Apple Mac mini M6 and Mac mini M5 Pro are here
Apple today announced the next-generation Mac mini, which can be configured with either a brand-new M6 chip or the M5 Pro chip released earlier this year. The Apple Mac mini M6 features a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, compared to the 10 cores of the M5 chip.
Apple Mac mini M6 with Dual Neural Engine
Furthermore, the Apple Mac mini M6 is the first to offer a dual Neural Engine with two 16-core engines, whereas its predecessors only had one. The memory bandwidth of the M6 chip is up to 170 GB/s, compared to 153 GB/s for the M5 chip.
According to the press release, the Apple Mac mini M6 delivers up to 40% faster CPU performance, especially in AI tasks, up to 4 times faster graphics performance, and up to 2 times faster memory speeds compared to the previous model with the 10-core M4 chip, 32 GB of RAM, and 2 TB of storage.
Two M5 Pro configurations are available: one with a 15-core CPU and 16-core GPU, and another with an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU. Both models feature a 16-core Neural Engine for AI tasks.
Neural Accelerators
According to Apple, both the M6 and M5 Pro configurations of the Mac mini now feature Neural Accelerators in each GPU core for the first time.
Apple chipsets continue to offer industry-leading performance per watt, and Apple stated that the M6 chip features the world’s fastest CPU core. Apple touted the Mac mini as the leading desktop computer for “automated work in the workplace.”
All new Mac mini models support Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, compared to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 in the previous 2024 models. The new models have the same design as their predecessors and are still only available in silver.
All models retain two front-facing USB-C ports, a headphone jack, three Thunderbolt ports on the rear, an HDMI port, and a rear Ethernet port, which is now a 2.5 Gigabit port as standard (up from 1 Gigabit). An upgrade to 10 Gigabit Ethernet remains available. The M6 models feature Thunderbolt 4 ports, and the M5 Pro models feature Thunderbolt 5 ports. All models continue to natively support up to three external displays.
Prices
The new Apple Mac mini M6 and Mac mini M5 Pro are available for pre-order starting today and will begin shipping to customers and in stores on Tuesday, September 22. In the US, the M6 model starts at $899, while the M5 Pro starts at $1,699.
In the US, the previous Mac mini with 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM started at $599. This configuration cost $799 in June, coinciding with price increases for all other Macs and iPads. The comparable configuration with the M6 chip starts at €1,049/$899, making the Mac mini even more expensive.
