We here at Macworld don’t usually write about Windows PCs, but we’re making an exception today—a company called Ayaneo is shipping a mini PC that looks exactly like a retro Mac from 1984—disc drive, rainbow logo, and all.
Ayaneo describes the Mini PC as having an “exquisite retro design” but it’s clear what the inspiration is. The computer is a petite 5-inch beige square with elements of the original Macintosh, including a black rectangle to mimic a screen (with an embossed logo that looks suspiciously like the Finder), a magnetic rainbow logo, and a disk drive cutout that has a small light to indicate power. There are vents on the back and sides, and more ports than the original Mac.
In its intro video, Ayaneo leans heavily into the Mac inspiration, with a Hello screen like the original Mac and a spec slide similar to the ones Apple uses in its keynotes. You can customize that mini PC with magnets and stickers, though none of them seem to be Mac-orientated.
It’s designed to sit with the Mac side facing up, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work standing upright and has the following specs:
- Up to AMD Ryzen 3 3200U or 7 5700U
- Up to 32GB DDR4 dual-channel memory
- Up to 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 SSD
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
- USB-C (1), USB-A (3), HDMI, DisplayPort
Unfortunately, the Ayaneo Mini PC runs Windows 11 Home Edition, but we’re sure some intrepid developer can get it to boot into macOS. While technically an Indiegogo campaign, the Retro Mini PC is ready to ship this month. It starts at $149.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.