Switched from 16" MBP to Mac mini M1

[lancastor]

Pos
- Absolutely no fan noise. Using Final Cut, Logic, Handbrake. It's impossible to hear the Mac mini fan. You cannot heat up the system. The Mac mini gets only minimal warm. In comparison: My MacBook Pro 16" is loud as a jet engine and the chassis is near melting down.
- no coil noise. On the MBP I can hear the coils chirping. Especially on high usage of the SSD/processor. Also here: The Mac mini is not doing any noise.
- switching all accessory to USB-C is harder than I thought. So it's very nice to have two USB-A ports again
- working and editing (Final Cut and Logic) is sooo much snappier than on my MBP 16". It's a feeling that I bought a small Mac Pro
- converting videos with handbrake: Amazing fast, no heat, no fans spinning up

Cons
- only two USB-C ports. Four ports would be very nice
- graphics performance cannot compete with the dedicated graphics card in my MBP. AAA Gaming with a Mac mini is impossible.
- currently no Bootcamp support. But without a graphics card I don't need Bootcamp anymore. I have to switch to cloud gaming
- Mac mini OR BigSur is very unstable. It crashes and reboots many times a day. I hope it‘s a issue that can be fixed in an upcoming BigSur update

So the Mac mini with the M1 is the BEST PRODUCT Apple developed in the last 20 years. I cannot wait for the next generation and I'm very exited how Apple can fix the missing graphics card power in it's whole upcoming lineup.

 

[RayIshido]

Hi!
Do you use photoshop and Lightroom? Have you seen any difference between the 16" and the M1?
thanks

 

[seadragon]

Great to hear! My Mini 16/2TB should be here in 3 weeks. I’m a bit concerned about all the monitor compatibility issues I’ve been reading about here though. I have a Dell s3220dgf monitor that I want to connect via the HDMI port but I’m. It sure it will work in the native resolutio.

What monitor(s) are you using if I may ask?

 

[lancastor]

Hi!
Do you use photoshop and Lightroom? Have you seen any difference between the 16" and the M1?
thanks

I’m using Photoshop Native Beta for M1 procesor. I cannot feel any difference in comparison to my Intel i7 2.6Ghz from 2019.

 

[pdxplm]

Just ordered an MBA M1 16/512. Next I will replace my 2012 Mini, but I may wait until 2nd gen for that. Thanks for the review..very helpful!

 

[chelsel]

I returned an MBP 16" 2019 and replaced it with an MBA M1 16GB 1TB. The only complaint, is it's TOO quiet... I'm so used to the fans blowing on the Intel MBP. Might have to get a HomePod mini with the savings.