Apple Announces Mac Mini M6 and M5 Pro
Posted on August 25, 2026
Apple announced the Mac mini M6 and the Mac mini M5 Pro today in a press release. The new models are powered by Apple's M6 and M5 Pro chips, respectively.
The update comes nearly two years after the Mac mini with M4 / M4 Pro, which was introduced in October 2024. The new Mac mini is available for pre-order starting today, with availability beginning September 22. The Mac mini with M6 starts at $899 and the Mac mini with M5 Pro starts at $1,699.
Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, says in the announcement, "Today, we’re taking this versatility even further. With a more powerful CPU and graphics, Neural Accelerators in the GPU, and higher memory bandwidth, Mac mini with M6 delivers a whole new level of AI performance. And with up to an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, Mac mini with M5 Pro is an ultracompact powerhouse for complex pro workflows. We can’t wait to see all the incredible ways people will use it next.”
New Features- New M6 chip with a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU, both gaining two cores compared with the previous M4 configuration.
- AI performance boost: M6 provides up to 4x faster AI performance than M4, aided by Neural Accelerators built into every GPU core and a new Dual 16-core Neural Engine.
- Faster CPU and graphics: Apple says M6 offers up to 40% faster CPU performance and 2x faster graphics than M4.
- Faster storage: SSD performance is up to 2x faster than the previous generation.
- Improved unified memory: M6 models start with 16GB and can be configured with up to 32GB, with memory bandwidth reaching 170GB/s.
- New M5 Pro option: Features up to an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, with third-generation ray tracing and Neural Accelerators in every GPU core.
- Up to 64GB memory with M5 Pro along with 307GB/s memory bandwidth.
- Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 are now standard on both models.
- Faster Ethernet: Standard wired networking increases to 2.5Gb Ethernet with 10Gb Ethernet available as an option.
- Thunderbolt 5 on M5 Pro: The M6 model has three Thunderbolt 4 ports and the M5 Pro has three faster Thunderbolt 5 ports.
Here's an Apple video about the Mac mini with M6.