Will Apple’s Mac mini and iMac Pricing Mean More Hackintoshes?

How many other people took a look at the price tag for the new Mac mini and thought "Hackintosh time!"?

Many folks, myself included, have been waiting patiently for the new Mac mini. For a lot of us, a Mac mini is about budgetary constraints, which in the present economic downturn, is even more of an issue. As it had not had an update for 18 months, even though affordable, it represented poor value. So we waited.

Yesterday Apple finally released the new Mac mini. Features wise it's pretty nice, especially the extra USB ports. Cost wise, there's a lot of disappointment in the US that Apple didn't drop it to $500 (before you argue that with me, visit a few Apple-related forums.)

It's even worse though for those outside of the US. Here in Australia the base Mac min went up AU$200, the top end one, AU$251. So in Australia, you can't get a new Mac of any description for under AU$1000.

The high cost of the Aussie Mac mini can be attributed mainly to the high dollar (currently trading a $1.57, i.e. US1$ will cost you AU$1.57).

Now of course, you can argue that the new Macs minis are better specced (which they undoubtedly are) and so should cost the same or more. But I'd call that a furphy. I suspect it's more of a case of Apple can't sell a US$499 computer since it implied those are junk.

Looking at the iMac, we find with the updates to that range, that the cheapest iMac available in Australia is now AU$1999, that's AU$300 more than last week. Another price hike because of the poor Aussie dollar?

Nope. The interesting - and rather annoying - thing about the iMac range is Apple hasn't actually increased the price of the iMacs. All its done is delete the base model and add some minor spec changes like extra USB, no FW400, and different graphics. So suddenly you are forced to spend AU$300 more if you want an iMac - without there having been any price hike. Apple has cut the bottom iMac from its range. (It's also added a new top end model). This is most likely to maintain a gap between the top Mac mini and bottom iMac, since a top end Mac mini, if you have to buy a keyboard, mouse and screen, will nearly cost more than the previous base iMac at AU$1699. All the same, it sucks that Apple cut that iMac.

So where's it leave the dollar-shy Apple geek or nerd? Seriously looking at hackintoshes, that's where. For AU$100 less than the upper level Mac mini, I can get a Dell with fairly comparable specs to the mini - and it includes the screen, keyboard and mouse. That's not to say OS X will run on it, but it's a starting point.

I should add that I am a student - and partially self employed - and my wife is a student and part time employed. So I do have a very tight budget. But again, listening to the internet, it seems like others do too.

I'm not saying that the Mac minis are way too pricey. I'd still seriously consider one. However, what I am saying is they are no longer cheap enough for me to consider them alone. At AU$849 for the base model (as it used to be), it wasn't worth the effort to consider or build a hackintosh. But that AU$200 makes it a much more real consideration. Of course I may yet find that a hackintosh is not financially viable either.

Also, looking at recent history, the conversion of the price from the US to the Australian has actually slightly improved with this new model - although it would be nice if Apple still matched the dollar as it did with the original Mac minis. That way the mini would now be a more appealing AU$940.  But we always get told there's other factors that make it dearer... like, I suppose they have to convert it for right-hand drive, things like that.

All that considered, that AU$200 is still the difference between not looking and looking at hackintoshes. And in the US, I gather from others' comments, that US$100 that many felt the mini should have been cut by, is also the difference between considering hackintoshes or not.

I'm not blaming Apple for the price hike of the Mac minis, the dollar is bad, but I still am skeptical about Apple's claims that it can't build and sell an excellent Mac mini for US$499.

Apple, we know you said US$499 computers are junk and you don't want to go back on that, but really, it  wouldn't hurt you to sell a US$499 computer, would it now?