From the M1 Mac mini to last week's brand new Mac Studio, it seems Apple is giving its desktop computers a lot of love right now. But Chinese resellers have found a pretty ingenious (not to mention makeshift) way to create yet another Apple desktop. All you need is half a MacBook.
There appears to be an increasing market for MacBook Pros sold with the screen entirely removed. Connected to any of the best 4k monitors, this can function as a desktop Mac – but cheaper, and with the keyboard, trackpad and speakers already included.
More and more people are buying a MacBook Pro without a screen to use as a Mac mini. Not only does it have a trackpad and keyboard, but it also has better speakers, and the main price is particularly affordable. pic.twitter.com/WtxMQk1h8FMarch 7, 2022
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It's certainly an enterprising idea. Half a Mac is going to be cheaper than a whole one – and all the power and internals lie beneath the keyboard of the MacBook Pro. Sure, it looks a little daft, but the more I look at it, the more I'm coming round to the idea.
If you buy a Mac mini, you'll also need one of the best keyboards for Mac and the best mouse for Mac. No such issue here – they're part and parcel of the MacBook. And with the incredible speed of the 2021 MacBook Pro creatives are guaranteed awesome performance for years to come.
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More Twitter users have shared their own similar setups(Image credit: @Merlin0220 on Twitter)
(Image credit: @nsampre on Twitter)
(Image credit: @nsampre on Twitter)
Of course, there are major drawbacks. Don't expect a warranty of any description with this thing – although we'd love to see the faces of Apple's Genius Bar staff if we ever did bring it in for repair. And then there's the lack of portability – without a display, you're stumped.
Then again, maybe this isn't so outrageous after all. Apple has already filed patents for modular devices with removable keyboards and screens – is it so wild to imagine a MacBook with a detachable screen? It could look a lot like, well, this.
While you won't find it in the Apple store any time soon, we have to tip our hat to the creativity on show here. But if you want the most powerful Apple desktop experience available, you'll want to check out the brand new Mac Studio.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
