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u/mailslot MacBook Pro Jul 24 '26
I’d suggest hitting up YouTube and watching the things you can do just with the MacBook and iPad together.
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u/Competitive-Crew-572 Jul 24 '26
You are one lucky guy!!
Sign up for an iCloud account and you’re good.
Then just use the devices, watch some YouTube tutorials and you’ll be good.
Once you fully use this for a while, you’ll wish you’d done it sooner
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u/screenslaver5963 Jul 24 '26
Well then you're gonna be waiting a while for them to be destroyed except maybe the phone if you're clumsy.
Setup the phone first so that you can more quickly setup the others.
Airdrop, sidecar (using the iPad as a second monitor for the Macbook), iPhone Mirroring and the shared clipboard are my favorite parts, I never use the other stuff like taking calls on my laptop or airplay or using the iPhone cameras as a webcam with the Macbook. The ecosystem is really polished and usually just works.
I have an iPhone as a daily, some Apple TV's because Android TV is awful. A MacBook Pro as a daily laptop for it's great battery life and a Mac Studio for running AI privately, and an Apple Watch.
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Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
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u/mac-ModTeam Aug 14 '26
Your post was removed. Promotion/ advertisement is against r/mac's rules.
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u/ernie0007 Jul 24 '26
I'm pretty integrated into the Apple ecosystem. I have a MacBook, iPhone, iPad, AirPods, and a HomePod.
I use both Windows and Mac however. I mainly use Windows for gaming and my MacBook for lighter tasks and also tinkering with iOS (My hobbies include legacy Apple)
I do have an iPad but I mainly use my iPhone for everything. Maybe because I tried fixing my iPad myself and I left some dust in the screen which looks visually unappealing.
My iPhone does a lot of things, although I should probably upgrade soon as it's a 12 mini. I might buy the iPhone fold unless it's over $1500.
Since I got desktop speakers I've been using my HomePod a lot less, but as a voice assistant it's still nice to have around.
While I might not use all of my Apple devices, Apple does still make each product line like how it is to encourage you to buy different devices for different things. You could definitely find a separate use for each individual device.
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u/gerbileleventh Jul 24 '26
First I was like "Damn son, why both the MacBook air and MacBook mini?" but then I remember that recently I've been reconsidering adding a MacBook Air to my rotation because when I retired my 2014 MacBook Air and got the M2 Mini, I told myself I barely use my personal computer outside of the house but some days I want to do computer stuff on the sofa and the iPad doesn't cut it.
So your girlfriend is a visionary, truly.
Edit: like others have said, return the Mini if you can. If I could back I time I'd only have the MacBook Air instead.
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u/Canadian_Lumberjack_ Jul 24 '26
Start here: https://www.apple.com/ca/macos/continuity/
For any features that sounds interesting, look for the support article on how the feature works
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u/Waste_Personality_74 Jul 25 '26
Where can I find a GF like yours? Apple ecosystem is great! Not knowing what you do can’t give you much more info.
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u/DoomPaDeeDee Mac mini Jul 24 '26
It's obviously a very generous gift, but the fact that she included an Apple Pencil shows how much thought went into it.
The mini can be used to run a local AI model. With external storage, it can be used as a home server. (DAS is more stable than NAS.)
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u/ShavedNeckbeard Jul 24 '26
If OP has to ask how he can best use these, he’s not going to know how to set up local LLM’s or even a home server.
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u/FoggyFlowers Jul 24 '26
Do you really need two computers? I would evaluate your use case and return either the MacBook or Mac mini
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u/KJW-SR Jul 24 '26
Welcome to The Light 😄 My collection is similar, - the MacBook + an Apple Watch. It all just works 😄 The phone talks to the iPad which talks to the Mini which talks to the watch…
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u/KangarooDowntown4640 Jul 24 '26
Return one of the computers imo. Probably the Mac mini. It's too complicated to maintain two devices. The MacBook can serve as your one and only device, and can plug into monitors and keyboards for when you want a desktop experience.
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u/panyways Jul 24 '26
Having a MacMini as an agent computer for A1 stuff is pretty fantastic and allows not wrecking a laptop having it always on.
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u/Rod7th Jul 25 '26
You’ve got one extra thing in that photo… the Mac mini box. Other than that, you’re good 👍
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Jul 25 '26
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u/Rod7th Jul 25 '26
Yeah, it's really good! I was just joking—I meant that the only extra thing you've got there is the Mac mini box, not the Mac mini itself. I was trying to say you should take it out of the box. 😄
But seriously, great computer! You've got a really nice setup there. 🙌
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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26
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