Does the M1 mac mini have any value over the M1 macbook air?

[tuc]

Before the Apple Silicon macs were introduced a few days ago, here was the difference between the mac mini and the MacBook air

intel macbook air has: built-in retina display, keyboard, trackpad, webcam, microphone, battery system

intel mac mini has: more capable processor, RAM DIMM slots, additional thunderbolt/usb-c ports (4 vs 2), usb-a ports, ethernet, HDMI

But now with the M1 machines, the mac mini has the same processor (or close enough, 7 vs 8 GPU cores), the same memory, the same thunderbolt/usb-c ports. The only things it has that the MacBook air doesn't are usb-a ports, ethernet, and HDMI (all of which can be added to the MacBook air via a cheap USB-C hub with pass-through power, such as this one https://amzn.com/B08C9HZ5YT for $35). That and an active cooling system. There are advantages, but they are pretty slim.

I'm a mac mini guy. My main machine is a mac mini. My wife, parents, in-laws, and uncle also use a mac mini. But I don't know if I can recommend the M1 mac mini over the M1 MacBook air. The MacBook air is $300 more ($335 more if you include the cheap USB-C hub) and you get a lot for the extra $300.

Obviously, if you already have a quality pair of 4K displays that you want to drive, then the M1 mac mini makes sense for you. I'm not saying there aren't people that would prefer the mini. But it seems like there are fewer of those people now.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Well. Ones a laptop and ones a desktop sorry, to state the obvious.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

The mini has an active cooling system, as you mentioned, which is one of the biggest advantages over the Air. It allows it to sustain heavy load for a lot longer than the Air.

 

[bwillwall]

Basically we won’t know how important having a fan is until it’s been tested by users.

 

[SanderEvers]

Mini:
- Is smaller
- Connects to existing monitors or TV, up to 2 screens (has an HDMI out, no need for a dongle)
- Has ethernet port (no need for a dongle)
- Has 2 USB A ports.
- Has a fan.
- Is cheaper.

Air:
- Has a built in screen (+ 1 external);
- Keyboard and trackpad;
- and FaceTime camera

Pro:
- Same as Air
- Has a fan
- Has a touchbar

If you want a computer that you don't need to carry around and connects to your existing monitor and keyboard; get the Mini.
Do you want a computer that's mobile as well; get the Air.
Do you use it for heavy load and have money to burn; get the Pro.

 

[Sanpete]

Only the Mini will drive two external monitors, it appears.

 

[Fomalhaut]

The mini has an active cooling system, as you mentioned, which is one of the biggest advantages over the Air. It allows it to sustain heavy load for a lot longer than the Air.

It will be interesting to see how well this performs in practice. Curiously the only MacMini benchmark on Geekbench show the Mini running at a lower clock speed than the Air and Pro. This may be an engineering prototype though, so let's wait to see a few dozen results.

Geekbench is a poor measure of sustained performance though, so I'll be waiting for the usual tests for CineBench, FCP exports, and gaming performance.

 

[Fomalhaut]

Mini:
- Is smaller
- Connects to existing monitors or TV (has an HDMI out, no need for a dongle)
- Has ethernet port (no need for a dongle)
- Has 2 USB A ports.
- Has a fan.
- Is cheaper.

Air:
- Has a built in screen;
- Keyboard and trackpad;
- and FaceTime camera

Pro:
- Same as Air
- Has a fan
- Has a touchbar

If you want a computer that you don't need to carry around and connects to your existing monitor and keyboard; get the Mini.
Do you want a computer that's mobile as well; get the Air.
Do you use it for heavy load and have money to burn; get the Pro.

Plus a big one that you forgot:

The Air and Pro only support a single external display. The Mini supports two.

 

[jazz1]

I actually ordered the M1 MB Air and then cancelled it and ordered the M1 MacMini. It would have been a harder decision if it were not for the Pandemic. Sheltering at home, with no trips to the coffee shop, brewpub, or restaurants have certainly minimized my need for portable computing. I do have an iPad Pro with cellular service,so I don’t actually need to be anchored to a desk.

I also plan to use two monitors, so as noted the MacMini supports this and the M1 laptops do not. I’m not sure if a dock with the laptops might solve that?

I’m sure someday in the future i will want a laptop. But by that time I think there will be an M2.

 

[SanderEvers]

Plus a big one that you forgot:

The Air and Pro only support a single external display. The Mini supports two.

