Keep Macbook Air or Buy Mac Mini and Monitor

[Blake123abc]

Hi,

I currently have an M2 MacBook Air 15inch and it’s been a great laptop so far. With that being said I’ve been having some neck soreness and just overall posture issues when I look down while using the laptop. I’ve been thinking about possibly selling the MacBook Air and instead buying the Mac Mini and a Dell Ultra Sharp monitor and the Logitech keyboard and mouse combo. I could also just get a laptop stand and the keyboard and mouse. I would also save on the yearly cost of Apple Care for my MacBook Air. I don’t really take my MacBook Air out of the house but would it be a better choice to keep it or sell it and get the Mac mini and monitor combo?

Thank you

 

[Kelly Jones]

If you truly don't need the portability of the Macbook Air and you really, really want a shiny new M4 Mac mini, then go for it. However, the least expensive option is to simply connect your Air to an external monitor/mouse/keyboard and cancel your Apple Care. Only you can decide if that makes sense. Keep in mind that upgrading the storage of the Mac mini is quite expensive unless you use an external thunderbolt drive. What are the specs of your 15-inch Air?

 

[Blake123abc]

If you truly don't need the portability of the Macbook Air and you really, really want a shiny new M4 Mac mini, then go for it. However, the least expensive option is to simply connect your Air to an external monitor/mouse/keyboard and cancel your Apple Care. Only you can decide if that makes sense. Keep in mind that upgrading the storage of the Mac mini is quite expensive unless you use an external thunderbolt drive. What are the specs of your 15-inch Air?

Hi, thank you, I appreciate it, I have the base model MacBook Air 256GB, 8GB of RAM

 

[Kelly Jones]

Hi, thank you, I appreciate it, I have the base model MacBook Air 256GB, 8GB of RAM

Ok, that changes things a bit. The base Mac Mini M4 has 16GB RAM, so if you don't need the portability of the Air, then you could get the base M4 mini and be better off compared to just the Air. A fairly cheap external SSD would provide you a storage boost too.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I'd think you can sell the Air for more than the cost of the mini (less keyboard, mouse, and display - all of which you'd need even if you kept the Air). So moving to the mini & gaining the 16GB RAM and faster processor would make sense to me.

 

[CharlesShaw]

How about buying a keyboard/mouse or trackpad first and elevating the MacBook screen for a while to see if that relieves your neck pain?

 

[Alameda]

Why not start with the upgrades you know that you’ll need?
I’d suggest you start with the Logitech MX keyboard/mouse combo, then buy the monitor. I bought a 27” LG 4K60 monitor, athough I usually run it at a lower resolution except when editing photos.

However, I don’t think you’ll get much value trading the Air for a Mini M4; you’l be lucky to break even and get $550 for the Air, and the added performance of the Mini probably won’t be noticeable unless you need the 16 GB of RAM.