The world's smallest iMac is the size of a drink can and can play Minecraft

Worlds Smallest iMac (Image credit: Michael Pick)

What you need to know

Sometimes the smallest iMac is just too big.
That's when you need a 7-inch iMac instead.
Someone made one, complete with better cooling than the real iMac.

The smallest iMac Apple makes runs at 21.5 inches. That's pretty small, but it's nowhere near as small as this 7-inch iMac that someone created. And it looks amazing.

As tall as a drink can, this 3D-printed iMac houses a Raspberry Pi and a standard 7-inch aftermarket screen that probably costs less than a Lightning cable. You can watch how engineer Michael Pick created it below, but be warned – it isn't for the squeamish. He had to cut an Ethernet port in half and remove some USB ports and it's enough to make any tech fan wince!

World's smallest iMac build! In this build, I design and 3D print a miniature iMac. I begin by gently modifying/cutting a Raspberry Pi 4 with my Dremel to fit inside my ultra slim iMac case. (Because after all, who needs extra ports on a Mac, right?) I then paint, prime, and assemble my mini iMac and finally benchmark it by playing Minecraft.

Oh yeah, and it runs Minecraft.

From what I gather the Raspberry Pi runs a build of Linux called iRaspbian that makes the miniature machine look like it's running Mac OSX from back in the day. And it works surprisingly well!

Check the video out and warm up the 3D printer.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.