Well.. The Mini supports two displays, just like the laptops. (That includes the built in display)

 

[Fomalhaut]

Well.. The Mini supports two displays, just like the laptops. (That includes the built in display)

True enough, but I think a lot of folks will be disappointed that they can't run two external displays on the laptops (which you can with the Intel models).

I'm not sure whether a DisplayLink dock would be a workaround or not.

This might drive the adoption of those super-wide 32"+ displays

 

[pshufd]

DisplayLink setups require and are quite sensitive to drivers. I recall one version of Snow Leopard, .4 or .5 had severe problems with DisplayLink and the solution was .6. So I tried .6 and it didn't work. I tried it over and over again and they eventually told me that everything was fixed in Mojave. I couldn't upgrade to Mojave at the time so I had to find another solution.

Will it just run under Rosetta? I'd guess not. But only one way to find out.

 

[xander09]

The only things it has that the MacBook air doesn't are usb-a ports, ethernet, and HDMI (all of which can be added to the MacBook air via a cheap USB-C hub with pass-through power, such as this one https://amzn.com/B08C9HZ5YT for $35).

I took a look at that usb-c hub and it only supports 4K@30Hz (which is not a great experience). It should be fine for anyone not wanting to run a 4K display though. 4K@60 capable dongles and docks tend to cost more.

But I think you might be undervaluing the value of HDMI, USB-A, and Ethernet ports that are warrantied to function AND likely don't chew up valuable Thunderbolt throughput (don't know how the mini's PCI bus is configured yet). We don't know how well existing Thunderbolt & USB-C docks will work with the M1 Macs. They might be fine, or we could find that the M1 macs are particular about the controller chips in docks. It's my wagering the latter that pushed me to preorder a mini instead of an Air (though the cost difference between it and the mini for similar performance makes it very tempting).

 

[pshufd]

I took a look at that usb-c hub and it only supports 4K@30Hz (which is not a great experience). It should be fine for anyone not wanting to run a 4K display though. 4K@60 capable dongles and docks tend to cost more.

But I think you might be undervaluing the value of HDMI, USB-A, and Ethernet ports that are warrantied to function AND likely don't chew up valuable Thunderbolt throughput (don't know how the mini's PCI bus is configured yet). We don't know how well existing Thunderbolt & USB-C docks will work with the M1 Macs. They might be fine, or we could find that the M1 macs are particular about the controller chips in docks. It's my wagering the latter that pushed me to preorder a mini instead of an Air (though the cost difference between it and the mini for similar performance makes it very tempting).

I'm running 2x4k @ 30 hz (my video card won't do 4k @ 60 hz). Figuring out whether or not video cards do with 4k is not always easy. 30hz is fine for what I do (trading), email, web browsing, videos, etc. 4k support still isn't great with a lot of video cards out there. The high-end cards will do it but they are usually aimed at gamers and I don't need the gaming punch of high-end cards - just the ability to display 4x4k.

 

[russell_314]

Well. Ones a laptop and ones a desktop sorry, to state the obvious.

This so much. If you're not sure what of these two models meets your needs then I wouldn't recommend ordering just yet. It sounds like the OP is just ordering something because it's new and shiny instead of something that will meet his needs and serve a purpose. That's the first step to disappointed customer that will be posting later about how unhappy he is with it.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Geekbench is a poor measure of sustained performance though, so I'll be waiting for the usual tests for CineBench, FCP exports, and gaming performance.

This is one of the glaring weaknesses of the Geekbench synthetic benchmark.

Presumably the fanless M1 MacBook Air will thermal throttle when it hits its maximum temperature at peak load. When is this? After two minutes? Three minutes? Five minutes?

I routinely do Handbrake encodes that last hours on my Mac mini 2018. When I had one, the same thermal throttling kicked in pretty quickly on my Intel Core i7 Retina MacBook 2017 (the fanless one).

My expectation is that the M1 Mac mini will have considerably superior performance for extended tasks versus the M1 MacBook Air even if both are based on the same SoC that has the same peak performance.

I can run as fast as the last year's Boston Marathon winner but I might only be able to do it for a few hundred yards.

A lot of people fixate on boost clocks, peak numbers, etc. but much of it depends on longer duration performance. Running a three-minute benchmark isn't exactly what I would an accurate sample of usage.

