Apple has announced a new Mac mini powered by the all-new M6 and M5 Pro chips, offering a compact desktop as a stronger platform for artificial intelligence, creative production, gaming, and professional workflows.
The new Mac mini with M6 delivers up to four times faster AI performance, twice as fast graphics and storage, and 40 percent faster CPU performance compared with the previous generation. The M5 Pro model expands the lineup even further with higher processing power, advanced graphics capabilities, and support for demanding professional applications.
Compact Desktop, Larger Ambitions
Apple continues to set the Mac mini as a flexible desktop for homes, creative studios, businesses, and always-on agentic computing. Combine that with macOS 27, which introduces improvements to system responsiveness, search, file browsing, and several built-in applications.
Apple chief hardware officer Johny Srouji described the Mac mini as the company’s most versatile Mac, noting that the new processors bring stronger CPU and graphics performance, Neural Accelerators, and higher memory bandwidth to the compact design.
M6 has a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU, with both components gaining two cores compared with the previous generation. Neural Accelerators are included in every GPU core for the first time on Mac mini, which helps the system deliver up to four times faster AI performance and twice the graphics performance of Mac mini with M4.
The chip also packs a new Dual 16-core Neural Engine, which provides up to twice the performance of the previous generation. Mac mini with M6 comes with 16GB of unified memory and can be configured with up to 32GB. Its memory bandwidth reaches up to 170GB/s.
As for performance – 13.5 times faster large language model prompt processing in LM Studio compared with Mac mini with M1, and up to 4.8 times faster performance compared with Mac mini with M4. Spreadsheet calculations in Microsoft Excel are up to 2.3 times faster than on Mac mini with M1, while gaming performance with ray tracing in Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition can reach twice the speed of Mac mini with M4.
M5 Pro Targets Professional Workflows
Mac mini with M5 Pro is aimed at users handling app development, video rendering, scientific simulations, 3D design, visual effects, and game development.
The chip is available with up to an 18-core CPU and a 20-core GPU. Its GPU includes an enhanced shader core, third-generation ray tracing, and Neural Accelerators in every GPU core. These features improve AI compute for tasks such as photo and video upscaling and running large diffusion models.
The M5 Pro model supports up to 64GB of unified memory and provides up to 307GB/s of memory bandwidth. This allows users to work with larger local AI models, complex 3D scenes, ProRes RAW files, and sizable custom datasets.
Performance-wise, you get up to 8.5 times faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio compared with Mac mini with M2 Pro, up to 4.5 times faster ray-traced rendering in Blender, and up to 2.1 times faster image processing in Affinity. Apple also compares the M5 Pro favorably with Mac mini featuring M4 Pro across these workloads.
Connectivity and macOS 27
Both Mac mini models support Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and 2.5Gb Ethernet, with 10Gb Ethernet available as an option. Each has two front USB-C ports supporting USB 3 and a headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support.
The M6 version has three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the rear, while the M5 Pro includes three Thunderbolt 5 ports. Thunderbolt 5 can connect multiple Mac mini systems for running large AI models entirely on-device. New genlock support through USB-C also enables precise synchronization between a display and camera, including iPhone 17 Pro.
Pricing begins at PHP 64,990 for Mac mini with M6, or PHP 57,990 for education customers. Mac mini with M5 Pro starts at PHP 119,990, with an education price of PHP 112,990. For more information, click here.
macOS 27 is currently available for public beta testing and is scheduled to arrive as a free software update in the fall.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What processors power the new Mac mini models?
A: The new models use Apple’s M6 and M5 Pro chips.
Q: How much unified memory does Mac mini with M5 Pro support?
A: It supports up to 64GB of unified memory.
Q: What is the starting Philippine price for Mac mini with M6?
A: It starts at PHP 64,990, while the education price begins at PHP 57,990.
Q: Which Thunderbolt standard does each model support?
A: Mac mini with M6 has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, while M5 Pro has three Thunderbolt 5 ports.
Q: When will macOS 27 be available as a free update?
A: Apple says macOS 27 will be available as a free software update in the fall.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
Emman Tortoza
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
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