Have to agree with some comments here about the 14 inch MacBook Pro - it’s a lovely machine. I switched a couple of years ago after decades on Windows (I’m a software developer) and couldn’t be happier.

I seem to remember that you can use more monitors with the Pro than the Air, etc, so it’s definitely worth doing some research when choosing. Do you have an Apple Store nearby?

USB-C docks/dongles generally aren’t that big a deal if that’s your only deciding factor. They work fine without any weird hiccups or behavior.

If you’re buying used, it’s worth noting that the earlier M1, M2, and M3 non-Pro/Max chips had some limitations with external monitors. The M1 and M2 MacBook Air only supported one external monitor alongside the Mac’s built in screen. The M3 Air could do two external monitors with the lid closed, or one external monitor and the built in. The M4 Air can do two external monitors and the built in display at the same time. The Pro and Max chips could always do two external monitors and the built in display starting from the earliest M1 Pro.

The big difference between the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro is that the Pro has a built in fan. The Air will passively cool itself and might have to throttle your workload until the laptop cools down. The Pro can kick on the fan to help run heavy workloads longer. In practice it’s actually difficult to get a MacBook Pro to kick on its fan. Anything short of virtual machines or large video rendering can usually be done without the laptop getting so hot it would need to kick the fan on or throttle things. If you’re somewhat price conscious and aren’t pushing the machine’s limits, the Air’s definitely worth a look.

I've never owned a Mac, but that Mac mini puts all mid-range desktops to shame. Even a home-build on the same budget can't compete.

The 11th gen Intel cpus did not age well at all. They ran too hot, they were super inefficient at light work. They'd idle fine but as soon as you did something small, the fans would kick on and you suddenly had a half hour reduction in your battery life.

The M series laptops are fantastic and honestly, I don't mind USB hubs as much. Also if your phone supports USB c display out, you can use it with that. Unless if it's an iphone, then it's kind of scuffed. It does work and I have gotten actual work done with it.

I have the m2 air with 16gb ram and am really happy with it. I carry it in my bag everyday so the weight difference to the 14pro is importantly to me. But I have to say that I semi regularly forget to bring my usb c hdmi dongle to meetings. I am still leaning more towards the air since I can still do video cutting and coding much faster than on any other pc.

Try emulating switch games on it. Works well