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Mac mini (2018) vs MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)

Mac mini (2018)1MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac mini against MacBook Air
FigureMac mini1MacBook Air2
Price£7993launch price£1,1994launch price
ChipCore i33.6GHz quad-core IntelCore i51.6GHz dual-core Intel
CPU4-coreCPU2-coreCPU
Memory8GBmemory, base8GBmemory, base
Storage128GBstorage, base128GBstorage, base
Battery life Not available5No batteryUp to13 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released7 November 20183ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2018.7 November 20184ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2018.
Security updatesNot available6Security updates14 September 20267Security updates ended
Price
The Mac mini is £799 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air is £1,199 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The Mac mini is a desktop; the MacBook Air is a laptop. The MacBook Air has a built-in 13.3-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac mini has none of them.

True to scale

Mac mini (2018) · 197 × 36 mm frontMacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) · 304.1 × 212.4 mm footprint

A desktop and a laptop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the front face of one and the footprint of the other, from Apple’s published dimensions, at one scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.

Body

Body: Apple Mac mini (2018) against Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
SpecificationMac mini1MacBook Air2
Dimensions36 x 197 x 197 mm4.1–15.6 x 304.1 x 212.4 mm
Weight1.3 kg1.25 kg
ColoursSpace Grey3Gold, Silver, Space Gray
PortsFour Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI 2.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), 3.5 mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports42
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 3
USB-A ports2No USB-A ports.8
HDMIHDMI 2.0 portNo HDMI port.9
SD card slotNo SD card slot.10No SD card slot.9
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNot available11No MagSafe port.9
KeyboardNot available12Full-size keyboard with LED-backlit keys
Touch IDNot available13Yes

Display

Display: Apple Mac mini (2018) against Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
SpecificationMac mini1MacBook Air2
Display sizeNot available1413.3 in
ResolutionNot available142560 x 1600
Pixel densityNot available14227 ppi
Display typeNot available14Retina display

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac mini (2018) against Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
SpecificationMac mini1MacBook Air2
Chip3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i31.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.10Intel processor, not Apple silicon.8
CPU cores42
GraphicsIntel UHD Graphics 630Intel UHD Graphics 617
Chip options3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3, 3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, or 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i71.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i515
Memory (base)8GB8GB
Memory (maximum)64GB16GB
Memory options8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB8GB or 16GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents16No, as Apple documents17
Storage (base)128GB128GB
Storage (maximum)2TB1.5TB
Storage options128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB SSD128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1.5TB

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac mini (2018) against Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
SpecificationMac mini1MacBook Air2
Battery capacityNot available550.3 Wh
Rated charge cyclesNot available51,000 cycles18
Video playback (claimed)Not available513 h
Wireless web (claimed)Not available512 h
Included power adapterNot available1930 W
Fast chargingNot available5No fast charging.9
Maximum continuous power150 WNot available20

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac mini (2018) against Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
SpecificationMac mini1MacBook Air2
Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth5.04.2
Ethernet10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45); configurable to 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T: 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb)No Ethernet port.9
External displays (base)32

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac mini (2018) against Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
SpecificationMac mini1MacBook Air2
CameraNot available21720p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker22Stereo speakers
MicrophonesNot available23Three microphones

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac mini (2018) against Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
SpecificationMac mini1MacBook Air2
Shipped withmacOS Mojave24macOS Mojave25
Newest macOSmacOS Sequoia26macOS Sonoma27
Model identifierMacmini8,126MacBookAir8,127
Model year20182018

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications · Default for Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New Mac mini packs a huge punch · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — All-new MacBook Air takes flight · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  5. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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  6. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  7. endoflife.date — Apple macOS · third-party figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  8. MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018): No USB-A ports. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  9. MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No MagSafe port. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  10. Mac mini (2018): No SD card slot. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port

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  12. Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard

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  13. Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard, and Touch ID is a keyboard feature

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  14. Doesn’t apply: no built-in display

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  15. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  18. Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops · Apple’s figure · read 15 Oct 2026

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  19. Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box

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  20. Doesn’t apply: a notebook lists its power adapter, not a maximum continuous power

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  21. Doesn’t apply: no built-in camera

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  22. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  23. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  24. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New Mac mini packs a huge punch · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  25. Apple Newsroom (UK) — All-new MacBook Air takes flight · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  26. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  27. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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Not published by Apple

Mac mini. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Air. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: brightness, refresh rate, wide colour (P3), nano-texture option, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — All-new MacBook Air takes flight, read 9 Oct 2026.

If you own one of them

Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my Mac mini (2018)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.