Say ‘hello’ to this retro Macintosh dock deal — give your Apple Mac mini a classic makeover with a 5-inch screen, NVMe storage, and loads more ports waynewilliams@onmail.com (Wayne Williams) | usagoldmines.com

With Apple unveiling the new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chips, I couldn’t resist spotlighting this retro-inspired Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station for $131 (was $170) at Amazon when you tick the coupon box.

Ok, it might look like a miniature of the classic Macintosh. But this modern dock combines a built-in 5-inch HD display with an M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure, SD and microSD readers, USB-A and USB-C connectivity, DisplayPort, HDMI input and a 3.5mm audio jack. In the UK, the retro dock also gets a discount to £100 (was £135) at Amazon.

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Why we recommend it

Apple yesterday announced the new Mac mini M6 mini PC (we covered the news here). And while the new silicon offers improved performance, what I found notable was that the design and port placement remain the same.

So, whether you’re looking to connect your M4 Mac mini to a dock, or expand storage and connectivity once the M6 model lands, this is probably the coolest way to do it.

In our experience, the Apple Mac mini is one of the best mini PCs we’ve ever tested, and this gives the compact machine even more utility (while looking super-sweet).

The retro design is obviously the first thing you’ll notice. Slot a Mac mini inside and you get what looks like a tiny vintage Macintosh, complete with a working 5-inch screen that can display monitoring tools, notifications, music information, a clock or other secondary content.

There’s plenty of practical functionality behind the novelty, too. The built-in NVMe enclosure lets you add as much as 8TB of storage, and the card readers will be welcomed by photographers and other content creators.

You also get a handy selection of additional connections for peripherals and external displays.

What about the new M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini?

There’s particularly good timing to this deal because Apple just announced its new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro, with pre-orders now open and availability beginning September 22.

The M6 version promises up to 4x faster AI performance and 40% faster CPU performance than the M4 model, while the considerably more powerful M5 Pro configuration offers up to an 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU and 64GB of unified memory.

The Wokyis dock is currently advertised for the M4 Mac mini rather than Apple’s just-announced models, but as Apple has retained the same compact chassis design and port arrangement, it should work just fine with the new M6 and M5 Pro versions.

Price context & historical value

The Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station normally costs $169.99 at Amazon and is currently listed at $152.98. However, there’s an additional coupon available on the product page that brings the final price down to $130.03. It has been cheaper in the past, but only as low as $122, so this is still a very good deal. If you like the idea of having a mini Macintosh on your desk, it’s a product I’d definitely recommend.

If you’re in the US, remember to tick the coupon box before adding it to your cart so you don’t pay the higher price. In the UK, it’s a straight deal at an all-time low price via Amazon.co.uk.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station for Mac mini if...

You want to turn your Mac mini into something fun that stands out on your desk. The retro Macintosh styling is great, but the display, NVMe enclosure, card readers and additional ports mean it’s practical too.

If you’re planning to buy Apple’s newly announced M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini, the unchanged compact design means it should work just fine with the dock.

❌ Skip the Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station for Mac mini if...

If you simply need additional USB ports, there are much cheaper Mac mini hubs available. You’re paying extra here for the integrated display, retro enclosure and storage expansion as much as the basic connectivity.

I’d also consider at a faster dock if you’re buying one of the new Mac minis specifically for high-bandwidth professional work. The 10Gbps connection on this version could become the bottleneck when moving large amounts of data.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The built-in screen is useful and gives the dock its cool, retro appearance, but at 5 inches and 1280 x 720 it’s best considered a secondary information display.

There’s also an important limitation. This particular version of the M5 dock is limited to 10Gbps, so you won’t get anything approaching the maximum bandwidth available from Thunderbolt 5 on the new M5 Pro Mac mini. Wokyis does sell a separate 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 version for $221.08 (if you tick the coupon code), which will suit users who need much faster transfers.

Finally, the dock doesn’t include an NVMe SSD, so you’ll need to factor the cost of a drive into the equation if expandable storage is a reason for buying it.

• See all docking stations at Amazon