Was Making a 'Portable' mini M1 Mac Mini Worth It?

With a Mac mini, iPad mini, and mini peripherals, I present to you the mini Mac mini setup! Now... was it worth making?

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[duckpotat]

A lot of people need an iPad for the Apple pencil support (note taking, Art etc) and only need a PC occasionally. It's perfect for that

[timchesonis]

I *REALLY* appreciate you doing this video, however, I think that you are approaching it from the wrong place. People who are looking to use their Mac mini with an iPad, either do so to use it as a second display, OR, they want to use the iPad as their Primary Display. Additionally, people who are inquiring about this setup, already have an iPad, and want a very inexpensive way to get a Mac, which is less than buying a MacBook Air. Finally, the only way that one currently can connect to their iPad is by using one of the 2 popular methods of connecting an iPad to a Mac mini as the primary display, and that is by either using “Duet /Air/Pro Display”, or by using Luna Display. Both of these options do allow for touch screen on the Mac using your iPad. Carrying an iPad is far easier than a laptop, and if one is using an 12.9” iPad, the experience is awesome.

[davidpatrick]

Being realistic is really helpful. Thank you.

[clarefreeman]

I'd be curious to see if your opinion changes on ease of use with a larger ipad w/one of the magic keyboards that has the trackpad built in and using a luna display (or still using sidecar, whatever). With the idea being, the mac mini stays in its location in the house, but the ipad can now be the portable device around the house (for, say, using on the couch or at the kitchen counter) on the same wifi network. Since, as you stated in the video, ipads work just fine for on-the-go, out-of-home usage. It seems like the combo of an ipad pro + mac mini would be a great combo for those that still do the majority of their work at a desk, but want the benefits of being able to move locations (and with a lot less dongles, since mac minis offer a lot more port options)

[liverpool_of_life]

thanks! you be able to make easy life when you'll use only 3 devices: mac mini, ipad in case with keyboard and trackpad, and apple pencil. ofcourse it's more expensive, but if you have, why not.

[fotispolychronopoulos]

I have a similar setup and i prefer it over a laptop. For browsing the internet and videos etc i love the portability of the i pad . In my home studio i had everything i needed (screens, keyboard, speakers etc) so the mini seems a nice solution. I have 2 devices in the price of one. I can combine them. I can use them one their own. I pad is also touch screen, a MacBook isn't, using Logic remote, i can use the touch screen to control volumes etc via the screen, i also have a second screen and some instruments played with the touch are on an other level of expression. I also use the ethernet from the mini and the cellular from the pad as the connection of both device's depending my needs and where i am.

[workingTchr]

The mini ($700) is a lot cheaper than the cheapest Air or Macbok Pro. If you're planning on using an external monitor, mouse and keyboard, it's definitely the most cost effective. Getting it to look good in the coffee shop is another matter, but with some foam board and duct tape ...

[winstonsmith]

IPad mini is a bit small, get a 15/16” portable 4K monitor it’s cheaper to use with an M2 Mac Mini. Then use your iPad Pro as a second Monitor with Universal Display.

[zakkbeaty]

I think this is basically a good way to make the Mac Mini more mobile at home. So, say I don't want to scrub footage in Davinci Resolve at a desk but would rather do that from a couch or something in another room. Works well for that. But no way it replaces an actual laptop.

[Sully]

went the air...for exactly the reason you stated at the end...for teh record, i'm PC diehard..M1 just seems like a gamechanger and...it's been phenomenal

[kaojaicam]

I saw a man craft a keyboard shortcut to both select the ipad as the primary display, and then auto-fill the password to login. That seems to correct the initial setup issue. If you have an ipad with USB-C support, that should in theory fix some of the performance issues? Then you simply take the iPad as your laptop on-the-go to correct the portability... But that's me just really wanting to make this setup work. I would love for someone to poke some holes in this plan if there are any

[alexgranados]

Make this video again but with the newest mac mini m4.

[n.h]

Luna display will solve the issue. You use Ipad as a display for mac mini for specific workflow For portability, a laptop is a king. If you have an old iPad and don't want to spend lots of money to buy a laptop, then for the price the setup will work. With the Luna display, now I can take my mac mini and use my iPad as a display on my vacation since I don't have a laptop. It's a small enough setup. I also want to point out, the problem with mac laptop, it gets overheated when you do heavy-duty software. I have a top-of-line mac laptop at work, when I do a zoom call or do some heavy-duty software, the laptop gets hot and the fan kicks in. The noise is so loud that people on the zoom call can barely hear me. I don't have that issue with my mac mini. For me and for the usage, this setup works nice.

[dbrakowski]

Good stuff---if you get yourself a portable battery no need to worry about searching for outlets. Thanks for doing this.

[shawn]

I would think most of those interested in this setup already have the peripherals. I already have an iPad pro, magic mouse and keyboard. I want a Mac Studio, but I also want the option to take it somewhere on the rare occasion that I might. If I can use my iPad as a screen for that occasion, then that's potentially a suitable compromise, no? Why pay that much more for a MacBook that almost never leaves my desk?

[rconradk]

Duet Display is US $15 in the App Store. Seems like a better option than another display. Hopefully apply Apple will update MacOS to allow sidecar to stay on by default.

[ISETbioDev.Cottaris]

You don’t need any external displays. All you need is an HDMI display emulator, $8 on Amazon. You can boot with that super tiny dongle, then sidecar.

[marvoinfo]

I was thinking about doing this to replace my old iMac. I would have a main display for Mac mini and use iPad to transfer files and hopefully iPad apps supported on m1. I currently use my iPad and phone instead of a laptop. I am considering a MacBook Air but then like the portability of the iPad over a laptop. Less worry about breaking screen on laptop and one less device. The advantages of the ports on mini is cool.

[Anskar]

How do you set up the ipad as an only screen?

[mjeffn]

Luna solved the headless boot problem. Mac mini boots up with iPad as monitor with Luna. Touchscreen on iPad continues to work too. $80