HP has a new $799 mini PC for fans of the Mac mini form factor

HP has a new mini PC on sale in the U.S., and it is difficult to look at the machine without thinking of Apple’s Mac mini. The OmniDesk Mini has a similarly compact footprint and starts at $799.99, making it $100 cheaper than the recently announced M6 Mac mini.

The similarities mostly stop there. The base OmniDesk Mini is powered by Intel’s Core 3 304, a five-core, five-thread Wildcat Lake processor. It comes with 8GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 256GB SSD. HP also offers Core 5 320 configurations with up to 16GB of memory. So, despite the Mac mini-like dimensions, this is better viewed as a compact Windows PC than a direct rival to Apple’s latest desktop.

HP has packed plenty into a very small box

The OmniDesk Mini measures 5.12 x 5.12 x 1.89 inches and weighs just over a pound. For someone trying to free up desk space, that is probably its biggest attraction. HP has still managed to fit a useful selection of ports into the chassis. There are three USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.0b, Ethernet, and several audio connections. The machine can also support up to three displays.

Storage can be expanded through two M.2 slots, but the LPDDR5X memory is onboard and cannot be upgraded later. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 come standard, with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 available as an option.

Who should actually buy the OmniDesk Mini instead of a Mac mini?

The bigger problem for HP is sitting only $100 higher up the price ladder. Apple’s M6 Mac mini starts at $899 and comes with 16GB of unified memory as standard. The Core 3 304 puts the base OmniDesk Mini in a much lower performance tier, so the $100 saving comes with a substantial compromise. Even the higher-end Core 5 320 configurations do not really change what this machine is.

I would mainly consider the OmniDesk Mini if Windows is a requirement or if Linux is part of the plan. For anyone comfortable with macOS, not strapped for cash, and willing to wait for the M6 Mac mini to ship, spending the extra $100 looks like the much stronger purchase.