Desktop vs Laptop

Nobody can answer this for you. The best computer is always the one coming next year - in which case you will never buy the hardware.

I think you are asking the wrong question anyway. Instead of what is the "best" Mac to buy you should ask what will best suit your needs based on budget, place of use, longevity and portability to name just a few factors.

If you don't need portability an iMac is ideal (full disclosure - I'm an iMac owner)

If you need to travel with your Mac a notebook is the way to go.

If you use high-end apps, such as your mention of video editing, then you might benefit from investing in a Mac with superior internals.

But as a general rule of thumb, if you view a new computer as an asset and invest in it by spending a little extra on a few modifications to upgrade it's capability it will serve you a little bit longer, but the cost might be significant. This is why you need to work it out for yourself, or with some advice from a trusted Mac-using friend.

To give you an example, one of my family is about to replace an old MacBook Pro and will buy the 2000 MacBook Pro (the first M1 model) soon because it's more than capable enough for her needs well into the rest of this decade. The new 2021 notebooks announced today are far in excess of what she needs so the extra expense is not justified.

You probably had your answer yesterday! A 16-inch MacBook Pro MI Max will get the job done and you can hook up to a Dell 8K monitor(!) if desired! Other than that, there is probably nothing cost-effective in the range right now. There is no new 27" iMac and buying a Mac Pro right now makes no sense until they have whatever version of the M chip Apple decides to go with.

The Mini was rumoured to be getting the new chips and maybe more ports but it didn't happen.

Many people seem to use their laptops purely as a 'clamshell' desktop hooked up semi-permanently to a big monitor. I don't personally see this as ideal. Many of us are not moving around as much as we used to and, like you, I would have preferred to see an earlier focus on desktop options

I find the Mac Mini perfect for 4K editing but 8K is still pretty niche I think! I don't know where you are based but if you are in the US it might be worth giving these guys a call. They only handle custom PC builds but if you use Resolve or Premiere Pro rather than Final Cut it could provide a solution. https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Adobe-Premiere-Pro-143/Buy_249

You may find this guy's evaluation helpful. If you are not in the US then at least the 8k spec for their models will help you determine your 'shopping list'. They don't ship to where I live in the UK. Nevertheless, wherever you are I suspect specialist builders will be able to assist. https://youtu.be/6nhrMCkoCIE

👍You’re welcome! IMO, the new Apple laptops aren’t game changers. Sure, they have lots of spec razzle-dazzle but that doesn’t exactly do away with desktops (or even Intel chips for that matter). It’s possible (hoped for) that newer minis and iMacs will have real, game-changing features. Configurable 1/2/3 HDMI ports would cut it for me. Or Apple-branded monitors under $1K with Thunderbolt daisy chaining.

Let’s see! All the best.

We really won't know that for sure until they are actually in peoples hands and various benchmarks are run on them as well as real world tests are done by someone other than Apple. BTW, people were saying the same thing about M1s until people got a hold of them and found that they left most of the Intel machines in the dust, even with Rosetta emulation.

There should still be a large screen iMac upcoming, likely using the recent M1 Pro and/or M1 Max and of course a MacPro. Unless you are in dire need of a computer now, you may want to wait. Also, you could still get one of the new MacBooks now and when one of the above get released, sell it and by the desired desktop.

Also, at this point I would not expect a MacMini with an M1 Pro or M1 Max and likely see something on the lines of an M2 chip in the future and perhaps a whole redesign (been using the same box since 2010, just different colors).

Yes, desktops are better than laptops. I would wait it out.