I bought a 450 MHz Cube for about $1,800 in Sept. 2000. Here's what the Mac mini delivers for $499 by contrast. (Thanks to Low-End Mac for the Cube's specs, and Apple's site for the Mac mini. These are the initial features of the Cube, which was refreshed slightly during its short lifetime.)
| Feature | Cube | Mac mini |
| Price | $1,799 or $2,299 | $499 or $599 |
| Price differentiator | Processor | Processor, hard drive capacity |
| Processor | 450 or 500 MHz G4 | 1.25 or 1.42 GHz G4 |
| Cache | 1 MB Level 2 Cache | 512K on-chip Level 2 Cache |
| Bus | 100 MHz | 167 MHz |
| RAM | 64 MB (PC100) expandable to 1.5 GB | 256 MB (PC2700) expandable to 1 GB |
| Drive | 20 GB | 40 or 80 GB |
| Video | VGA, ADC, 1920 x 1200 | VGA (with adapter), or DVI, 1920 x 1080 |
| S-Video/composite video | No | Requires separately sold adapter |
| Audio | Super-cool external speakers; no input | Built-in sound; no input |
| Optical drive | DVD-ROM/CD-ROM | Combo Drive or SuperDrive |
| FireWire | 2 FireWire 400 | 1 FireWire 400 |
| USB | 2 USB 1.1 | 2 USB 2.0 |
| Ethernet | 10/100 Mbps | 10/100 Mbps |
| Modem | v.90 | v.92 |
| Bluetooth | What? | Optional |
| AirPort | AirPort ready (11 Mbps) | AirPort Extreme ready (54 Mpbs) |
| Size | 9.8 x 7.7 x 7.7 inches | 2 x 6.5 by 6.5 inches |
| Weight | 14 lbs | 2.9 lbs |