Apple updates Mac mini with M6 chip and Mac Studio with M5 Ultra
Apple refreshed the Mac mini with its first 2nm M6 chip, featuring a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU with neural accelerators, while the Mac Studio now offers M5 Max and M5 Ultra options. The Mac mini starts at $899, up $100, and the Mac Studio with M5 Ultra starts at $5,499. The M6 Mac mini doubles AI processing power compared to the M5.
The M6 chip marks Apple’s first 2-nanometer processor, a shift that boosts efficiency and AI performance while raising the Mac mini’s entry price to $899. The base model keeps 256GB storage, a point of criticism given the $100 increase. The M5 Pro configuration remains available for $1,699, offering higher memory bandwidth and Thunderbolt 5 ports.
The Mac Studio’s M5 Ultra pairs two M5 Max dies via UltraFusion, creating a quad-die design with up to 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores. Apple claims significant gains over the M3 Ultra in single-threaded, multi-threaded, and graphics performance, alongside a 4.5X improvement in AI processing. Both desktops retain their prior chassis designs.
The price hikes could widen the gap between hobbyist AI users and professionals, as the Mac mini’s $899 starting point may deter casual buyers while the M5 Ultra’s $5,499 tag targets high-end studios. This could accelerate a trend where local AI experimentation becomes more costly, potentially pushing some users toward cloud services or older models. However, the performance leaps may justify the expense for those whose workflows depend on on-device inference and rendering.