AWS Brings M1 Mac Minis to its Cloud

AWS Expands EC2 Compute with M1 Mac Minis

During the recent AWS re:Invent keynote, Amazon’s Chief Technology Officer, Werner Vogels, revealed that AWS will now include M1 Mac minis within its EC2 compute offerings.

Initial Mac Mini Integration

The introduction of Mac minis to the AWS cloud occurred just last year. These devices utilize the Thunderbolt port to interface with the AWS Nitro System, enabling their accessibility as EC2 instances, mirroring other available options.

The currently deployed minis are standard M1 8-core models, equipped with 16 GiB of memory.

Pricing and Availability

These new instances will be accessible in two initial regions: US West – Oregon and US East – North Virginia. The cost is set at $0.6498 per hour, and AWS’ Savings Plans will provide discount options.

AWS asserts that these updated machines deliver a “60% improvement in price performance” when compared to x86-based EC2 Mac instances, specifically for building and testing applications designed for iPhone and Mac.

Targeted Use Cases

The intended application for these machines remains consistent with the initial launch. The primary goal is to furnish developers with the necessary hardware to construct and evaluate applications intended for both Mac OS and iOS platforms.

Anticipated Rollout

This expansion likely comes as little surprise, considering the M1 Mac minis were already in distribution when the first Mac instances were introduced. AWS previously indicated that M1 machines would become available “early next year.” The rollout experienced a slight delay.

The availability of these instances further strengthens AWS’ commitment to providing a diverse range of compute options for developers.