New Mac mini Arrives With M6 and M5 Pro, and a Higher Starting Price

Apple today announced a new Mac mini powered by the all new M6 and M5 Pro chips, with the standard model now starting at $899 and the Pro model at $1,699.

The refreshed desktop keeps the compact five by five inch design of the outgoing model but leans heavily on AI performance, faster connectivity, and the move to Apple's new 2 nanometer M6 chip.

Pre orders open today, with availability beginning September 22.

What's New in the M6 Model

The base Mac mini moves from the M4 straight to the M6, skipping an M5 generation entirely for this machine.

It carries a 12 core CPU and a 12 core GPU, each with two more cores than before, and adds Neural Accelerators to every GPU core for the first time on Mac mini.

Apple says the result is up to 4x faster AI performance and 2x faster graphics than the M4 model, along with 40 percent faster CPU performance and 2x faster storage. A new Dual 16 core Neural Engine handles on device AI, which Apple says runs up to 2x faster than the previous generation.

The standard model ships with 16GB of unified memory, configurable up to 32GB, and memory bandwidth up to 170GB/s.

The M5 Pro Model

Stepping up to the M5 Pro brings up to an 18 core CPU and up to a 20 core GPU, with an enhanced shader core and third generation ray tracing aimed at 3D design, visual effects, and game development. Each GPU core again includes a Neural Accelerator.

The Pro model supports up to 64GB of unified memory with 307GB/s of bandwidth, which Apple positions for larger local AI models, complex 3D scenes, and ProRes RAW editing.

Faster Ports and Wireless

Both models gain Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, along with upgraded 2.5Gb Ethernet and an optional 10Gb configuration. The front carries two USB C ports with USB 3 support and a headphone jack.

On the back, the split between the two chips continues. The M6 model has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the M5 Pro model steps up to three Thunderbolt 5 ports, plus HDMI and Ethernet on both.

Apple notes that Thunderbolt 5 lets users cluster multiple Mac mini systems to run large AI models on device. Newly added genlock support over USB C allows synchronization between a display and a camera, including iPhone 17 Pro.

macOS 27 and Apple Intelligence

The new Mac mini ships with macOS 27, which Apple has named Golden Gate.

The release brings Siri AI, the more capable and personal version of the assistant Apple detailed in June, alongside a wider set of Apple Intelligence features across Safari, Shortcuts, and Photos, and further refinements to the Liquid Glass interface.

Apple Intelligence features are still in testing through the beta program and are set to arrive with macOS 27 this fall. Siri AI is launching first in English, with more languages to follow.

Pricing

Here is where the new lineup lands, and how it compares to what came before.

The M6 Mac mini starts at $899, or $799 for education.

The M5 Pro model starts at $1,699, or $1,599 for education.

That is a step up from recent pricing.

When the M4 Mac mini launched in October 2024, it started at $599, with the M4 Pro at $1,399. Apple raised those figures in 2026 as memory costs climbed, and by this summer the M4 model started at $799 and the M4 Pro at $1,599.

Measured against those most recent prices, the new models are up $100 each, and against the 2024 launch prices, they are up $300.

The new Mac mini is available to pre order today in 30 countries and regions, including the U.S., and begins arriving to customers on September 22.