Let me say that Apple's most successful product last year was actually not controversial.
Not the iPhone 16 series, not the Apple Watch with a higher screen ratio, not even the iPad or MacBook that came out without any changes, and not even the Vision Pro, which is expected to be the coolest product in Apple's history.
Apple's most successful product last year was the Mac mini, which quietly went on sale on October 29.
Why? The reason is simple: it's small, stylish, all-in-one, quiet, cheap, and decent. Apple hasn't had a simple, easy-to-use product in a long time, so it's no wonder it's going viral on social media.
I don't know if it has anything to do with this sudden "Mac mini boom," but CES 2025, one of the most anticipated electronics shows for digital product lovers and the largest and most influential consumer electronics technology annual show in the world, did see more miniPCs.
As in previous years, in order to bring you the freshest first-hand reports, Leitech sent a field reporting team led by senior editors "Yi Yitianming" and "Dingxi" to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, to observe and experience these new things at the venue.
And today's topic is the return trend of desktop miniPC.
MiniPC dominates CES: Smaller, more powerful
In the past, I think more than half of people's perception of miniPC was based on NUC.
As Intel's main push for miniPC business, NUC series once tried to compete with Apple's Mac mini in the market by virtue of richer hardware configuration choices and higher scalability, but it was eventually abandoned by Intel due to its poor management of its own core business.
No one expected the miniPC market to be slowly picking up a year and a half after Intel announced it was abandoning the NUC.
Lenovo unveiled the new ThinkCentre neo 50q QC at CES 2025. The product is thinner, smaller and more sophisticated than previous ThinkCentre neo series, and even more powerful in performance. It has 45 TOPS dedicated AI computing power, designed for multitasking and efficient data processing.
The huge increase comes mainly from changes in the processor. The 1L miniPC is available with Qualcomm Snapdragon X and Snapdragon X Plus processors, up to 16GB of LPDDR5x memory +2TB storage, and supports the latest Copilot+ PC features and advanced AI features.
According to Lenovo, this is the world's first AI miniPC powered by Snapdragon.
Since there are those who have changed direction, there will naturally be those who are conservative. Established manufacturers Asustek and MSI have still taken over the product name "NUC" and are determined to continue the brand.
At CES 2025, ASUS introduced the ROG NUC (2025), which is an undeniably powerful beast with an Intel Core Ultra 200HX processor and the latest RTX 5080 laptop graphics card in its narrow body.
In the niche field of miniPC, maybe only ROG has the courage to make products at this level.
As for MSI, it is more focused on the "compact" nature of its products. The Cubi NUC AI+ 2M, which was released at CES 2025, is only 0.826L in size, with the highest optional Core Ultra 7 258V processor, up to 32GB LPDDR5x memory, and even a physical Copilot button.
What? Not into Intel?
Of course, there are also AMD processors. Chinese manufacturer Jiukore launched three new miniPC products at CES 2025, among which the new Jiukore A9 Max is equipped with the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX processor. There are three versions available: 365,370 and 375. The top configuration product has the theoretically strongest core display performance at present.
Some manufacturers are even thinking of combining miniPCs with other categories.
A prime example is the N5 Pro showcased by Chinese manufacturer Mingfan at CES 2025. The device features a standalone miniPC module in its lower half, while the upper section boasts five dedicated 2.5/3.5mm hard drive slots. Powered by AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 processor, this compact system supports up to 96GB of ECC memory.
For an industry that still uses N100 processors, this is a bit of a wild thing.
MiniPC to break through by differentiation?
You may wonder, why did the miniPC market improve after NUC was abandoned?
Well, these two things are not necessarily related.
In my opinion, this wave of miniPC boom is more closely related to the development trend of AI PC category in the past two years.
Over the past year, large language model technology has seen rapid development. Model-powered intelligent agents have become an indispensable component in consumer electronics. Unlike smartphones that primarily rely on cloud-based large models, more powerful PCs can now support on-device AI models, enabling local generative AI applications. Notably, AI PC shipments alone surpassed 40 million units in the past year.
