MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) vs Mac mini (2018)
Quick look
| Figure | MacBook Pro1 | Mac mini2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,2993launch price | £7994launch price |
| Chip | Core i51.4GHz quad-core Intel | Core i33.6GHz quad-core Intel |
| CPU | 4-coreCPU | 4-coreCPU |
| Memory | 8GBmemory, base | 8GBmemory, base |
| Storage | 128GBstorage, base | 128GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Up to10 hrsvideo playback, claimed | Not available5No battery |
| Released | 9 July 20196Available online; Apple gave no in-store day | 7 November 20184ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2018. |
| Security updates | Not available7Security updates | Not available7Security updates |
- Price
- The MacBook Pro is £1,299 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the Mac mini is £799 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
- Kind of Mac
- The MacBook Pro is a laptop; the Mac mini is a desktop. The MacBook Pro has a built-in 13.3-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac mini has none of them.
True to scale
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
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | Mac mini2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 14.9 x 304.1 x 212.4 mm | 36 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 1.37 kg | 1.3 kg |
| Colours | Silver, Space Gray | Space Grey4 |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack | Four 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 ports | 2 | 4 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 3 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.8 | 2 |
| HDMI | No HDMI port.9 | HDMI 2.0 port |
| SD card slot | No SD card slot.9 | No SD card slot.10 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | No MagSafe port.8 | Not available11 |
| Keyboard | Full-size backlit keyboard with Touch Bar and Touch ID | Not available12 |
| Touch ID | Yes | Not available13 |
| Touch Bar | Yes | Not available14 |
Display
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | Mac mini2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 13.3 in | Not available15 |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1600 | Not available15 |
| Pixel density | 227 ppi | Not available15 |
| Display type | Retina display | Not available15 |
| Brightness | 500 nits | Not available15 |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Not available15 |
Chip and memory
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | Mac mini2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | 1.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 | 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3 |
| Apple silicon | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.8 | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.10 |
| CPU cores | 4 | 4 |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 | Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
| Chip options | 1.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 1.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 | 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3, 3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, or 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 |
| Memory (base) | 8GB | 8GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 16GB | 64GB |
| Memory options | 8GB or 16GB | 8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents16 | No, as Apple documents17 |
| Storage (base) | 128GB | 128GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 2TB | 2TB |
| Storage options | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB SSD |
Battery and power
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | Mac mini2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | 58.2 Wh | Not available5 |
| Rated charge cycles | 1,000 cycles18 | Not available5 |
| Video playback (claimed) | 10 h | Not available5 |
| Wireless web (claimed) | 10 h | Not available5 |
| Included power adapter | 61 W | Not available19 |
| Fast charging | No fast charging.9 | Not available5 |
| Maximum continuous power | Not available20 | 150 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | Mac mini2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ethernet | No Ethernet port.9 | 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45); configurable to 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T: 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb) |
| External displays (base) | 2 | 3 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | Mac mini2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera | Not available21 |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers with high dynamic range | Built-in speaker22 |
| Microphones | Three microphones | Not available23 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — MacBook Air and MacBook Pro updated for back-to-school season ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — New Mac mini packs a huge punch ·
↩Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — MacBook Air and MacBook Pro updated for back-to-school season ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports): No USB-A ports. No MagSafe port. Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No fast charging. No Ethernet port.
↩Mac mini (2018): No SD card slot. Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩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: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in display
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini ·
↩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
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — New Mac mini packs a huge punch ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
MacBook Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, nano-texture option, 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) — MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro 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 Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini (2018)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.