Amazon Starts Filling Its AWS Data Centers With Mac Minis

Called EC2 Mac Instances, it runs on Mac Mini computers and is the first cloud compute service from a major vendor that works for Apple's macOS.

Amazon says that the new feature extends the flexibility, scalability, and cost benefits of AWS to all Apple developers as those creating apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Safari are able to provision and access macOS environments within seconds and take advantage of the pay-as-you-go pricing of AWS. The instances run on Mac mini hardware with 8th generation Intel Core i7 processors, not the newer Mac mini hardware with Apple's M1 chips. Basically, app makers can create and test in the AWS cloud.

The extent to which Amazon and Apple partnered on the initiative isn't yet clear, but an Amazon news release quotes Bob Borchers, Apple's vice president of worldwide marketing, saying Apple is "thrilled to make development for Apple's platforms accessible in new ways, and combine the performance and reliability of our world-class hardware with the scalability of AWS". EC2 Mac Instances are available now in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific with more regions to come.

Amazon is entering an arena dominated by small companies like MacStadium and Mac Mini Vault.

Amazon has announced that it is now offering EC2 Mac instances, giving people who develop on Apple's platforms the chance to get everything into the cloud.

"We wanted to make sure that we support the Mac Mini that you would get if you went to the Apple store and you bought a Mac Mini", said AWS VP David Brown. And normally, you're paying for at least a month - or a longer period of time to get a discount.

"You can literally launch these machines in minutes and have a working machine available to you", said Brown.