Would you buy $399 A18 Pro Mac mini?

[Moonjumper]

The Yanko Design website has a story imagining a Mac Neo concept, effectively the same as suggested here, and has some nice renders.

https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/03...red-apple-desktop-built-for-the-openclaw-era/

 

[jlc1978]

All they need is bluetooth and HDMI, maybe a USB or two (for PC keyboard/mouse or storage connectivity). The AppleTV has all that, plus wifi and ethernet.

And the AppleTV has less RAM sure, but its also been out for years with minimal change at this point.

$400 is up near the price of a neo, with no included trackpad, keyboard, lithium ion battery, larger aluminium enclosure and screen - all those things cost a significant amount of the BOM cost.

I based my costs on what the additional parts may cost apple, and used the 3x cost to manufacturer to get an estimate of additional costs.. The Apple TV has HDMI as the output, I would guess at a minimum it would need 2 USB - C ports and more RAM/SSD storage; so if it costs Apple 40 - 50 added to teh BOM, the end cost impact could be 120 - 150.

Just a quick back of the envelope estimate as to why I think it would be closer to a NEO than an ATV.

As always, YMMV.

 

[GianL]

Yes, I would buy such a product if I can power it with a standard USB-C PD charger (<=65W).

 

[jlc1978]

The Yanko Design website has a story imagining a Mac Neo concept, effectively the same as suggested here, and has some nice renders.

https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/03...red-apple-desktop-built-for-the-openclaw-era/

Interesting concept; nt sure about the light local AI workloads or educational market. It seems by the time you add the cost and complexity of cables and a monitor over a NEO you're likely just to use the nNeo except maybe in small lab settings in a school.

As a home device, keep the price right and it makes sense.

 

[bigglow]

For the Mac mini Neo A18 Pro 8/256 I hope Apple does 3 USB-C ports rather than 2 USB-C ports + 1 HDMI port at $399 non-Edu & $299 Edu price.

By comparison the Apple TV 4K A15 Bionic 4/128 is $149.

 

[JPack]

Yes, I would buy such a product if I can power it with a standard USB-C PD charger (<=65W).

I'd be surprised if Mac Neo needed even 15W. There's no display or battery to charge. The two USB-C ports would be limited to 5W each. It would be fanless and power consumption would be gated by max. throttle temps. Overall size could halve the Apple TV 4K.

$299 targeting K-12 and higher ed. $349 for corporate/retail fleets who need a desktop.

 

[ivnj]

I'd be surprised if Mac Neo needed even 15W. There's no display or battery to charge. The two USB-C ports would be limited to 5W each. It would be fanless and power consumption would be gated by max. throttle temps. Overall size could halve the Apple TV 4K.

So this hypothetical half mini would only have 2 ports on the front. No back ports?

 

[JPack]

So this hypothetical half mini would only have 2 ports on the front. No back ports?

No rear USB ports - completely necessary for the target market. HDMI, Ethernet, and power input on the rear.

 

[weckart]

So this hypothetical half mini would only have 2 ports on the front. No back ports?

If this hypothetical Neo is going to use the same phone chip as the Macbook Neo, you only have support for one USB port. Anything more requires more hardware, which pushes up the price and takes up more room on the logic board. Apple decided you only needed a USB 2.0 data/charging port extra on the Macbook so that is probably what you will have to live with on the Mac Neo. Dongle time.