Do I Really Need the Portability of a MacBook?

Question

Currently, it’s a toss-up between buying a Mac Mini and a MacBook, though this raises the question, ‘When should a person buy a MacBook?’

Answer 1

When it comes to figuring out whether the portability of a MacBook is essential for you, think about your habits and way of life. For instance, if you are always in motion, say a student who requires a computer during lectures, a MacBook is probably a better option. On the other hand, if the laptop will be mostly placed on a stationary desktop, then it would be wiser to go for a Mac Mini. Further, consider if other portable gadgets available to you, like an iPad, would fill such mobile computing purposes, hence making it possible to select the less portable and cheaper Mac Mini.

Comments

I do travel with my Mac mini.
It's totally my MacBook replacement. I don't own a MacBook anymore.
When on small trip by train it's just the Mac mini, 16" portable USB-C monitor and ultra portable mouse and keyboard. I do work on it in the train and at my destination (friends, hotel, family). I always have my 12.9" iPad Pro with me, so I even have an additional screen via sidecar.
This package is super light and compact and fits in a small backpack together with a lot other stuff. I like traveling with it.
If I go by car and stay for longer time and love to do some gaming, I take the Razer Core X eGPU with me (it's Intel Mac mini and I have boot camp on it. This works fantastic, I do use this setup quite frequently when I'm at family or friends for more than a week.
I love that I have this device and the freedom to travel with it and use it anywhere I have a power outlet!
1 consider modding it to 12V and powering it with a big 12V power bank..

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I had a MacBook Air. I usually used it for home and portability was mythical reason I took it. I am now using a Mac Mini, I am way happier with it Greg. I have been bringing my Mac Mini around too since it’s so portable that I can bring it in my sling bag with the power cable and HDMI cable

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You brought some excellent points in this content! One thing you didn't mention regarding the portability aspect of the equation, though, which is my case and the case of many others:

If your out and about workload consists of relatively simple tasks and/or lightweight programs use, and you ALREADY have an old Macbook lying around (whether it's an M1 or, as in my case, an intel-based Macbook), you ALREADY have the portability aspect of your equation. Sure, you will definitely notice the speed difference between your at-home Mac Mini and your out and about Macbook, but if your workload consists anyways of lightweight tasks or if you can reserve heavier workloads/program use when you're back home, it shouldn't be an issue.

I plan on getting an M2 Mac Mini with 512GB SSD (still thinking about whether or not to upgrade to 16GB of RAM), while still holding on to my 2018 Intel i5 Macbook Pro whenever I need to do some med school related work while I'm out and about.

Edit: The value of the M2 Mac Mini vs any M2-based Macbook relies heavily on whether you already have a mouse, keyboard, and - most importantly - a monitor lying around. As mentioned in the content, I'm one of those who used their macbook 90% of time in clamshell mode hooked to a monitor and therefore already had all three of those. I can see how for some people that don't already have those, the Macbooks, especially the Air, can seem like a better deal since it's an all-in-one alternative.

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This content was so helpful. I’m planning to take a mac mini (m2 pro) myself and thankfully have an iPad for the “on the go” situations. Thanks for this.

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Thanks for sharing this. Would be interesting if you simulate how portable is the Mac Mini, in various scenarios say if you were to go on holiday you could have used the hotel TV as a screen etc.

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I’ve been travelling with a Mac mini and a couple of quite  cheap and light 22” LG HD monitors packed face to face with the stands dismantled (takes 30s with no tools) in my checked suitcase for the last 8 years and it’s a great combo for work (I’m an engineer), and I use my iPad Pro or my phone for on-the-go writing / reading / analysis. Post-COVID travel with a checked bag has not been great so I’m experimenting with an M2 MacBook Air with the iPad as a second screen for downsized hand-baggage only travel and it seems to work quite well, but I do miss the larger displays sometimes. I’ve always been happy with the Mac Mini, though, and will probably keep it in my hand baggage, I can usually get a hotel TV to work as a monitor if I need to.

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I can’t imagine ever using a MacBook Pro unless I require a lot of power & portability at the same time, and being that I don’t travel for work, I won’t really ever need that capability.

As for literally everything else, having an iPad Pro is soooo nice!! Being able to touch your screen makes navigating through apps & tasks so much more intuitive & easier. Plus it has everything I could use for being in class at school to business & sales appointment closing large deals that people can sign digitally on the screen with the pencil.

For anything else more power hungry, I can just simply do it all on my M2 Pro Mac Mini at home.

