Anyone else struggling to choose a model?

[BootLoxes]

I can’t decide between the mini and the air.

I use my ipad to do all my work (there are a few struggles but I found workarounds. The air would make it much easier though)

And I have a gaming desktop at home (although the gpu died so I need to get a new one soon)


So both my at home and on the go needs are fulfilled so the advantages of 1 over the other doesn’t matter much outside the really nice screen on the air. My gaming desktop uses a TN panel so it isnt the best in terms of color.

I keep telling myself I am going to pick one up but get stuck at the order screen just looking at both models.

First world problems are real man. This is going to be my first Mac and am worried I will choose wrong.

 

[Nate Spencer]

I personally have the MBA 16GB/1TB ssd it is great. Performance is great on everything but emulating Windows/Linux x86-64 which is no surprise. I had to hunt down my printer driver. I have been happy with the Air. I have 15" 2017 MBP quad i7 maxed out for that era for work. Unless you need a that little extra pop in sustained performance or love the touchbar either should be fine. I would say do not buy into unified RAM is some sort of RAM doubler (90s reference there). Buy what you would otherwise.

 

[justinf77]

Get the Air. No brainer. If you do all your work on an iPad now, working with the Air will be much easier and it’s just such a nice experience working on a portable Mac. You can always plug in to an external monitor if you want that desktop experience.

 

[delsoul]

I have the pro and I got it due to the fan, the extra battery, and the speakers. In all honesty, it's probably complete overkill for myself and the air m1 base would be completely more than enough. I'm pretty positive the air sounds like it's right up your alley, as well.

 

[hugodrax]

Mac mini 16GB/1TB SSD is a solid config. I got one delivered unexpectedly on the 17th of Nov LOL. very happy with it. Fast as hell for video editing etc.

 

[7thson]

If you see yourself using the laptop as a laptop, get the Air. However since you have all the peripherals for a desk top, the Mini is solid 1st choice IMO. I have a MBP that primarily sits at my desk because my iPad mini covers my browsing and assorted other needs most of the time, making the MBP in effect a desktop. Yes I could pack it up and use it while traveling but I haven’t and most likely won’t. I rarely watch movies, etc on my iPad or Mac so that’s not a consideration for me. It may be for you.
With the Mini, you’ll have more ports and one less device to charge. Also, it’s necessary to use a wired keyboard and mouse to set up a Mini, which you most likely have for your gaming desktop.

 

[BootLoxes]

If you see yourself using the laptop as a laptop, get the Air. However since you have all the peripherals for a desk top, the Mini is solid 1st choice IMO. I have a MBP that primarily sits at my desk because my iPad mini covers my browsing and assorted other needs most of the time, making the MBP in effect a desktop. Yes I could pack it up and use it while traveling but I haven’t and most likely won’t. I rarely watch movies, etc on my iPad or Mac so that’s not a consideration for me. It may be for you.
With the Mini, you’ll have more ports and one less device to charge. Also, it’s necessary to use a wired keyboard and mouse to set up a Mini, which you most likely have for your gaming desktop.

I cant use a magic keyboard and trackpad? I do have a mechanical keyboard and wired razer mouse but that is still a shock to hear.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I can’t decide between the mini and the air.

I use my ipad to do all my work (there are a few struggles but I found workarounds. The air would make it much easier though)

And I have a gaming desktop at home (although the gpu died so I need to get a new one soon)


So both my at home and on the go needs are fulfilled so the advantages of 1 over the other doesn’t matter much outside the really nice screen on the air. My gaming desktop uses a TN panel so it isnt the best in terms of color.

I keep telling myself I am going to pick one up but get stuck at the order screen just looking at both models.

First world problems are real man. This is going to be my first Mac and am worried I will choose wrong.

I think it honestly depends on what suits your workflow best. If you repair your gaming machine and find that a Mac mini would be redundant, then go Air. If you find that, maybe you could be just as productive (on the go, that is) on a larger iPad (like going from iPad mini to Air/11" Pro or going from Air/11" Pro to 12.9" Pro), then maybe I'd get the mini and eventually alter your iPad setup that way (as even a 12.9" iPad Pro is more portable than a MacBook Air and better to type [assuming an attached keyboard] on than smaller sized iPads).

