Apple unexpectedly unveiled the new Mac mini M6 on the evening of August 26 Taiwan time, launching both M6 and M5 Pro chip versions at once. This marks the first time Apple has skipped the M5 and gone straight to the M6 chip in the Mac mini product line, and it is also the first Apple Silicon processor to use 2-nanometer process technology. Alongside this, Apple also announced the Mac Studio powered by the M5 Ultra chip, completing a full refresh of its desktop product lineup.
Apple surprise-announces Mac mini M6 and M5 Pro
The two new models are now available for pre-order starting today, with official release on September 22. In Taiwan, pre-orders will open at 9:00 AM on August 27. The Mac mini’s starting price has increased from the previous generation’s $599 to $899 (NT$29,900 and up in Taiwan), a rise of $300 (roughly NT$10,000 more than Taiwan’s original earlier pricing). Apple previously discontinued the $599 256GB base model, replacing it with the $799 512GB M4 version as the entry point. The pricing strategy for the new models continues this upward trend.
M6: Apple’s first 2-nanometer chip, with 12-core CPU and GPU
The M6 is the first Apple Silicon processor to use a 2nm process, offering higher transistor density to deliver both better performance and greater power efficiency in a smaller chip area. The CPU features an all-new 12-core architecture, consisting of 2 ultra cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores—2 more than the previous M4’s 10 cores. Apple claims the M6 has the world’s fastest single-thread performance, with multi-thread performance up 20% compared to the M5 and 40% compared to the M4.
The GPU is also upgraded to 12 cores (2 more cores), and for the first time, each GPU core includes a Neural Accelerator — marking the first time this feature appears in the Mac mini lineup. Combined with the new dual 16-core Neural Engine (32 Neural Engine cores in total), AI performance is up to 4x faster than the M4, and graphics performance is 2x faster.
In terms of memory, the M6 Mac mini comes standard with 16GB of unified memory, configurable up to 32GB, with memory bandwidth increased to 170GB/s — a 10% increase over the M5 and 2.5 times that of the M1.
Actual performance improvement: LLM processing speed reaches 4.8x that of the M4.
Apple The published actual application data showsM6 Mac mini handles large language model prompts in LM Studio at speeds up to 4.8 times faster than M4 and 13.5 times faster than M1. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet operations are 1.5 times faster than M4, while game performance in Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition with ray tracing reaches 2 times that of M4.
Apple’s head of hardware, Johny Srouji, said: “Mac mini has always been our most versatile Mac. Whether it’s used as a home computer, powering a professional studio, or as a long-running Agentic AI device, it’s the little Mac that can do it all.”
The new Mac mini is here. Small in size. Big on performance. From everyday productivity to all things AI, it can help you do it all. pic.twitter.com/GopxcHM5od
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 25, 2026
M5 Pro version: Powered by Thunderbolt 5, allowing multiple machines to be daisy-chained to run large AI models.
For users requiring higher performance, the Mac mini also offers an M5 Pro version. The base configuration features a 15-core CPU and 16-core GPU, while the higher-end version is upgraded to an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU. The M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory with 307GB/s bandwidth, and is equipped with Thunderbolt 5 ports. According to Apple’s testing, the M5 Pro delivers up to 4x faster large language model prompt processing than the M4 Pro in LM Studio, and 1.4x faster ray-traced rendering in Blender.
Beyond improving connectivity for high-speed devices, Apple also mentioned that multiple Mac minis can be linked together into a compute cluster to run large AI models collectively. This feature is especially attractive to developers and AI enthusiasts who need to run large language models locally. Over the past year, the Mac mini has become a popular choice for running local AI agents, even seeing premium-price buying frenzies on eBay.
Connection specifications fully upgraded
Both Mac mini models now support Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, with wired networking upgraded from the previous generation’s Gigabit to 2.5Gb Ethernet, and a 10Gb option available. The M6 version features 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the M5 Pro is upgraded to 3 Thunderbolt 5 ports. The new models also add Genlock support via USB-C, enabling precise synchronization between displays and cameras, mainly for multi-camera shoots and video production. The external design remains the same compact aluminum chassis as the previous generation, with no significant changes.
