens on a second-hand Apple Magic Keyboard -- typically costing around $60 on eBay.

Then he also attaches this $100 rectangular and touchscreen monitor. Lastly, he pops the two into a case he designed to also hold the Mac mini to side.

"This design ensures that everything is properly secured. without losing any key features," he says in the actually rather absorbing video. "The Mac Mini's exhaust and fan intake are completely unobstructed," he continues, "and so are the ports at the front and back."

He's added a clever little extra button to make it easier to turn the Mac mini on and off. And he insists that the "monitor's cable runs securely through the body underneath the keyboard."

It doesn't look like it does. It looks like the cabling is at severe risk of coming free of the casing, but he's the one who's carried it around, not us.

Which also means he's the one who perhaps ought to have pointed out that there isn't a trackpad on his setup. Instead, he has to plug in a separate mouse, and place it awkwardly on the other side of the keyboard.

Then of course there is the remaining issue that this Mac mini setup won't do a single thing if you don't plug it in somewhere.

"I know this isn't technically fully portable," he admits. "It still requires a wall outlet but most of the places I work on the go like coffee shops or whatever usually have outlets so I don't really mind."

What he's made doesn't look very good, but it is a clever route to solving a problem he decided to invent. It's not the smartest solution, but it's extremely clever and cool. It only costs around $3,158.

That includes all of the main parts -- the Mac mini, the keyboard, and the monitor. It doesn't include cabling, printer filament, or any other materials.

It's not exactly elegant, but it works. If you plug it in. Image credit: Scott Yu-Jan

But it does include the enormous dual-nozzle BambuLab 2HD 3-D printer that Yu-Jan used to make the setup. That starts at $2,399, though to be fair he can now use it for anything else he wants.

So if the objective is to make a Mac mini portable and untethered from power, then this will stay as a noble failure -- until he reveals his promised "heavier and bulkier" version with a battery.

And in the meantime, if the objective is to have a genuinely portable Mac, the $999 M4 MacBook Air continues to be the best Mac for most people.



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xed

iHipster. Coming to a coffee shop near you.

timmillea

The beauty of the MacBook Air is that it is totally silent, has a decent display and built-in great keyboard, the battery means you don't need a UPS in the event of a power cut and it can drive huge external display. I use mine as my desktop computer most of the time with wireless Magic Keyboard and Trackpad but it also travels very lightly with me alone. 

I have had a couple of Mac Minis over the years but it was, and still is, the cheapest way to get a Mac, aimed firmly at switchers.

Just as flat-screen vs. CRT monitors halved the size of investment banking dealing rooms, the silence of the MBA means recording studios no longer need a separate 'control booth'. Silence is Golden.

daalseth

This is ‘portable’ in the same way the original Macintosh was ‘portable’. 

xed

DAalseth said:

This is ‘portable’ in the same way the original Macintosh was ‘portable’. 

My washing machine has handles on the side. That makes that portable too, right?

randominternetperson

Including the cost of a 3D printer into the total cost is insane. That’s like saying my groceries cost for the week cost $35,000 because I had to buy a car to get to the store. The cost of this (silly) this is a teeny bit less than the cost of a MacBook, so it’s not entirely insane. 

tht

I literally laughed as this.

Should have went all the way with a battery.

shad0h

He is a maker, seeking the art of the possible.

So I don't quite understand the criticism and negative sentiment from the author or the other respondents (a few of whom clearly didn't watch the video in its entirety), as this was hardly an attempt to convince people to buy a product or follow him on a crusade to make a portable mac mini m4 - he litters the video with frank comments about why this isn't great, and all the issues with the solution.

He did it because he could, and he should be recognised for that level of thinking and skill, not derided.

alandail

It would make a bit more sense if it was a Studio Mac instead of a Mini.

ailooped

Most libraries have a 3d printer you can rent for the cost of the filament. He also made a version for smaller printers.

The original Mac Mini portable he did, was made with the admission that this is just a design experiment, and so is this. But alot of people are interested in this and similar solutions. And I believe Apple will need to go down this route eventually as-well. The maker space is the future.  

apple4thewin

Didn’t we have an Appleinsider article attempting this same exact thing? Also I applaud this guy 👏 love these diy’s

bayhorse

The simplest way is to get the Luna Display USBC dongle (under $100) and the free software, and connect the mini to an iPad with USB cable.  Then use a BT keyboard & mouse.  You can use many of the iPad features with your finger (I use a stylus) such as quick notes, control panel, screen print etc..   using the stylus you can use the Mac drop-down menus and select/deselect options, move windows around, and more.  I power the M2 mini with a brick shaped battery that has a 3-prong AC outlet.  Mini runs 18-20 hours on that.   At home you don’t need to connect by USB cable, as this will work over your home WiFi.  The method shown by this article is truly bizarre, but hey, whatever floats your boat.  

mike wuerthele

apple4thewin said:

Didn’t we have an Appleinsider article attempting this same exact thing? Also I applaud this guy ߑove these diy’s

No?

Ohh, I know what you're talking about now. Wes' battery for his Mac mini and his Apple Vision Pro. Not quite the same, but at least I know what you're referring to now  

Our budget for that was about $25.

edited April 30

mike wuerthele

shad0h said:

He is a maker, seeking the art of the possible.

So I don't quite understand the criticism and negative sentiment from the author or the other respondents (a few of whom clearly didn't watch the video in its entirety), as this was hardly an attempt to convince people to buy a product or follow him on a crusade to make a portable mac mini m4 - he litters the video with frank comments about why this isn't great, and all the issues with the solution.

He did it because he could, and he should be recognised for that level of thinking and skill, not derided.

Did you read the article?

Literally the first sentence: "You've got to be inspired by the incredibly cool concept to do this, but you can now spend a lot of money to wedge a Mac mini into a case with a keyboard and monitor."

tht

Along with adding a battery, he could also add an Apple Trackpad too. 

Then, perhaps a missed opportunity to make it look like this if he wanted to go the mouse route:

mike wuerthele

tht said:

Along with adding a battery, he could also add an Apple Trackpad too. 

Then, perhaps a missed opportunity to make it look like this if he wanted to go the mouse route:

This was my exact model. Unshielded Reset key, no apple keys, raised power button. Very early example.

*3D0G for life.

edited April 30