Apple has once again pushed the boundaries of desktop computing, unveiling significantly upgraded versions of its popular Mac Mini and powerhouse Mac Studio. These highly anticipated refreshes introduce groundbreaking new silicon – the M6 and M5 Ultra chips – promising unprecedented performance and bringing these sought-after machines back into ample supply after a period of scarcity.
The Mac Mini Gets a Mighty M6 Makeover
While the exterior design of the Mac Mini remains familiar, its internal architecture has been completely reimagined. Skipping the M5 generation entirely, the new Mac Mini now offers configurations featuring either the M5 Pro (the same chip found in the current MacBook Pro) or the revolutionary M6 chip. The M6 marks a significant leap forward as Apple’s first silicon built on cutting-edge 2-nanometer process technology.
Unpacking the M6 Chip: A New Era of Performance
The M6 boasts a 12-core CPU, another first for Apple, meticulously structured with two “super cores,” four performance cores, and six efficiency cores. The introduction of these dedicated performance cores is designed to dramatically accelerate multithreaded tasks while maintaining Apple’s renowned power efficiency. Apple claims the M6 delivers a staggering 20 percent boost over the M5 in multithreaded performance and an impressive 40 percent improvement compared to the M4.
Beyond the CPU, the M6 integrates a more potent GPU, now featuring 12 cores. Crucially, this generation of Mac Mini also incorporates Neural Accelerators, a feature first seen in last year’s M5 chip, enabling significantly faster on-device AI performance. The M6 Mac Mini is touted to be twice as fast as its M4 predecessor, offering enhanced throughput for gaming and doubling peak AI performance with its “dual 16-core Neural Engine.”
Price and Configuration
This substantial performance upgrade comes with a $200 price adjustment, with the M6 Mac Mini starting at $899 for the 16 GB unified memory model. Users can configure the compact desktop with up to 32 GB of unified memory, benefiting from a 40 percent increase in speed and bandwidth reaching up to 170 GB per second.
Mac Studio Ascends with the M5 Ultra
The Mac Studio, Apple’s professional-grade desktop, also receives a monumental upgrade. Available with either the M5 Max or the all-new M5 Ultra, this marks the fourth generation of the Mac Studio, with future M3 Ultra (and M3 Max) models anticipated in early 2025.
The M5 Ultra: Apple’s Most Powerful Chip Yet
Apple proudly declares the M5 Ultra as its most powerful chip to date, pioneering a “quad-die” architecture. Traditionally, Apple’s “Ultra” chips fuse two Max dies using UltraFusion technology. The M5 Ultra takes this a step further: the M5 Max itself already comprises two dies, meaning the M5 Ultra effectively combines four dies. To ensure seamless operation and maximum speed across these four chips, the next iteration of UltraFusion dramatically boosts inter-die bandwidth to over 4.4 TB per second, allowing the entire array to function as a singular, immensely powerful CPU.
The M5 Ultra Mac Studio now features a formidable 36 CPU cores (four more than its predecessor) and retains 80 GPU cores, benefiting from M5-specific enhancements for superior overall graphics performance.
Revolutionizing AI and Connectivity
In a groundbreaking revelation, Apple highlighted the Mac Studio’s potential for frontier-level AI. Through Thunderbolt 5, multiple Mac Studios can be interconnected, enabling them to share memory and collectively run Large Language Models (LLMs) with over a trillion parameters locally – a feat previously unimaginable on a desktop. Remarkably, Apple demonstrated that four interconnected Mac Studios could operate efficiently from a standard wall outlet, showcasing incredible power optimization for high-demand computational tasks.
Availability and macOS Golden Gate
Both the new Mac Mini and Mac Studio models are available for preorder starting today, arriving with macOS 27 Golden Gate preinstalled. While systems are slated to ship on September 22, Apple assures customers that this initial delay will not be indicative of general shipping times for these highly anticipated new machines.
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