In its press release, Apple specifically highlighted the concept of “always-on agentic computing,” hoping that the Mac mini, beyond serving as a regular desktop computer, could also stay on for extended periods to continuously run AI agents, automation workflows, or other background tasks. The M6 strengthens AI computing capabilities through the GPU neural network accelerator and dual 16-core neural network engines, while the M5 Pro offers larger unified memory and Thunderbolt 5 multi-machine daisy-chaining, making the intended use cases of the two versions more clearly defined.
Mac Studio Updated in Tandem: M5 Ultra Debuts Quad-Die Architecture
Apple simultaneously announced the new Mac Studio featuring the M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips. The M5 Ultra is Apple’s most powerful chip ever, marking the first use of a Quad-Die architecture. It uses UltraFusion technology to connect two M5 Max dual-die chips into a single processor, with inter-die bandwidth exceeding 4.4TB/s. Compared to the previous M3 Ultra, UltraFusion’s connection density has increased by more than 6 times, allowing the four dies to operate in coordination with extremely low latency as if they were a single chip.
The M5 Ultra features up to a 36-core CPU (12 super cores + 24 performance cores) and an 80-core GPU, with a neural network accelerator integrated into each GPU core. Unified memory scales up to 512GB with 1.2TB/s of bandwidth, a 50% improvement over the M3 Ultra. AI computing performance is 4.5 times faster than the M3 Ultra, while graphics performance is 40% faster. For storage, it adopts a next-generation PCIe Gen 6 SSD with speeds double that of the previous generation.
Even more astonishingly, Apple mentioned in the presentation that four Mac Studio systems can be linked via Thunderbolt 5 (MLX), sharing memory to run large language models exceeding a trillion parameters — and all four systems can be powered from a single standard wall outlet.
Taiwan pricing and launch information
The prices for the new Mac mini and Mac Studio in Taiwan are as follows:
- Mac mini M6(12-core CPU / 12-core GPU / 16GB / 256GB): starting from NT$29,900
- Mac mini M5 Pro(15-core CPU / 16-core GPU / 24GB / 512GB): Starting at NT$59,900
- Mac mini M5 Pro(18-core CPU / 20-core GPU): starting at NT$66,900
- Mac Studio M5 Max(36GB / 512GB): From NT$84,900
- Mac Studio M5 Ultra(96GB / 1TB): From NT$199,990
Taiwan will open pre-orders at 9 AM on August 27 and officially go on sale on September 22, with each customer limited to purchasing 2 units. Both models will ship with the macOS 27 Golden Gate operating system and include next-generation Apple Intelligence and Siri AI features.
Mac mini official website – Click here
Overall, the highlight of this Mac mini update is the generational leap in chip technology, with Apple more clearly positioning the Mac mini as a “long-running AI computing device.” From the neural network accelerator in the M6 to the Thunderbolt 5 multi-machine daisy-chaining capability in the M5 Pro, everything points in the same direction: making the Mac mini the preferred platform for on-device AI agents. Over the past year, the Mac mini has already built a strong reputation among AI developers, and this hardware upgrade, combined with the built-in Siri AI features in macOS 27, further solidifies that positioning. For users coming from the M1 or M2 era, this upgrade is quite noticeable; but for M4 users, unless there’s a clear AI computing need, it’s worth waiting a bit longer.
Update: Currently, with the M5 Ultra’s 256 GB RAM + 16GB SSD, the maximum would be… 647,900Using the 140,000 price difference between the 256GB and 96GB versions, I estimate that the full-spec M5 Ultra Mac Studio with 512GB RAM and 16GB SSD could cost at least around 210,000 more. My personal guess is that the highest configuration will land around 859,900. Wealthy big spenders might want to consider it.
Source: KOCPC Chinese