Debating between M4 MBA, and Mini. Besides ports, is there any other difference?

[Mellofello808]

My M1 MBA is starting to show it's age, I have a suspicion that the HD is starting to fail.

Best Buy is offering a nice trade in, so I am wanting to upgrade. I mostly do daily productivity, but I do sometimes edit footage from action cams, and drones.

I already have a Thunderbolt (3) dock, so I don't really need to worry about the extra ports.

Is there a huge gap in performance that would justify getting a mini, in addition to a separate laptop?

 

[Basic75]

My M1 MBA is starting to show it's age, I have a suspicion that the HD is starting to fail.

Apart from it having an SSD and not an HD(D), what makes you think it's failing? The mini has active cooling.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Mini has a fan, no battery to have swollen or degrade, and cheaper. There’s a place for both MacBook and desktop but if you just want one then Macbook is it.

 

[Mrbobb]

People don't compare laptops vs desktops, each have its own unique usage.

 

[picpicmac]

Is there a huge gap in performance that would justify getting a mini, in addition to a separate laptop?

Besides the obvious (that laptops and desktops are different things), you want to buy two computers?

A laptop always has a battery about which to worry, that over time it will degrade.

Other than ports (which you claim are not an issue), that's about it.

Oh, you can get a Mini with a built in 10Gbe, if that's your thing.

 

[mellofello]

Besides the obvious (that laptops and desktops are different things), you want to buy two computers?

A laptop always has a battery about which to worry, that over time it will degrade.

Other than ports (which you claim are not an issue), that's about it.

Oh, you can get a Mini with a built in 10Gbe, if that's your thing.

I have a thunderbolt dock with every port I need. I use my laptop as a desktop 99% of the time, but I do need a laptop for when I travel.

I probably should have clarified that if I get a m4 mini, I will probably also pick up a m2 Air to replace my m1, which is beginning to fail. If I get the m4 Air, I will upgrade the storage, and ram.

I was just curious if the m4 mini was much more powerful than the Air, enough to justify having both.

 

[Fishrrman]

Get the Mini and KEEP the MBair for now.
Problems... solved.

 

[Mrbobb]

To me, a laptop, besides for travel, also performs lap duty on the couch/bedroom, it would drive me bananas having to un/plug a do-all laptop to any frequency. That is my convenience equation.

 

[Ray2]

Another thing to consider is how long you want to keep it. The Air will be long gone before the mini. I just went through what you’re dealing with with my M1 Air. Bought a base M2 Max Studio.