Mac mini

Apple introduced the Mac mini in January 2005 with an unusual pitch: 'BYODKM' — bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse. At $499, it was the cheapest way into the Mac ecosystem, aimed squarely at Windows switchers who already owned peripherals.

The unibody redesign in 2010 and the move to Apple Silicon in 2020 kept the mini relevant well beyond its budget-box origins, and today's M-series mini is popular for everything from home theater setups to compact developer machines — proof that the small-and-cheap idea aged better than almost anyone expected.