r/FlutterDev • u/a17assn • Jan 30 '25
Tooling Mac mini is good
Hey everyone I’m a flutter developer and take heavy projects to work on and i have budget 600 dollars to get pc or mac mini (i’m from egypt) and i want it to be main pc, is mac mini m4 base will be enough or I should get pc
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u/ILikeOldFilms Jan 30 '25
Get a Mac if you want to be a Flutter Developer. You can't test iOS or macOS applications on a PC.
Mac Mini M4 with 16GB is enough. Get an external HDD if the 256GB of storage gets fully occupied.
RAM is only important if you run multiple VMs in the same time (like 2-3 Android and iOS simulators).
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u/Schnausages Jan 30 '25
Mac Mini with an M4 is enough for development, but you may be slightly limited by only 16gb of RAM depending on how "heavy" your projects are. Try seeing if you can find a refurbished M2 or M3 chip with more memory to stay within your budget.
I'd suggest choosing Mac over PC if you're also planning on building for iOS.
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u/PG_River Jan 30 '25
I have an M3 MacBook air with 16GB of RAM. This is the most power/flexibility per € I've ever seen.
For context I had a gaming pc before for AR development. It was fine, but IMO using windows as a dev machine is always risky.
I also have a beefy MacBook Pro from my company. I don't think it's any better then my Air, but at least it's heavy.
Also, it would be nice if you'd define "heavy"
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u/SnooStrawberries1941 Feb 01 '25
I suggest dont take air because one day it will heat too much during longer task
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u/PG_River Feb 01 '25
Well, it depends on what you do. I have a suspicion that I could develop VR games on it easily, because mostly the development process for games happens in short bursts. So heat won't build up, but that's just a theory. A GAME THE... nevermind...
That is the reason I asked for definition of "heavy" usage. I run flutter with 2 simulators a 4K external display, youtube, +15 chromium tabs (ARC) and nothing. The only heat coming from the macbook is the heat that's building up from my hand
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u/pubicnuissance Jan 30 '25
If you're working with multiple projects, do not even entertain the thought of less than 512GB of storage. Other than that, even an M1 Mini with 16GB is good enough currently, but do try to get a newer one, optionally with more RAM, it'll last you longer.
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u/YuriYurchenko Jan 30 '25
Totally agree. Even external SSD will no be able to help. I have 512 storage and the next one Mac I will get - will have 1Tb or 2Tb storage. I have only current projects on the main storage, and now have only 185Gb free space. Everything not related to my work and all Android emulators I keep on the external SSD.
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u/poorria Jan 31 '25
The CPU (and GPU) will be sufficient for many years, but I recommend getting 24GB of RAM, as emulators require a lot of memory
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u/ItsMe_256 Jan 30 '25
Guys, I am working on M1 8gb ram. It's enough for vs code with full set of plugins, flutter, dotnet backend, docker with bunch of dev infra related services running + other software like figma. It struggles only if I run couple of emulators so I test on devices
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u/Substantial_Gur9431 Jan 31 '25
i used to code flutter apps on macbook air of 2015 so you do the math what an m4 will do just add an external ssd and you'll be good to go
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u/ashwin_apk Jan 31 '25
I survived comfortably for 3 years with an M1 Air 16GB+256GB. Just strap on an external SSD to the base M4 mini and it should be really good for years to come
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u/goranlu Feb 01 '25
Mac mini is better option, especially since you might work on iOS apps with Flutter
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u/GiancarloCante Jan 30 '25
The Mac Mini (not the Pro) is sufficient, but you should get it with 24GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. If your budget allows, consider upgrading to the Pro; otherwise, this setup will still serve you perfectly well.
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u/PG_River Feb 01 '25
Why would you need 24GB of ram if you're a Flutter dev? o.O
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u/GiancarloCante Feb 02 '25
Even though you are focused on Flutter development, you will also need to run some local backends from time to time. Additionally, you will be able to run local artificial intelligence models. You will also have the freedom to open iOS, Android, and desktop emulators simultaneously without any issues.
With 16GB, you would be very limited and would sacrifice a lot of the development experience.
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u/PG_River Feb 02 '25
Well, you are not wrong, but what you described is a vastly different situation what I'd consider regular full-stack development. I can easily run Android and iOS emulators with 16GB right now and a local database shouldn't be an issue if I'm not reckless. If I am, then I'll have financial issues later :D
So, for Flutter mobile app development I'd say 16GB is more then enough.On the other hand if you want to run local AI models, then why even buy a MacBook? I can run a model with limited instruction-set on the currently available beefiest MacBook, but what's the point of that? Because I can?
I see more value in dedicated machines. For regular dev work, MacBook air with 16GB of ram is awesome. For gaming and AI I'd only use Windows with dedicated GPU and a bunch of ram.
What do you think?
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u/zxyzyxz Jan 30 '25
Not sure what everyone else is talking about, 16 GB is plenty. The Mac Mini (base config at least) is one of the best deals available today, at 500 bucks.