In order to compete for the commanding heights of AI PC, major manufacturers are racing in technology research and development, marketing and user experience optimization, hoping to break through by differentiation.
And miniPC is part of the differentiation strategy.
Compared to traditional PC/ITX systems designed for fixed environments, mini PCs offer compact dimensions, space-saving features, and exceptional portability, making them ideal for small offices or residential spaces. When compared to laptops that also cater to mobile use cases, mini PCs typically support multiple connectivity options, providing greater flexibility. They also demonstrate superior advantages in external interface expansion and internal configuration upgradability.
As Lenovo says, the miniPC is likely to become a simplified local AI terminal that small and medium-sized companies will have to use in the future.
And what underpins the ambitions of various manufacturers is the PC supply chain, which is currently in rapid development.
In the middle of last year, Qualcomm and a number of PC manufacturers launched several PC products with snapdragon X series processors, and gained a new compatible layer of Windows on ARM, which did break Apple's long-term monopoly on high energy efficiency ratio for Mac, bringing considerable battery life and AI performance to Windows users.
By the end of the year, Intel's Core Ultra 200V series processors achieved remarkable energy efficiency on the x86 platform. At CES 2025, Intel unveiled its second-generation Core Ultra processors for AI PCs, including the 200V,200HX, 200H, and 200U models. Meanwhile, AMD unveiled its Ryzon AI Max, AI 300, and 200 series processors, all providing new capabilities for AI-powered PCs.
On the graphics side, Nvidia's RTX 50 series laptop graphics card, which will be presented at CES 2025, is expected to deliver twice as much AI performance per watt as its predecessor.
The top support of the supply chain has also given the PC industry a "second spring".
Can a miniPC flip a Mac mini?
Of course, some readers may ask at this point.
Looking at your analysis here, can these new miniPCs really beat the unrivaled Mac mini?
Well, there are advantages to that.
No matter how much Apple fans like to emphasize the usability of Mac, it cannot change the fact that Windows is the most widely used system in the world at present. With the support of these terminal-side AI chips, miniPC is expected to provide users with a better office experience through AI applications such as personal intelligence agents, and win the recognition of users.
The same principle applies to performance. While the M4 processor's improvement over the M1 can only be described as a reasonable performance boost from minor manufacturing process optimizations, the PC-side AI chips released in recent years have achieved revolutionary advancements compared to previous generations. The ROG NUC (2025) equipped with an RTX 5080 laptop GPU even rivals top-tier gaming PCs in performance.
As for the disadvantage, I think it is mainly in the Internet ecology.
In addition to Lenovo, most PC manufacturers are not doing a good job of coordinating between mobile phones, tablets and PCs. Even though Microsoft and Intel have launched their own cross-screen collaboration solutions, there is obviously a gap in the experience compared with Apple's Internet ecosystem which has been deeply cultivated for many years.
You may not believe it, but the ability to break down the same work across multiple devices is one of the reasons many people are willing to buy a Mac mini.
Another reason they're willing to buy the Mac mini is its "affordability". While priced at nearly 3,600 yuan, it doesn't offer much of a competitive edge against mini PCs. Yet the Mac mini has become a hot item that sells out quickly, even spurring production among accessory manufacturers. This clearly shows people can't resist the allure of an affordable Apple product.
It is not realistic for PC manufacturers to try to lure away users who pay for "scarcity experiences".
On January 7, 2025, CES (International Consumer Electronics Show) 2025 grandly opened as the most popular edition in history, marking a watershed moment for the tech world's transition from mobile to AI. The Lei Tech reporting team is on the ground in Las Vegas, USA, providing intensive live coverage of CES. Follow/search Lei Tech for first-hand content covering new product launches, industry insights, technical analyses, product experiences, and exclusive interviews from the front lines.
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Shenzhen Rising Sun Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.
