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Mac mini (M1, 2020) vs MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

Mac mini (M1, 2020)1MacBook Air (M1, 2020)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac mini M1 against MacBook Air M1
FigureMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
Price£6993launch price£9993launch price
ChipM1chipM1chip
CPU8-coreCPU8-coreCPU
GPU8-coreGPU7-coreGPU
Memory8GBunified memory, base8GBunified memory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base256GB4storage, base
Battery life Not available5No batteryUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released10 November 20206Available online; Apple gave no in-store day10 November 20206Available online; Apple gave no in-store day
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available7Security updates
Price
The Mac mini M1 is £699 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air M1 is £999 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The Mac mini M1 is a desktop; the MacBook Air M1 is a laptop. The MacBook Air M1 has a built-in 13.3-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac mini M1 has none of them.

True to scale

Mac mini (M1, 2020) · 197 × 36 mm frontMacBook Air (M1, 2020) · 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 (M1, 2020) against Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
Dimensions36 x 197 x 197 mm4.1–16.1 x 304.1 x 212.4 mm
Weight1.2 kg1.29 kg
ColoursSilverGold, Silver, Space Grey
PortsTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5 Gb/s), HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), 3.5 mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports22
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 3
USB-A ports2No USB-A ports.8
HDMIHDMI portNo HDMI port.9
SD card slotNo SD card slot.10No SD card slot.9
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNot available11No MagSafe port.9
KeyboardNot available12Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDNot available13Yes

Display

Display: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) against Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
Display sizeNot available1413.3 in
ResolutionNot available142560 x 1600
Pixel densityNot available14227 ppi
Display typeNot available14Retina display
BrightnessNot available14400 nits
Wide colour (P3)Not available14Yes
Nano-texture optionNot available14No nano-texture display option.9

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) against Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
ChipApple M1 chipApple M1 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores88
Performance cores44
Efficiency cores44
GPU cores87
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM1 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPUM1 with 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU or 8-core GPU
Memory (base)8GB8GB
Memory (maximum)16GB16GB
Memory options8GB or 16GB8GB or 16GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents15No, as Apple documents16
Storage (base)256GB256GB4
Storage (maximum)2TB2TB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) against Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
Battery capacityNot available549.9 Wh
Rated charge cyclesNot available51,000 cycles17
Video playback (claimed)Not available518 h
Wireless web (claimed)Not available515 h
Included power adapterNot available1830 W
Fast chargingNot available5No fast charging.9
Maximum continuous power150 WNot available19

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) against Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth5.05.0
EthernetGigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)No Ethernet port.9
External displays (base)21

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) against Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
CameraNot available20720p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker21Stereo speakers
MicrophonesNot available22Three-mic array with directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) against Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
Shipped withmacOS Big Sur23macOS Big Sur24
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate25macOS 27 Golden Gate25
Model identifierMacmini9,126MacBookAir10,127
Model year20202020

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) against Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M11MacBook Air M12
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)2,191282,16428
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)8,586288,22428
Geekbench 7 (Metal)28,3612826,92628

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac mini M1 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Air M1 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple UK Store (archived 16 December 2020) — MacBook Air, M1 with 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU, 256GB, £999.00 · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 2026

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  5. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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  6. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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

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  8. MacBook Air (M1, 2020): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  9. MacBook Air (M1, 2020): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No MagSafe port. No nano-texture display option. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  10. Mac mini (M1, 2020): No SD card slot. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 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) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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  21. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  22. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  23. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 14 Oct 2026

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  24. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  25. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 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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  28. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

Mac mini M1. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory bandwidth, storage upgradeable by user, media engine. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Air M1. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, memory bandwidth, storage upgradeable by user, media engine. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac, 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 M1 (2020)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air M1 (2020)?

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