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I cancelled my M1 MBA order, ordered an M1 mini, and now...

ssledoux

ssledoux

macrumors 601
Original poster
Sep 16, 2006
4,416
4,245
Down south
I’m wondering if I made a poor choice. I’m not seeing a lot of great reviews here. My needs are basic, but I’m not the greatest at dealing with issues/problems - just not super tech savvy.

Did I make a mistake?
 
You'd be fine with either :)

I got my M1 Mac mini a couple of days ago. It has some "odd" behavior, but nothing that is a deal-breaker. Either a software update or a few days of use and I'm sure it will settle down.

An M1 Mac and Big Sur is the next-decade version of computing. Welcome to the future. Occasionally bumpy, but often amazing.
 
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Issues with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on mine, which turned out to be poor RF shielding on a USB C adapter for an external NVMe enclosure.

It’s been spot on other than that, although I know some have reported similar issues (even with the Intel Mac minis).

For me though, this is hands down the best desktop I’ve had in years.
 
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ssledoux said:
I’m wondering if I made a poor choice. I’m not seeing a lot of great reviews here. My needs are basic, but I’m not the greatest at dealing with issues/problems - just not super tech savvy.

Did I make a mistake?
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Wild Wild West of Apples new hardware. You're like the first INTEL Mac buyer when they made the transition from PPC. Everything that you learn about the machine, Apple will improve upon in their next machine, making the Apple hardware all the better for the rest of us in future iterations!

Just look at all the issues that have been discovered by early adopters so far! The amount of ingenuity applied by the early adopters is incredible. The guy who figured out how to get 6 displays running on a M1 Mac when some can't even get 2 displays to work reliably. The guy who got Windows to run on a M1 Mac when Apple said it couldn't be done. Ahh, the pioneering days... there will never be another time like this... until the next time Apple switches up their hardware again.

OS9 --> OSX --> Big Sur --> ??
PPC --> INTEL --> ARM --> ??

Release Candidate of Big Sur Beta 11.1.1 supposedly fixes a lot of issues already... but Apple hasn't released it to the public yet. Only those who have signed up for Developer access can get it right now. Should be released soon.

Fixes for issues that all the early adopters have painlessly rooted out for Apple thus far.
 
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If you're just plugging in a monitor + keyboard you should be fine. The people having problems look like the ones who are moving their old setups to the new machine, which unfortunately is what I'm going to be doing.

New hardware/chipsets tend to take a harder line on out-of-spec stuff. That didn't matter before because the old hardware compensated for out-of-spec equipment.
 
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I've had my M1 Mini for a week or so, and it's been great. I bought the base model, and for $699 it's a major bargain. I've had no WiFi or Bluetooth issues, and it has been very fast and rock solid.

I have a solar Logitech K750 keyboard (via USB wireless dongle), M720 mouse (via Bluetooth, no dropouts yet), and it's hooked up via HDMI to a Lenovo ThinkVision 2K monitor. No quirks to report so far...
 
I have my new M1 Mac mini for three days now. Many hours of WFH with it. Love this machine! Fast as a lightning, extremely snappy.
Yes, there is some odd behavior here and there. But nothing that affects the general impression. Rather some minor quirks that will mostly be ironed out in the next software releases (by Apple as well as by third parties).

The previous machine was a 13“ MBP early 2015 (it is still here). Earlier this year, I tried a 2020 Intel MBP 13“ but that gave me no leap forward so I returned it, especially the snappiness did not improve significantly. But now, when I press keys, do clicks and scroll, there is immediate action, zero latency. Great!
 
mannyvel said:
If you're just plugging in a monitor + keyboard you should be fine. The people having problems look like the ones who are moving their old setups to the new machine, which unfortunately is what I'm going to be doing.

New hardware/chipsets tend to take a harder line on out-of-spec stuff. That didn't matter before because the old hardware compensated for out-of-spec equipment.
Click to expand...
Correct, it appears that moving over old data from another Mac may be the issue with Bluetooth issues and wireless.

Haven't had any issue - I use wired LAN for fastest speed to ISP, 27" + 32" 4K displays, TB3-TB2 LaCie 1TB SSD.

I love my M1 Mini base!

Look ma - dual dual displays
IMG_6679.jpg
 
Nah, you will be fine. I agree with what the others are saying. If you are mostly just going a fresh start you will be completely okay.

I don't have too much setup, I have moved my workflow to mostly cloud based. So for me I really just install software and download my files back. So far I have received a base 8/256 and a 16/512 (keeping). I have not had any/much critical issues on either one of them. Yes the Bluetooth keyboard from Logitech was annoying, but my Bose headphone connected to bluetooth was smooth as I'm able to have hour long group chat with it. I have not had any monitor issue at all I'm running two identical Dell U2719 monitor one with USBC to HDMI and the other one is HDMI to HDMI. I have repeated the same setup on two Mac mini and so far I don't see any other issues.

I think you will be completely fine. Unless you have some really specific needs, I believe you are going to be okay.
 
I would have stuck with the M1 MBA, which offered you the ability to do your work anywhere in the house, traveling in the car, at family get togethers or anywhere else. I thought one of the main reasons to get the MBA was the portability factor and ease of use.

With the Mac mini you are relegated to one specific area of use, just like what you are experiencing now with your husband having to go to bed early with your Mac in said room.

I think you overthought a fairly simple purchase and took a step back with the mini, even though both products are vary capable and able to perform your intended tasks.
 
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I had a mini on order but cancelled. Too many issues being reported for my liking. My money will stay in the bank until things improve.
 
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