Apple has struggled to keep up with demand for some of its lower-priced Macs in recent months as general price rises hit home. The Mac maker has been raising prices across the board generally and now a new Mac mini has been launched earlier than we’d have otherwise expected.
While the mini has received some hefty upgrades in the form of the M5 Pro and even a new M6 chip that we had previoiusly expected to see in October/November, there’s a big problem – the price. This Mac mini starts at $300/£300 more than the previous 2024 M4 model. Mac mini with M6 starts at Mac mini with M6 starts at $899/£899 and if you want one with the M5 Pro, you’re looking at $1699/£1699, again a $300/£300 rise compared to the previous M4 Pro model. Ouch.
Of course, the new models are more capable, but there’s no disguising the 50 percent price hike is the key takeway. Apple’s headline figures on performance suggests the M6 Mac offers 40 percent faster CPU performance, 4x faster AI performance and 2x faster storage and graphics over the M4 model. The M6 offers 12 cores, so two more than the M4. Both Mac mini models include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
“Mac mini has always been our most versatile Mac. Whether it’s being used as a home computer, powering a professional studio, or as an always-on [AI] device, it’s the little Mac that can do it all,” says Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer. “We can’t wait to see all the incredible ways people will use it next.”
Thanfully Mac mini doesn’t entertain the notion that 8GB of RAM is enough and comes with 16GB as standard, configurable to 32GB. The version with M5 Pro supports up to 64GB.
Expect there to be an M6 iMac, too, over the next few weeks. You can pre-order the Mac mini starting today but it won’t ship until 22 September so that’s a date to watch for the potential release of macOS 27 Golden Gate.
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