 

[pshufd]

This is one of the glaring weaknesses of the Geekbench synthetic benchmark.

Presumably the fanless M1 MacBook Air will thermal throttle when it hits its maximum temperature at peak load. When is this? After two minutes? Three minutes? Five minutes?

I routinely do Handbrake encodes that last hours on my Mac mini 2018. When I had one, the same thermal throttling kicked in pretty quickly on my Intel Core i7 Retina MacBook 2017 (the fanless one).

My expectation is that the M1 Mac mini will have considerably superior performance for extended tasks versus the M1 MacBook Air even if both are based on the same SoC that has the same peak performance.

I can run as fast as the last year's Boston Marathon winner but I might only be able to do it for a few hundred yards.

A lot of people fixate on boost clocks, peak numbers, etc. but some much of it depends on longer duration performance.

Maybe not this guy:

 

[russell_314]

This is one of the glaring weaknesses of the Geekbench synthetic benchmark.

Presumably the fanless M1 MacBook Air will thermal throttle when it hits its maximum temperature at peak load. When is this? After two minutes? Three minutes? Five minutes?

I routinely do Handbrake encodes that last hours on my Mac mini 2018. When I had one, the same thermal throttling kicked in pretty quickly on my Intel Core i7 Retina MacBook 2017 (the fanless one).

My expectation is that the M1 Mac mini will have considerably superior performance for extended tasks versus the M1 MacBook Air even if both are based on the same SoC that has the same peak performance.

I can run as fast as the last year's Boston Marathon winner but I might only be able to do it for a few hundred yards.

A lot of people fixate on boost clocks, peak numbers, etc. but some much of it depends on longer duration performance.

Yes the Air is meant for doing light tasks and it will burst pretty good but it's not ideal for sustained work like video editing. That's where you would want active cooling like on the MacBook Pro

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Maybe not this guy:

View attachment 1662796

I dunno. If there's beer involved, I can move pretty quickly...

🍺

 

[4sallypat]

Both machines are good for entry level consumers.

As for the Mini, I am going to test out the M1 base Mini against my 2012 i7 Quad core that I have become so attached to....

The M1 MBA is not something I am looking for unless the 12" rMB from 2015-2017 is being replaced by an M1 12" MB.

 

[russell_314]

I dunno. If there's beer involved, I can move pretty quickly...

🍺

I read that wrong at first... I thought it said if there was a bear involved

 

[pshufd]

I dunno. If there's beer involved, I can move pretty quickly...

🍺

He averages 4.65 minutes per mile. For 26 miles. There's a YouTube video of a running club trying to see how far they could run at that pace. Most couldn't run at that pace. I don't know what his top speed is but I'd guess that it's better than 4 minutes/mile for a mile.

 

[ADGrant]

Yes the Air is meant for doing light tasks and it will burst pretty good but it's not ideal for sustained work like video editing. That's where you would want active cooling like on the MacBook Pro

Or even better, the Mini.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

He averages 4.65 minutes per mile. For 26 miles. There's a YouTube video of a running club trying to see how far they could run at that pace. Most couldn't run at that pace. I don't know what his top speed is but I'd guess that it's better than 4 minutes/mile for a mile.

OK, maybe not hundreds of yards/meters, but for dozens of yards.

At his speed, he is running 100 yards in about 15 seconds.

I'm sure his top (burst) speed is pretty good, better than 4 minutes/mile. These guys train on a variety of distances and speeds. It helps increase their flexibility and range.

Usain Bolt is the current men's 100M record holder. How about swimming the same distance in a swimming pool? How about swimming 10,000 meters or running 26 miles?

Anyhow, my point stands that synthetic benchmarks are just one measuring point for one activity.

 

[xander09]

I'm running 2x4k @ 30 hz (my video card won't do 4k @ 60 hz). Figuring out whether or not video cards do with 4k is not always easy. 30hz is fine for what I do (trading), email, web browsing, videos, etc. 4k support still isn't great with a lot of video cards out there. The high-end cards will do it but they are usually aimed at gamers and I don't need the gaming punch of high-end cards - just the ability to display 4x4k.

Totally. I should have added an "IMO" in saying it's not a great experience. Refresh rate and how it affects the "smoothness" of the UI is important to me. I recall there being lots of issues with the 2013/14 era MacBook Pros and folks trying to get 4K@60 to work. There can be lots of frustrating variables between monitors and video cards.