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Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) vs. MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here is a side by side comparison between Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) and MacBook Air (M1, 2020) specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Conor Banett September 20, 2020 10:43 am

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

The Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) features the 10W Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz. While the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) features the 10W Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) up to 8-core Apple M1 with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) and the 13.3″ MacBook Air (M1, 2020) , we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) vs. MacBook Air (M1, 2020): Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it MacBook Air (M1, 2020) See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new		Better Performance With the new Apple M1 Chip, it now 3x times faster in exporting a project in iMovie, 5x times faster applying 3D effects in Final Cut Pro, editing multiple streams 4K ProRes video in Final Cut Pro with no frame drop, 2x times faster in exporting photos in Lightroom, and more. Better Battery Life It's a MacBook Air with the longest battery life ever made, with up to 18-hours of watching movies and 15 hours of web browsing. Better FaceTime HD camera With the latest Apple Image Single Processor (ISP) in the M1 chip, image quality is better in noise reduction, greater dynamic range, and improved auto white balance. Better Display It now supports P3 wide color with 400-nits of display brightness. More Supports latest USB 4 Supports latest Wi-Fi 6 Better security with new Secure Enclave in M1 chip
What's missing		Supports only one extended [email protected] display, while the older Intel version supports up to two [email protected] Not supports for external Thunderbolt-3 enabled graphics processors (eGPUs).

Availability	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Released	2020	2020
Release Info	Announced on November 10th, 2020	Announced on November 10th, 2020
Pricing	$699 Apple M1 Chip \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $899 Apple M1 Chip \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$999 Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,249 Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD

Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) Price
	2020 Apple Mac Mini with Apple M1 Chip (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) By Apple $649.00 Was: $699.00	See at Amazon
	Apple Mac Mini with Apple M1 Chip (16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - (2020) - Z12N000G0 By Apple $865.92	See at Amazon
	Apple BTO Mac Mini Desktop Computer, M1 Chip with 8-Core CPU and 8-Core GPU, 16GB Memory, 1TB SSD, Gigabit Ethernet, Late 2020 By Apple $1,249.91	See at Amazon
MacBook Air (M1, 2020) Price
	2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: Apple M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Silver By Apple $899.00 Was: $999.00	See at Amazon
	Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $855.00	See at Amazon
	2022 Apple MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Starlight By Apple $1,099.00 Was: $1,199.00	See at Amazon

Display	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Size		13.3 Inches
Info		Retina display 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Supported scaled resolutions: 1680 by 1050 1440 by 900 1024 by 640 16:10 aspect ratio 400 nits brightness Supports wide color (P3) True Tone technology

Exterior	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Size Comparison
Dimensions	7.7” x 7.7” x 1.4” (197 mm x 197 mm x 36 mm)	Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm) Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm) Height: 0.16–0.63 inch (0.41–1.61 cm)
Weight	2.6 lb (1.2 kg)	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors	Silver	GoldSpace GraySilver
Keyboard and Trackpad		Backlit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
Ports	Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for: DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA supported using adapters (sold separately) 2 x USB Type-A ports Supports data transfers up to 5 Gbps. 1 x Gigabit Ethernet port 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack	Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 (USB‑C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Internal Specs	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Processor	Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
Integrated Graphics	Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) Apple M1 iGPU 7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Memory	8GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory Configurable to 16GB	8GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory Configurable to 16GB
Storage	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Wi-Fi	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
Ethernet	10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)

Battery	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Size		49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life		Up to 15 hours wireless web Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply	150W built-in power supply	30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
OS	Shipped with macOS Catalina	Shipped with macOS Big Sur
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Camera		720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio	Built-in speaker 3.5mm headphone jack HDMI 2.0 port supports multichannel audio output	Stereo speakers Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc	Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Sensors		Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor
Security		Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box	Mac mini Power cord	MacBook Air 30W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty	Your Mac mini comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.	Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More	Video Support Simultaneously supports up to two displays: One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0 Thunderbolt 3 digital video output supports Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C Thunderbolt 2, DVI, and VGA output supported using adapters (sold separately) HDMI 2.0 display video output Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)	Video Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and: One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) Price
	2020 Apple Mac Mini with Apple M1 Chip (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) By Apple $649.00 Was: $699.00	See at Amazon
	Apple Mac Mini with Apple M1 Chip (16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - (2020) - Z12N000G0 By Apple $865.92	See at Amazon
	Apple BTO Mac Mini Desktop Computer, M1 Chip with 8-Core CPU and 8-Core GPU, 16GB Memory, 1TB SSD, Gigabit Ethernet, Late 2020 By Apple $1,249.91	See at Amazon
MacBook Air (M1, 2020) Price
	2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: Apple M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Silver By Apple $899.00 Was: $999.00	See at Amazon
	Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $855.00	See at Amazon
	2022 Apple MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Starlight By Apple $1,099.00 Was: $1,199.00	See at Amazon

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