Mac Mini vs MacBook Pro 13 "with retina display

Recently, I decided to buy a Mac computer having never used several Windows computers.  I already have an iPad (I love by the way) that I use for taking notes and work on documents, while I'm not at my desk.  I have a Windows laptop at home which I use primarily as a desktop computer.  About five weeks of the year, I need to use the laptop as a real laptop (i.e., I need to move office where I keep it by the way).  However, I believe that, following an update of the iOS OneDrive app, that I should be able to work only from my iPad (i.e. the computer should not necessarily be used for these five weeks).  Nevertheless, I would still know that the Mac was portable so that I could at least carry somewhere or put it in a bag and connect it to a TV, use it as a monitor.

I also want the Mac to last me five or sixyears, so a very important criterion for the Mac's longevity !  After looking through the different available Macs, I've narrowed my selection to the following:

  • MacBook Pro with the retina 13 "2.7 GHz 8 GB RAM 256 GB SSD (see here)
  • Mac Mini 2.8 GHz, 8 GB RAM 1 TB Fusion drive (see here)

Most of my work is to use productivity applications (e.g. Microsoft Office); emails and browsing the web, as well as a small photo editing (I currently use Paint.Net under Windows to give you an idea of the kind of program I want to use).

So, to summarize:

  • The Mac I must last for 5-6 years; I don't want to have to replace here there if that can be avoided
  • I wish it were portable enough to carry rarely, even if I have to plug it into a monitor somewhere
  • It must have an SSD
  • I would like to have a machine that will run the productivity (like MS Office) applications fairly quickly; I won't use image programs much (or at all)
  • I am a student at the University, your costs would be appreciated as well!

So I'm looking for a recommendation as to whether the Mini or MacBook Pro with the retina (or another Mac altogether) would be better for my needs.

Thank you very much!!

Either one will meet your needs very well. The laptop has a little better graphics, but the Mini has a lot more on-board storage.

The laptop has its own screen KB and mouse/trackpad is more portable.

Two Macs need to be supported for the same amount of time in the future.  However, the laptop is more prone to damage jut because he's moved a lot.

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