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MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) vs Mac mini (Late 2014)

MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015)1Mac mini (Late 2014)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Air against Mac mini
FigureMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Price£7493launch price£3994launch price
ChipCore i51.6GHz dual-core IntelCore i51.4GHz dual-core Intel
CPU2-coreCPU2-coreCPU
Memory4GBmemory, base4GBmemory, base
Storage128GBstorage, base500GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to10 hrsvideo playback, claimed Not available5No battery
Released9 March 20153Released16 October 20146Available online; Apple gave no in-store day
Security updates16 September 20247Security updates ended16 September 20247Security updates ended
Price
The MacBook Air is £749 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the Mac mini is £399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The MacBook Air is a laptop; the Mac mini is a desktop. The MacBook Air has a built-in 11.6-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac mini has none of them.

True to scale

MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) · 300 × 192 mm footprintMac mini (Late 2014) · 197 × 36 mm front

A laptop and a desktop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the footprint of one and the front face 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 MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) against Apple Mac mini (Late 2014)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Dimensions3–17 x 300 x 192 mm36 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight1.08 kg1.19 kg
PortsTwo USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps), Thunderbolt 2 port (up to 20 Gbps), MagSafe 2 power port, 3.5 mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet port, audio in port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, IR receiver
Thunderbolt ports12
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 2Thunderbolt 2
USB-A ports24
HDMINo HDMI port.8HDMI port
SD card slotNo SD card slot.8Yes
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesNot available9
KeyboardFull-size backlit keyboardNot available10
Touch IDNo Touch ID.8Not available11

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) against Apple Mac mini (Late 2014)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Display size11.6 inNot available12
Resolution1366 x 768Not available12
Display typeLED-backlit glossy widescreen displayNot available12

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) against Apple Mac mini (Late 2014)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Chip1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i51.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.13Intel processor, not Apple silicon.14
CPU cores22
GraphicsIntel HD Graphics 6000Intel HD Graphics 5000
Chip options1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 or 2.2GHz dual-core Intel Core i71.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 2.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 2.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, or 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
Memory (base)4GB4GB
Memory (maximum)8GB16GB
Memory options4GB or 8GB4GB, 8GB or 16GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents15No, as Apple documents16
Storage (base)128GB500GB
Storage (maximum)512GB2TB
Storage options128GB, 256GB or 512GB500GB or 1TB hard drive, 1TB or 2TB Fusion Drive, or 256GB, 512GB or 1TB flash storage (SSD)

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) against Apple Mac mini (Late 2014)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Battery capacity38 WhNot available5
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles17Not available5
Video playback (claimed)10 hNot available5
Wireless web (claimed)9 hNot available5
Included power adapter45 WNot available18
Fast chargingNo fast charging.8Not available5
Maximum continuous powerNot available1985 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) against Apple Mac mini (Late 2014)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth4.04.0
EthernetNo Ethernet port.810/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet (RJ-45)
External displays (base)12

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) against Apple Mac mini (Late 2014)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Camera720p FaceTime HD cameraNot available20
SpeakersStereo speakersBuilt-in speaker21
MicrophonesDual microphonesNot available22

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) against Apple Mac mini (Late 2014)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Shipped withOS X Yosemite23OS X Yosemite24
Newest macOSmacOS Monterey25macOS Monterey26
Model identifierMacBookAir7,125Macmini7,126
Model year20152014

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (Late 2014) - Technical Specifications · Default for Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display & MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  5. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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  6. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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

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  8. MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No Touch ID. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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

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  13. MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015): Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  14. Mac mini (Late 2014): Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (Late 2014) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  15. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory · Apple’s figure · read 18 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) — 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 (Late 2014) - Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  22. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (Late 2014) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates Mac mini. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  23. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display & MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  24. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  25. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 15 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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Not published by Apple

MacBook Air. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: colours, pixel density, 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 (11-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display & MacBook Air, read 9 Oct 2026.

Mac mini. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: colours, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has rows for the 2.6GHz and 3.0GHz Mac mini (Late 2014) configurations but not this 1.4GHz base chip, so no figures are shown (chart read 11 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (Late 2014) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates Mac mini, 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 MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015)? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini (Late 2014)?

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