Intel’s NUC Exit Is a Boon for Other Mini-PC Makers

Intel’s NUC series is popular among technical professionals for personal use as a main computer or a home server, as well as in the workplace as a main computer or an Internet of things (IoT) device. On 11 July, Intel announced the “end of direct investment” for the NUC product line, but also a non-exclusive deal with Asus for existing product designs and the right to develop future NUC products.

The popularity of NUCs prompted traditional manufacturers to market similar compact PCs, primarily for business and enthusiast use. CCS Insight surveyed the Intel NUC community on Reddit to gauge the priorities of NUC users, how they use NUCs, what features are most important to them and how Intel’s exit influences their purchasing decisions.

Navigating the Middle Ground of Pre-Built and Self-Built PCs

Intel typically provides NUCs as DIY kits, giving buyers the responsibility of adding their own memory, storage and operating system. It offered a small number of models with RAM, SSD and Windows preinstalled; likewise, value-added resellers offered Intel NUCs with buyer-configurable components, providing a system ready to plug into the mains immediately after unboxing. Despite those options, 90% of respondents bought a DIY kit, and only 6% overall cited this flexibility as the most important feature of buying an Intel NUC.

NUC branding is synonymous with the diminutive 10-square-centimetre mainboard, though later models included discrete GPUs in larger systems for improved graphics performance, and some others provided PCI Express slots for user-replaceable GPUs, like a full-size PC. Traditional NUCs were the most popular, with 80% of respondents saying they’ve bought one in the past; 26% of respondents have purchased an Intel NUC with discrete GPUs and 14% took an Intel NUC with a user-replaceable GPU. Notably, 64% have purchased more than one Intel NUC in the past five years.

Looking to Alternative Suppliers

Prior to Intel’s announcement, 74% of respondents planned to buy a NUC in the next 12 months. This figure is somewhat higher than expected, in view of weak demand for PCs noted in financial reports from Intel and PC-makers. That said, current oversupply of DRAM and NAND components is reflected in deep discounts for RAM and SSDs at retail, improving the attraction of NUCs. Likewise, over 70% of respondents indicated they work in an IT field. Anecdotally, IT workers upgrade their computers more frequently than the general public.

Demand remains high, despite Intel’s announcement — over 94% indicated they would still buy an Intel NUC or similar offering from another brand, as opposed to going for a full-size PC or a smaller single-board computer like a Raspberry Pi. Brand loyalty among respondents is similarly interesting — nearly two-thirds don’t own mini PCs from other suppliers. Of those who do, half use Intel CPUs, with a quarter using Arm, which includes Apple-silicon processors found in the Mac mini and Mac Studio.

Interestingly, Apple was the most frequently cited company among respondents who previously bought a mini PC from a maker other than Intel. When asked about which suppliers they’re most interested in buying from, Apple was second only to Asus. Notably, Apple’s shift from Intel to its internally developed processors using the Arm instruction set was completed earlier in 2023, and has driven new users to Mac systems, with CEO Tim Cook noting that “almost half” of Mac buyers in Apple’s fiscal 3Q23 were new to the product.

Conversely, Microsoft’s efforts in Windows on Arm haven’t fared as well, although this is in far earlier stages of commercialization. Notebook PCs with Windows on Qualcomm Snapdragon processors are available from Microsoft and brands like Asus at retail, though the only NUC-like option is the now out-of-stock Windows Dev Kit 2023, formerly Project Volterra, made available to developers by Microsoft. None of the respondents who said they use Windows on a NUC also own this device; three-quarters of respondents weren’t interested, for a variety of reasons.

Bringing Enthusiast-Class Products to the Mainstream

Although the majority of respondents primarily use Windows on NUCs, these are popular with Linux users as NUCs officially support Linux and most drivers are typically available prepackaged in modern Linux distributions. We found that 37% of respondents mainly use Linux, with 9% using NUCs for virtualization software like Proxmox or VMware ESXi.

Linux support is useful for a variety of IoT applications — Intel and Amazon Web Services (AWS) cross-promoted the use of NUCs with AWS IoT Greengrass, an open-source secure edge runtime. When asked about the most important feature for buyers, Linux support was second only to small physical size. Although the overall proportion of respondents using NUCs for IoT was rather small, those respondents most often indicated they’ve purchased more than 50 NUCs in the past five years. As with any commodity, mini PCs are a volume business — and ensuring support for Linux and IoT applications should be a priority for any company looking to fill the relative void created by Intel’s exit.

Making a Big Impact with a Small Design

Intel’s NUC has gained an enthusiastic set of customers over the past decade, and its success has led to a variety of competitors. These rivals often deliver the core features that make NUCs good for everyday desktop use but typically fall short on functionality and support that enterprises and enthusiasts rely on for mass deployment in IoT contexts or as micro servers.

I expect that Asus will claim a significant portion of the market share vacated by Intel, but there is room for alternative suppliers to gain a foothold by catering to enterprise needs. If you’re looking for more insights from our poll of Intel NUC users or about the utility of mini PCs at the edge, please get in touch.