It all started because I wanted a better keyboard for my iPhone. I had no idea that, in looking for one, I’d accidentally create the hybrid Apple computer of my dreams.[1]
After Apple announced Apple Intelligence with ‘New Siri’, and redesigned ‘Type to Siri’, I sought out an attachable keyboard for my iPhone. The promised AI features didn’t materialize and I was left wondering what else I could use this mini keyboard for…
Contents
Naked Robotic Core
How did I get from a mini keyboard to a MacPhone? I found a problem space, started with a core principle, followed a few rules and evolved the forms from those; a device neither a phone nor a laptop, based on a ‘naked robotic core’[2], adhering to the rules of computing happiness (use a Mac and buy a portable computer) step 2. ???? step 3. MacPhone!
A MacPhone is NOT an iPad but it faces the same question i.e. what’s it far better at than a MacBook or an iPhone?
The Best Computer
Apple made a Mac that fits in the palm of your hand and… it’s a desktop. Even a Macworld reviewer choosing between a Mac mini and Mac Studio receives the nerd recommendation to ‘just buy a MacBook’! Why Apple’s entry-level Mac when the MacBook Neo now exists? The Mac mini fits in the palm of your hand – it’s shorter in length than Apple’s portable devices…
| Device | Length (") | Width (") | Thickness (") |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| iPhone 13 mini | 5.18 | 2.53 | |
| iPhone 17 | 5.89 | 2.81 | |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | 6.43 | 3.07 | |
| iPad mini | 7.69 | 5.3 | |
| iPad | 9.79 | 7.07 | |
| iPad Pro 13 | 11.09 | 8.4 | |
| MacBook Neo | 11.71 | 8.12 | |
| MacBook Air 13 | 11.97 | 8.46 | |
| MacBook Pro 16 | 14.01 | 9.77 | |
| Infinite Jest * | 9.55 | 6.55 | 2.25 |
*hardcover[3]
it’s smaller than many books[4] – and it’s a desktop naked robotic core[5]:
Meme the mantra with me, the best computer is the one that’s with you. If the MacPhone is mini enough to use while in line at the coffee shop then it’s better than a MacBook.
Common Sense
Apple made a Mac that can be used in the palm of your hand… it’s an iPhone. Even me, recommending between the MacPhone or an iPad, would suggest ‘just buy an iPhone’. Why the MacPhone when iPhone exists? The MacPhone mini keyboard fits in the palm of your hand – it’s smaller than Apple’s phones…
| Device | Length (") | Width (") | Screen Size (") |
|---|---|---|---|
| mini keyboard | 2 | 2.8 | ∞ |
| iPhone 4 | 4.50 | 2.31 | 3.5 |
| iPhone 5 | 4.87 | 2.31 | 4.0 |
| iPhone 6 | 5.44 | 2.64 | 4.7 |
| iPhone X | 5.65 | 2.79 | 5.8 |
| iPhone 13 mini | 5.18 | 2.53 | 5.4 |
| iPhone 15 | 5.81 | 2.82 | 6.1 |
| iPhone 16 Pro | 5.89 | 2.81 | 6.3 |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | 6.43 | 3.07 | 6.9 |
| iPhone 20 * | ? | ? | ? |
And it can be used with one thumb – irrespective of screen size.
It’s common sense. If the MacPhone is easier to use while holding a cup of coffee then it’s better than an iPhone.
BYODKM
BYODKM: slogan. Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard and Mouse
BYOB: bad acronym. Bring Your Own Battery
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Display (Wisecoco 6" Portable Monitor 2K Display with Built-in Battery)
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Keyboard + Trackpad (ZitaoTech P9981 Pro ZMK BLE&USB Keyboard)
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Power Inverter and Battery (VoltFun MiniPal 1[6] and INIU P62 20000mAh 65W USBC Power Bank)
Put them all together and your Macintosh evolves into a Macinhand.
MacPhone
Macinhand: Display, Keyboard, Mouse, Battery.
iPhone: display, virtual keyboard/mouse (touchscreen), battery, cameras, cellular, GPS, microphone etc[7]
MacPhone (1984): “it’s Strange: It’s a telephone that straps onto the side of your Macintosh”
MacPhone (2026): it’s strange; it’s an iPhone that straps onto the side of your Macinhand.
Every non-obsolete iPhone is longer than a Mac mini and, attached, it doesn’t quite fit in hand. Of course you don’t need to have a Mac in hand while using it – you could put the Mac in a pocket.
Take them apart and your Macinhand evolves into a MacPhone.
And then might as well add a phone (virtual) keyboard/mouse and a phone display.[8]
Magic Mac
Macinhand : one-hand keyboard+mouse ::
MacPhone : iPhone ::
Magic Mac : Magic Trackpad
The Magic Trackpad, Apple’s nicest input device for Macs[9], is longer and wider than a Mac mini and, attached, doesn’t quite fit in a pocket. Of course you don’t need to keep a MacPhone in a pocket to carry it – you could wear it (a trend Apple latched onto last year by releasing the iPhone cross-body strap).
Strap them together and your MacPhone evolves into a Magic Mac.
And then might as well add a wearable (voice) keyboard and a wearable display[10].
