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THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF APPLE
BY ALEX SUMMERSBY
Desktop Macs upgraded
Pro desktop models get more powerful... and more expensive
APPLE HAS ANNOUNCED upgraded Mac mini and Mac Studio models, shipping September 22. The new Mac mini is available with a powerful M5 Pro chip or the all–new M6, Apple’s first chip manufactured using a 2–nanometer process.
The lineup now starts at $899 (with M6 chip, 16GB memory, and 256GB storage), which is $300 more than the base price of the previous–generation Mac mini with M4 chip at launch in October 2024 (although this has risen several times since).
The M6 boasts 40% faster CPU performance than M4 and a 12–core GPU, compared to 10–core in M4, plus Neural Accelerators in each core for the first time on Mac mini, resulting in up to 4x faster AI performance and 2x faster graphics. Memory bandwidth is higher at up to 170GB/s. In addition, the Dual 16–core Neural Engine delivers up to 2x faster performance than the previous generation.
Confusingly, the M5 Pro chip is more powerful than the M6, and pricing with M5 Pro starts at $1,699 (with 15–core CPU and 16–core GPU, 24GB memory, and 512GB storage).