Mac mini (M1, 2020) vs MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac mini M11 | MacBook Air2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £6993launch price | £9994launch price |
| Chip | M1chip | Core i31.1GHz dual-core Intel |
| CPU | 8-coreCPU | 2-coreCPU |
| GPU | 8-coreGPU | Not available5GPU |
| Memory | 8GBunified memory, base | 8GBmemory, base |
| Storage | 256GBstorage, base | 256GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Not available6No battery | Up to12 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 10 November 20207Available online; Apple gave no in-store day | 18 March 20208Available online; Apple gave no in-store day |
| Security updates | Not available9Security updates | Not available9Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac mini M1 is £699 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air is £999 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
- Kind of Mac
- The Mac mini M1 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 M1 has none of them.
True to scale
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
| Specification | Mac mini M11 | MacBook Air2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 36 x 197 x 197 mm | 4.1–16.1 x 304.1 x 212.4 mm |
| Weight | 1.2 kg | 1.29 kg |
| Colours | Silver | Gold, Space Gray, Silver |
| Ports | Two 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 jack | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports | 2 | 2 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 3 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | 2 | No USB-A ports.10 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | No HDMI port.11 |
| SD card slot | No SD card slot.12 | No SD card slot.11 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Not available13 | No MagSafe port.11 |
| Keyboard | Not available14 | Backlit Magic Keyboard |
| Touch ID | Not available15 | Yes |
Display
| Specification | Mac mini M11 | MacBook Air2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | Not available16 | 13.3 in |
| Resolution | Not available16 | 2560 x 1600 |
| Pixel density | Not available16 | 227 ppi |
| Display type | Not available16 | Retina display |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac mini M11 | MacBook Air2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M1 chip | 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.10 |
| CPU cores | 8 | 2 |
| Performance cores | 4 | Not available17 |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | Not available17 |
| GPU cores | 8 | Not available5 |
| Graphics | 8-core GPU18 | Intel Iris Plus Graphics |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | Not available19 |
| Chip options | M1 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU | 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3; 1.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5; 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 |
| Memory (base) | 8GB | 8GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 16GB | 16GB |
| Memory options | 8GB or 16GB | 8GB or 16GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents20 | No, as Apple documents21 |
| Storage (base) | 256GB | 256GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 2TB | 2TB |
| Storage options | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac mini M11 | MacBook Air2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | Not available6 | 49.9 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | Not available6 | 1,000 cycles22 |
| Video playback (claimed) | Not available6 | 12 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | Not available6 | 11 h |
| Included power adapter | Not available23 | 30 W |
| Fast charging | Not available6 | No fast charging.11 |
| Maximum continuous power | 150 W | Not available24 |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac mini M11 | MacBook Air2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) | 802.11ac Wi-Fi |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ethernet | Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet) | No Ethernet port.11 |
| External displays (base) | 2 | 2 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | Mac mini M11 | MacBook Air2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | Not available25 | 720p FaceTime HD camera |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker18 | Stereo speakers |
| Microphones | Not available26 | Three-mic array with directional beamforming |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999 ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999 ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020): No USB-A ports. Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No MagSafe port. No fast charging. No Ethernet port.
↩Mac mini (M1, 2020): No SD card slot.
↩Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard, and Touch ID is a keyboard feature
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in display
↩Doesn’t apply: this is an Intel processor, and Apple lists a total core count only
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs ·
↩Doesn’t apply: Apple silicon feature; this Mac has an Intel processor
↩Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box
↩Doesn’t apply: a notebook lists its power adapter, not a maximum continuous power
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in camera
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999 ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
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. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: brightness, refresh rate, wide colour (P3), nano-texture option, 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) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999, 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 (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.