The Future Is Unfolding
Macinhand, MacPhone and Magic Mac - how much further will the evolution go? Who can say what the future holds if even Apple accedes and the next iPhone folds?[11]
The rumours about the hardware have solidified; the iPhone Fold/Ultra (sp?) will be the first iPhone in over a decade shorter than 5” and small enough to be used with one thumb. The rumours about the software are still up in the air; will it support Sidecar for the Mac and, with enabled touchscreen support in MacOS, could BYODKM for a Mac be encapsulated by an unfolding iPhone?
It’s a new day at Apple[12]. This isn’t me shooting my shot[13]; Apple won’t make a MacPhone[14] in any of these grotesque forms. Yet I’m compelled to pose the questions: what is the future of iPadOS Post–MacBook Neo? What is the future of iOS when the iPhone can just be an app on a Mac that’s always with you? The Mac was once the hub of our digital lives and I hope it can be that again.
The Mac mini lives large…[] The MacPhone lives at large.
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This post’s opening flow is copied (word for word, bar for bar) from MacStories’s MacPad: How I Created the Hybrid Mac-iPad Laptop and Tablet That Apple Won’t Make and Apple TV Go: How a USB-C Mod Spiraled into an iPad-Based tvOS Workstation. ↩
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“There is a concept that exists, and is popular amongst the Apple tech space in particular, called the Naked Robotic Core principle. This idea has been largely used to explain the progression of the iPhone (and iPad, to some degree) in design through the years. The core principal is that you boil the main device down to as small and simple of a form factor as possible.” - James Hicks’ Fighting the Naked Robotic Core ↩
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An Infinite Jest hardcover copy is the handheld of choice for the coffee shop dwelling ‘performative man’ predecessor to the matcha male and Mac mini bro. ↩
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i.e. the Mac mini M4 can be carried in a jacket. If Steve Jobs revealed the MacBook Air by pulling it out of a manila envelope, I’d like to believe he would have revealed the revolutionary Mac mini M4 by pulling it out of his pocket. ↩
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e.g. u/3DBROOKLYN’s Made my first cyberdeck, Scott Yu-Jan’s Portable M4 Mac mini, u/harrybootoo’s Portable Mac Mini + Xreal One Pro ↩
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The VoltFun MiniPal 1 is the first DC converter machined specifically for the Mac mini M4. In addition, it supports seamless switchover between two USBC powered ports which isn’t offered by previous options (e.g. portable batteries with AC ports, USBC PSU hacks or DC PSU mods). The second power supply machined specifically for the Mac mini M4 will probably be the PwrMini P1. It goes a step further by incorporating a battery and plugs into MacOS native UPS support. ↩
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Almost all of these missing features can be replaced with one peripheral or the other but it still won’t compare to Continuity Camera, iPhone Mirroring, iPhone Hotspot etc acquired by sticking an iPhone to your Mac. ↩
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phone (virtual) keyboard/mouse
- Bluetouch is a piss-poor iPhone app whose only redeeming feature is that it pairs plainly over bluetooth to a Mac as a keyboard+mouse. Other apps, e.g. Remote Mouse, require an installed Mac client and might not work at the login screen. Best to have both installed and a RDP app, e.g. Screens, as well to cover your bases. Too bad Edovia discontinued their delightful TouchPad app.
phone display ↩
- Phone displays are marketed as selfie screens but are compatible with Macs as low res monitors. The best available are Shimbol CP5 Ultra (5“ 1080p, wireless, built-in battery, touchscreen) and Dasung Link 2 (6.7” Eink 60Hz, wireless, bundled battery, touchscreen). Neither good enough to be a main monitor but suitable for airplaying a video or book.
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The Magic Mouse is barely any competition so that’s not saying much. Apple’s trackpads are still widely recognized as the best in the industry and it’s hard to give that up. My personal favourite was the ‘SirIve remote’ (so christened because that design had his fingerprints all over it) which was a terrible TV controller but with a gyroscope/airmouse, microphone, trackpad and, most importantly, BetterTouchTool customizable gesture support, was a terrific tool for MacOS. Alas it’s long discontinued and unsupported… but I digress… um you’ll want a Magic Trackpad (or some reliable access to MacOS gesture input) if you want to utilize iPhone mirroring. It’s sooo much nicer with it. ↩
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wearable (voice) keyboard
- Apple’s already bought a voice input startup and Joanna Stern is explaining how This New Tech Might Kill the Keyboard (and referencing my pictured product from Metadox). A different approach relatively still undercover is Vox by Augmental.tech
wearble display ↩
- Qidi One was a glimpse of a future that is finally almost here. Between the Snap Spectacles, Unseen Reality URXR One, rumored Meta Phoenix and Viture next-gen glasses surely one of them will pan out this fall?
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Mark Gurman I suppose; it’s happening as he foretold? ↩
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Goodbye, Tim Apple ↩
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see Marco Arment's A letter to John Ternus for that ↩
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Mark Gurman already claimed that Apple's wearable monitor for Mac is cancelled. ↩
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An unfortunate turn of phrase considering you’ll have to be living large to afford it at the RAMamgeddon prices.
