At 7.7 x 7.7 x 1.4 inches and weighing 2.6 pounds, the Mac Mini is more portable than most desktops. But in order to use it, for example, in a cafe, you also need to carry some kind of display with you. Instead of leaving the work to the desktop, well, to the top of the desk, one manufacturer has taken matters into their own hands. The “Portable Mac Mini,”as he calls it, is supposed to make it easy to take your Mac Mini anywhere. It also creates a pseudo Mac laptop with a handy feature that Apple doesn’t offer in its actual clamshells.
Although the portable Mac Mini, created by YouTuber Scott Yu-Jan, has a display that can be rotated and folded like a laptop, it must be connected to the network and does not have a built-in physical keyboard.
However, a screen is attached to the computer: a 2021 iPad Mini. The tablet brings touch functionality to the Mac Mini with Duet Display, an app that effectively turns an iPad or iPhone into a second screen. Apple doesn’t make MacBooks with touch screens, so the result here is a manufacturer-made exclusive.
The heart of the Portable Mac Mini hack is a 3D printed case that allows you to slide in and out of your Mac Mini and iPad Mini. The USB-C cable connects Mac Mini and iPad Mini, helping the tablet stay in place.
There’s also a place to store a hex wrench that can be used to tighten any bolts that might come loose after using the loop “several times,”Yu-Jan said.
If you’re wondering what the point of this is, you’re not alone. In a video posted last week and spotted by Hackaday on Thursday, Yu-Jang called the Portable Mac Mini “the most controversial thing I’ve ever done.”
The 2021 Mac Mini (starting at $700) and iPad Mini (starting at $500) together cost more than the M1-based MacBook (MacBook Air starts at $1,000).
The portable Mac Mini was also inspired by how loud and hot laptops can get, the YouTuber noted. But as commentators and our MacBook reviews point out, Apple’s M1-based laptops can hold their own against the M1-based Mac Mini. And in the case of the MacBook Air noisy fans are not audible.
But Yu-Huang explained that his channel is dedicated to “getting more out of the stuff you already have.”Since 3D printing seems to have made this miniature computer more portable and given it a touchscreen, Yu-Huang seems to have succeeded.