MacBook Air vs Mac Mini

KirbyTech · April 29, 2021

I am looking to get a Mac to resolve some of my current issues I am having with my Linux laptop like missing software, low RAM (bought with 8GB but grew past that), inability to code for iOS apps with ease, etc.

The crossroad I am at is that I am unsure if I should keep my X1 Carbon and buy a Mac Mini with the M1 chip or if I should sell my X1 Carbon and buy the MacBook Air. I know the updated MacBook Pro just got leaked though I would like to buy sooner than later since I am currently unable to do the development work without issues I need to do. Should I go option 1 or 2?

SeraphicWings · April 29, 2021

Technically a Mac Mini is transportable (as in you can literally shove it in a backpack with a power cord and a display cable, then plug it in office), but if you want a full laptop no issue, get the Macbook Air

KirbyTech · April 30, 2021

2 hours ago, Dolphin0687 said:

If the X1 Carbon is the one with Linux 1. reinstall Windows on it, 2 get the Mac Mini. If you don't want to keep the X1 Carbon, by all means sell it and maybe get not the Air, but rather the Pro.

Why would I reinstall Windows? I don't game, I do a lot of deveopment/DevOps/SRE stuff so Windows sucks for that.

Also what about the Pro makes it worth it over the Air? Same chip inside, same RAM, almost identical in every way except touch bar, price, longer battery life, and active cooling. I don't see anything in that list that is better other than the battery life which I don't care about too much since I am rarely undocked for long enough to kill my battery as it is.