We all marveled last year at how Apple made the M4 Mac mini one of the smallest PCs ever. But there’s an even smaller Mac now, and it’s totally usable–in a retro way.
Nick Gillard has made the Pico Mac Nano, a tiny replica of the original Macintosh. Measuring just under 2.5 inches tall (that’s 62 millimeters, or about half the height of a Coke can), with a 2-inch TFT panel for the display, an SD Card slot (though sadly not in the front where the floppy was), and a single USB-A port. A custom splitter cable supplies power to the Pico Mac Nano along with an extra USB-A port for connecting a keyboard or mouse.
The Pico Mac Nano runs an
emulated version of System
3.2.
At the heart of the Pico Mac Nano is a custom-designed printed circuit board (PCB) that runs Pico Micro Mac, a Mac 128K emulator–the “retro way” I mentioned. Gillard used 3D printing techniques to design and create the case that houses it all. It looks remarkably like a tiny original Macintosh, and old-school Apple fans will love it.
They love it so much, in fact, that Gillard has temporarily suspended orders until he can ramp up production due to demand for the Pico Micro Mac. Once they go on sale again, they come in two varieties: a Fully Assembled Collector’s Edition is £78 and comes in a special box designed like that of the original Mac 128K, while an assembled version without the box is £56. Gillard also sells the individual parts so you can buy them and build it yourself. Be sure to read the complete story behind the Pico Mac Nano.
You can sign up for alerts to be among the first to buy one when they go on sale again.