Tbh I regret selling my 2020 iPad Pro 12.9” before the new 2022 ones got announced cuss the new ones are kind of a rip-off, lol. 2020-2021 iPad Pros are still solid af imo

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It still can be portable with a portable monitor

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fair point with students life comparing when you constantly on the go to desktop sitting laptop attached to monitor.
when i was a student i needed something light after my windows laptop wasnt doing very well on battery and bough ipad with a keyboard which was great for taking notes. right now my old laptop is dying and instead of looking for a macbook air its easier to just buy an mac mini and take my ipad on the go:)

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My MacBook Pro has been tethered to my desktop setup for years. I got a laptop “just in case” but an occasion to be portable never materialized. So unless you’re a student or travel for work, a Mac Mini is the more practical option. I agree with Greg!

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I've been a MacBook Air user for years. I might have taken my laptop(s) outside of my home for a total of five times over several years. That recently changed because I decided to trade in my 15" MacBook Air and get an M2 Pro Mac mini. I have it running two 28" 4K external monitors and it's a beast of a setup.

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Mac mini + iPad is a killer combo. Mac mini for desktop and iPad for portability. Honestly most people don’t even a laptop since you can already do most things with your phone and/or iPad

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I’m that guy. I bought a 2020 M1 Air to use as my primary desktop. I think I’ve taken it out of the dock maybe twice in the last 2 years.   I probably should have gotten a Mac mini, huh?

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This is totally for me. My 2020 Intel Macbook Air has sat on my desk for nearly three years now hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. It has 73 battery cycles after almost three years. Since buying it I've upgraded the monitor from a 23 inch 1080 to a 28 inch 4K which runs fine enough mostly (it's an i5 and I got the 16gb RAM).. I take it with me when I travel but almost never use it as I got the gen5 iPad Air last year. I was waiting to see if the mini got an upgrade this year and the price drop seals the deal for me. The only decision is whether to keep the old laptop or sell it. I think I'll sell it as it seems wasteful to keep it if I'll never use it. Even though it's the last Intel version it's still a nice powerful little machine that would be good for a student or something. If I can get enough to buy a magic keyboard for the IPad then I'm set.

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I had a mini M1, then I got the M1 max 14 inch. Mini is great for a desktop and during the pandemic I was stuck at home. But now I travel a lot and 14 inch max has been awesome to dock into my studio display or take on the plane. But I am super tempted with the m2 mini now with it's price, it would be nice to have it as a desktop and use a 15.5 inch future macbook air as a travel laptop.

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I've got a 2019 Macbook Pro, Definitly going for the Mac Mini, While I still go out with my laptop almost every day, It's still working fine and fast enough, Though I could use a Mac Mini for deep work when at home.

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I totally agree with you. I use a iPad-Desktop Mac combination for many years now. And that works great for me. I can do everything i need on the go with my iPad and at home i have my Desktop Mac.
I would only buy a MacBook if i could afford only one device.
With that cheaper option in buying a MacMini i could pick up this both devices and and up at the same price level as if i has bought a MacBook and beeing much more versatile

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Can we take the Mac mini around with you? Desktops are obsolete for me with the new Apple silicon Macs. It makes me want to move around. The M2 Mac mini is still a great computer, but I would gladly pay more solely to have way more versatile user experience. I don’t want to stay in the house, which is why I’m glad the virus lockdowns is coming to an end.

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It depends. Just got a MacBook Pro 14" for $1569 on Amazon. Works perfectly with Studio Display plus I can bring it with me anywhere.

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"I know people who never move their laptops." This is me.

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Yep my MBPro is more and more often in clamshell. Considering the Mini.

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how long do laptops usually last in clamshell mode like mentioned in the content?

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Mini + ipad would be perfect combo but in my country with daily power blackouts it’s better to have battery built in

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5:52 yeah, it’s what I’m doing…, I have an old mbp 13inch (2016) and use it as a permanent desktop device for most time, however I still need the portability sometimes, so I bought a m2 mba (base model) couple of days ago for getting more powerful device. With the publishing of the new mac mini , I think I have another option: a Mac mini for desk and the old mbp for portability. This option can offer me a better performance and costs me less, sounds good.

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Man! Get out of my head! I was just thinking about this. I need to upgrade my 2013 MBP,  and I have the last intel 5K iMac. But then I started thinking as you did about my mobility. I haven't taken my MBP anywhere due to the battery being shot, and I edit from home. Sometimes I have to go to the office to edit with a client, but i can't use all of my plugins because they are on my iMac. What if i just bought an MM, since it would be a better buy than the MBP and I can still take it with me and use the HDMI to hook up to any tv (if I couldn't find a monitor for example).