Mac Mini 2.8 late 2014 VS Macbook pro 13"

MediaMaster said:

Hi.

I used to be an Android developer for 5 years and now I think it's the time to turn into IOS development for the first time. I just need to ask the experts developers as I'm a little bit confused how to get started with my new machine (Not exist yet!). I need to know which is better for IOS development:

1) Mac mini 2.8 Ghz, 8 GB of Ram, 1 TB Fusion drive (Late 2014)

2) Macbook pro 13" 2.6 Ghz. Retina display, 8 GB of Ram.(Mid 2014)

I know some people would respond that it depends on me about the Macbook portability advantages and my budget BUT as I'm not expert enough to choose and my budget is not that high. I need a powerful machine which would be with me for at least 3-4 years.

I don't want portability options for Macbook pro to overcome the Mac mini performance options (As Geekbench marks indicated).

Your advise would be highly appreciated !!

Click to expand...

Actually the 2.6GHz i5 and 2.8GHz i5 are almost identical (2-3% difference).

I'd say that you'd still be fine with a 2.6/8/1TB FD Mac Mini.

MediaMaster said:

Thanks for your reply, I can then buy the 2.6 and add +8 GB of Ram with the FD. Does it worth it?

Click to expand...

For your needs, I don't see you needing more than 8GB of RAM.

So a 2.6GHz i5, 8GB RAM and a 1TB Fusion Drive should do you fine. You can also choose to up it to 16GB (although I don't see you needing it, but considering that it's soldered, you might want to consider it).

Regarding the hard drive, it's your choice between 1TB FD and 256GB SSD. Both cost the same from Apple. The 1TB FD gives you most of an SSD's performance with a large amount of storage, while the 256GB SSD will give you the most speed and reliability.

I'd pick the 256GB SSD over the FD because you can always use external storage anytime.

PS: You might want to get the 13" rMBP you were thinking about though, because you can always hook it up to an external display and use it like a desktop.

Side note - depending on your region, if there is an Apple refurb store, try looking for refurb baseline 15" rMBPs (2.2/16/256) - refurbs are damn good and are like new, plus they come with the same warranty with the option of adding AppleCare.

As Vichua said

MediaMaster said:

Hi.

I used to be an Android developer for 5 years and now I think it's the time to turn into IOS development for the first time. I just need to ask the experts developers as I'm a little bit confused how to get started with my new machine (Not exist yet!). I need to know which is better for IOS development:

1) Mac mini 2.8 Ghz, 8 GB of Ram, 1 TB Fusion drive (Late 2014)

2) Macbook pro 13" 2.6 Ghz. Retina display, 8 GB of Ram.(Mid 2014)

I know some people would respond that it depends on me about the Macbook portability advantages and my budget BUT as I'm not expert enough to choose and my budget is not that high. I need a powerful machine which would be with me for at least 3-4 years.

I don't want portability options for Macbook pro to overcome the Mac mini performance options (As Geekbench marks indicated).

Your advise would be highly appreciated !!

Click to expand...

Specs wise they are the same pretty much. They both use the same mobile dual core haswell processors. The FD will make it run pretty fast not much worse than a full SSD.

IOS development can be done on any mac currently available.