 

[7thson]

I cant use a magic keyboard and trackpad? I do have a mechanical keyboard and wired razer mouse but that is still a shock to hear.

Just for the setup. For some reason, at this time, you need a wired keyboard and mouse to set it up. This article covers it:

Apple Mac mini with M1 review: over-performer

The fastest Mac with an M1 chip.

www.theverge.com

 

[gregpod9]

A couple of days ago, I received my MBA SG M1/16GB/512GB/8C GPU. The performance in it is great and its been good for my usage. I'm fairly happy with it, but having second thoughts about it at the same time. I've been thinking of returning it for the MBP M1. The MBP M1/16GB/512GB is out of my budget, however the MBP M1/8GB/512GB is in my budget and its cost is $50 more than my MBA.
Here are my requirements:
1. Screen quality must be as good or better than the MBA
2. I don't care about about the speaker quality and built in audio dac. I have the AudioQuest DragonFly RED DAC, the Logitech Z623 THX Speaker Set and the Sennheiser HD598 SR Headphones.
3. Built-in Mic quality must be good.
4. I live in Texas and summers get hot down here, I'm not sure if the MBA will get hot and throttle a lot during the summer by doing light work, internet surfing, audio/video streaming, and other basic tasks.
5. I might be doing some light video editing and light photo editing for my business in the future
6. Not sure if I would like the touch bar. According to my research, it's split even between people who like it and people who don't like it.

This is a tough decision for me from going to a MBA M1 to MBP M1 or keeping the MBA. I feel like my MBA M1/16GB/512GB/8C GPU on paper is a high-end laptop while the MBP M1/8GB/512GB feels like mid-range laptop due to its amount of RAM, but in reality it high-end due to its extra components over MBA. I really need advice on the best option and why
1. Stick with my MBA SG M1/16GB/512GB/8C GPU
2. Purchase MBP SG M1/8GB/512GB

Also if you had or in the same situation as me: What made you keep the MBA M1 over the MBP M1? or What made you switch from the MBA M1 to the MBP M1?

 

[KPOM]

I can’t decide between the mini and the air.

I use my ipad to do all my work (there are a few struggles but I found workarounds. The air would make it much easier though)

And I have a gaming desktop at home (although the gpu died so I need to get a new one soon)


So both my at home and on the go needs are fulfilled so the advantages of 1 over the other doesn’t matter much outside the really nice screen on the air. My gaming desktop uses a TN panel so it isnt the best in terms of color.

I keep telling myself I am going to pick one up but get stuck at the order screen just looking at both models.

First world problems are real man. This is going to be my first Mac and am worried I will choose wrong.

You can't go wrong with either. That said, I'd go with the Air based on what you have described. You get about 90-95% of the performance of the mini, plus you get a built-in display and touchpad in a device you can take with you.

Welcome to the world of Macs! IMO the Mac is best experienced with a notebook. Apple touchpads are the best in the business. M1's biggest strength is its performance per watt. That's best experienced on a blazingly fast notebook with exceptionally good battery life.

 

[BootLoxes]

I guess I should go into detail on how I use the computers. Maybe that might help.

I surprisingly do very little gaming. Roughly 1 hour a week at best but keep a gaming pc around for the occasional title that grabs my attention. I mostly use my gaming pc for video editing (I do 1080p only because I hate how much space 4k takes up) for my small youtube channel.


I edit on my pc with davinci free which doesnt use the gpu so video editing is far from smooth unless i generate proxy media which takes up so much space.

In addition I do a lot of 3d modeling on my pc, mostly characters in zbrush.


For the ipad I use the affinity programs (I have them on my desktop as well but do not use them often) to get through my work day. The biggest hinderance is the lack of affinity publisher on the ipad. I am a teacher so making worksheets is very hard on my ipad since I have yet to find a decent layout program.

I also do 3d modeling in a sculpting program like nomad, and video editing on lumafusion.


My goal is to position the mac where I can do all my photo and video editing and worksheets, relegate my ipad mostly to the classroom, and then leave my pc strictly for gaming and modeling (until my software gets brought over to AS, then my pc would be strictly for gaming)