Apple has unveiled updated Mac mini and Mac Studio desktop computers with new Apple silicon designed to deliver higher performance and faster artificial intelligence processing for consumers, developers and professional users. The new Mac mini is available with the all new M6 chip or the M5 Pro, while the updated Mac Studio comes with M5 Max or the new M5 Ultra. Apple said the M6 equipped Mac mini delivers up to four times faster artificial intelligence performance, up to twice the graphics and storage performance, and up to 40 percent faster central processing unit performance compared with the previous generation. The M6 features a 12 core central processing unit and 12 core graphics processing unit, along with Neural Accelerators and a Dual 16 core Neural Engine. It is also built using a 2 nanometer manufacturing process, making it the first Apple chip based on that process technology. The M5 Pro version of Mac mini is designed for more demanding professional workloads and can be configured with up to an 18 core central processing unit and 20 core graphics processing unit.
The new Mac mini retains its compact desktop design while receiving several connectivity and performance upgrades. Both versions support Wi Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and 2.5 gigabit Ethernet, with a 10 gigabit Ethernet option available. The M6 model starts at $899 in the United States, while the M5 Pro version starts at $1,699. Apple has opened preorders, with availability scheduled to begin on September 22. The company is positioning the new Mac mini for a broad range of uses, including everyday productivity, creative work, software development and on device artificial intelligence workloads. The hardware is also designed to support AI agents that can perform tasks locally, reducing reliance on remote computing for certain workloads.
Alongside the Mac mini, Apple introduced a new Mac Studio featuring M5 Max and M5 Ultra processors. The company said the new Mac Studio can deliver up to 4.3 times faster artificial intelligence performance, up to twice the storage performance, up to 1.8 times faster graphics and up to 1.3 times faster central processing unit performance compared with the previous generation. The M5 Ultra is aimed at demanding professional workloads and supports up to 80 graphics processing unit cores and 512GB of unified memory. Mac Studio starts at $2,499 with M5 Max and reaches $5,499 with M5 Ultra, depending on configuration.
The updated desktops also integrate with macOS 27 Golden Gate and its latest Apple Intelligence features, including Siri AI and additional system wide artificial intelligence capabilities. Apple is positioning the new machines for developers, creative professionals, researchers, data scientists and users who want to run demanding workloads locally. The launch comes as interest in local AI computing continues to grow, particularly among users running AI agents and other resource intensive applications on personal hardware. With the new Mac mini targeting consumers and developers and Mac Studio addressing higher end professional requirements, Apple is expanding its desktop lineup around increased processing capacity and on device AI capabilities.
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