I wanted to put the m2 Mac mini up against the M2 Macbook Air and see which is the better buy. Because they have the same internals but the MBA is twice the price!
Products to consider!:
M2 Mac Mini:
M2 MacBook Air: ($50 off!)
M1 MacBook Air: ($200 off!)
Satechi X1 Slim Keyboard:
MagFlott Pro iPad Stand:
Paperlike Cleaning Kit:
iPad Pro: ($50 off)
Logitech Mouse:
Contact me:
Email: fernando@9to5mac.com
Twitter: @nandoprince93
GEAR I USE:
iPhone 13 Pro Max:
12.9 M1 iPad Pro:
44in Ultrawide Monitor Innocn:
Screen Protector Paperlike:
Logitech MX Anywhere S2:
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Time Stamps
0:00 – Intro ( What we are testing)
045 – Price Difference
1:27 – Specs
2:35 – Ports
3:24 – Display Support
4:40 – MacBook Air Pros
6:50 – Sound Test and Comparison
8:00 – Overall Portability
9:30 – Overall experience comparison
10:55 – Which one should you get?
#m2macmini #m2macbookair #macosventura
I’ve been waiting for this moment in the silicon transition where we start to get some feature/spec overlap – and now we’re just left to pick the machine that best suits our needs. I’ve been using a silver 24-inch iMac since launch and now I’m on the hunt for a refurb tilt-and-height adjustable studio display (to knock the price down a bit) and a BTO M2 Mac mini. Great video as always!
That’s a great way to put it. We are in a great time to be a consumer
Both are great piece of tech for two different use case. I plan to have both at some point. ✌️
Same!
I’ve owned MacBooks all my life, I got a Mac mini and it changed my life, such a reliable workhorse, doesn’t heat up no where near as much, I’m thinking about the m2 mac mini, obviously the MacBook is great because it’s super portable but I’d rather pick my screen, price point is excellent
Thanks for the video. I have been using my iPad Air M1 connected to a monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse for a month or so. The setup works most of the time, and it is definitely faster than my old MacBook Pro Intel i5, which unfortunately I still need to use from time to time because certain web applications don’t play nice with the iPad Air… and many apps for the iPad are pretty useless (special horrible mention to Google’s applications for the iPad). Anyways, the Mac Mini M2 is probably the machine I need for my home office to finally replace my old laptop… and I will still have the iPad Air M1 as a second machine with Universal Control, and as a portable machine when I need it.
While we know the performance of M2 overall, you should have shown a quick benchmark between the two just to show how thermal throttling affects performance.
Just replaced my Comet Lake Hackintosh with a baseline M2 Mac Mini. I also still have a 2015 and a 2018 MacBook AIr – both baseline i5. The M2 performance is impressive, yes storage could be faster, but I’m not paid by the minute, so I don’t mind. Was either thinking of retiring my 2015 Air, but then I did the math and sice I already have 4k display, mouse & keyboard, the Mini just made much more sense. And, to be honest, for mobile applications, the MacBook Air is/are still sufficient (and thanks to OpenCore patcher, my 2015 Air can still run Ventura).
Wanted to replace my 16″ MacBook Pro with a more travel-friendly laptop for international travel as many international airlines limit you to 22 lbs for your carry-on. Shopped the MacBook Air for $1,200 but wanted the low weight and a bigger screen. Found an open-box Surface Laptop 15″ for $630 (no scratches, dents, or flaws) with the full Microsoft warranty. The Surface Laptop 15″ weights only 0.7 more than the Air but gives me 19 hours of run time which is important on those long-haul flights.
Good video! I bought the cheaper mac mini, and with money saved bought an iPad. Buying MacMini + iPad is cheaper than buying Macbook Air. I was worried iPad would not be able to meet my needs as a student, but I’m happy to say it has been sufficient given I use it with a keyboard.
Quick question will Mac mini support output on any ipad ?
I feel like this is a proper Mac Mini (M2) that can finally be souped up, unlike the predecessor. The original M1 somehow in my mind never truly held a candle to the 2018 i7 mini with 32gb or more. 🙂
Great video. Loved the comparison.
The M2 mini is a great value but I already have a Mac desktop and needed the portability of the MBA.
I hope to buy one to replace my old Windows desktop but not sure if my lcd monitor will work with mini. It comes with dual dvi port.
I ran my band’s live mixer from a M1 Mac mini and a cheap 4K portable touchscreen from amazon. It was able to handle 21 inputs with plugins and 17 outputs for floor monitors and in ear monitors over thunderbolt at 96K in Loudlab Sounddesk with latency less than 3 milliseconds total, while also recording all 21 inputs on separate tracks to a thunderbolt drive. So I have been looking at the M2 Mini just because I have worked the M1 model pretty hard these last 2 years and I need to upgrade just to have a redundant setup in case the M1 Mini finally dies. LOL
This M2 Mac mini plus an iPad seems like a great solution for me- I somehow prefer to consume content from an iPad vs the laptop. If you have a home office setup for work, sticking in little Mac Mini for private use should be no brainer.
hi i’m pretty much confused, do i need to purchase macbook air m1 or mac mini m2 and connect with portable screen.if i go for macmini, the overall cost will be almost same that of macbook air m1, my use is primarly coding (app development), then video editing and blender learning
Just got my Mac mini M2 and it is great so far.