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MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) vs Mac mini (2018)

MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)1Mac mini (2018)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Air against Mac mini
FigureMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Price£1,0993launch price£7994launch price
ChipCore i51.6GHz dual-core IntelCore i33.6GHz quad-core Intel
CPU2-coreCPU4-coreCPU
Memory8GBmemory, base8GBmemory, base
Storage128GBstorage, base128GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to13 hrsvideo playback, claimed Not available5No battery
Released9 July 20196Available online; Apple gave no in-store day7 November 20184ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2018.
Security updates14 September 20267Security updates endedNot available8Security updates
Price
The MacBook Air is £1,099 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the Mac mini is £799 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 13.3-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac mini has none of them.

True to scale

MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) · 304.1 × 212.4 mm footprintMac mini (2018) · 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 (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Dimensions4.1–15.6 x 304.1 x 212.4 mm36 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight1.25 kg1.3 kg
ColoursGold, Space Gray, SilverSpace Grey4
PortsTwo Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jackFour 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 jack
Thunderbolt ports24
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 3
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.92
HDMINo HDMI port.10HDMI 2.0 port
SD card slotNo SD card slot.10No SD card slot.11
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNo MagSafe port.10Not available12
KeyboardFull-size keyboard with LED-backlit keysNot available13
Touch IDYesNot available14

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Display size13.3 inNot available15
Resolution2560 x 1600Not available15
Pixel density227 ppiNot available15
Display typeRetina displayNot available15

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Chip1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i53.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.9Intel processor, not Apple silicon.11
CPU cores24
GraphicsIntel UHD Graphics 617Intel UHD Graphics 630
Chip options1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5163.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3, 3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, or 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7
Memory (base)8GB8GB
Memory (maximum)16GB64GB
Memory options8GB or 16GB8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents17No, as Apple documents18
Storage (base)128GB128GB
Storage (maximum)1TB2TB
Storage options128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB SSD

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Battery capacity49.9 WhNot available5
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles19Not available5
Video playback (claimed)13 hNot available5
Wireless web (claimed)12 hNot available5
Included power adapter30 WNot available20
Fast chargingNo fast charging.10Not available5
Maximum continuous powerNot available21150 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth4.25.0
EthernetNo Ethernet port.1010/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45); configurable to 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T: 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb)
External displays (base)23

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Camera720p FaceTime HD cameraNot available22
SpeakersStereo speakersBuilt-in speaker23
MicrophonesThree microphonesNot available24

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) against Apple Mac mini (2018)
SpecificationMacBook Air1Mac mini2
Shipped withNot available25macOS Mojave26
Newest macOSmacOS Sonoma27macOS Sequoia28
Model identifierMacBookAir8,227Macmini8,128
Model year20192018

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — MacBook Air and MacBook Pro updated for back-to-school season · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New Mac mini packs a huge punch · 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) — MacBook Air and MacBook Pro updated for back-to-school season · 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. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  9. MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019): No USB-A ports. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  10. MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019): 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, 2019) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 9 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) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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  25. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — MacBook Air and MacBook Pro updated for back-to-school season. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  26. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New Mac mini packs a huge punch · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 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. 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: 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, 2019) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — MacBook Air and MacBook Pro updated for back-to-school season, read 9 Oct 2026.

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.

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 (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini (2018)?

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