While on budget (lol) e might have to find the best mac for the buck one which gets the task done and does not compromise on future-proofing and capability. Two of the Mac under discussion today are Mac mini and MacBook Air. Both are very capable machines and come with their own set of advantages. Let’s discuss them and if any of the gamer folks have come here accidentally then please leave now you will only get disappointment.
Mac Mini pure workhorse
Mac mini is a very capable machine and a resilient and maintenance free one. Lack of probability adds to low maintenance (less movement less damage my personal opinion). Though it is easy to carry, lack of a display prevents it from being called a purely portable machine.Lets discuss its feature
Future proof
I can personally vouch for this one. My mac mini late 2012 model is perfectly running Catalina and Xcode 11.4. All I did in these 7+ years is to upgrade the ram to 16 GB. It is one of the most hassle-free desktops I have ever owned. Yeah, it costs more but its drive and power supplies are not going to die easily. It’s more than capable for any development work.
Loads of ports
Mac mini comes loaded with ports.
- 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
- HDMI
- 2 USB A
- Headphone Jack
- 10 GB ethernet port
Loads of inbuilt features for small size
Mac mini comes with many essential harware which is surprising given its small form factor
- Bluetooth
- Wifi can connect to wifi and can be made hotspot as well (trivial to say I know)
- Speakers. Yes, mac mini comes with an inbuilt speaker though it’s not of the best quality but quite decent still.
MacBook Air portable mac
MacBook air is almost neck to neck with mac mini when it comes to price tag. With a couple of hundreds extra, you can have complete portability. MacBook Air is also a very capable machine and can easily be used for development purposes. Its main advantages are
Pure portability
When i say pure portability I mean it is not like other cheap portable laptops. When it comes to portability with performance MacBook Air can blow away any competition. For the dollar to dollar and gram to gram, it is best.
- Lightweight 2.8 pounds
- In build Speaker with premium sound quality
- Very light charger
- Up to 10 plus hours of battery backup, Personal exp.
Ports
Here mac mini wins.MacBook Air comes with only 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Both of the machines are very capable machines for developers. If i have to choose between two, I would base my decision purely on two factors
- Portability
- Storage capacity, Since MacBook air with 256gb SSD is expensive
This post is based upon my personal opinion as i have worked across various macs over the course of my job. If you feel some correction or addition needs to be made kindly comment.