Apple's New Mac mini Is Faster and Pricier — Here's What to Know
Apple's 2026 Mac mini is the first Mac with the new M6 chip. It starts at $899. The lineup offers a basic M6 model and a stronger M5 Pro model that replaces the old M4 Pro version. The Verge
The basic $899 model has 16GB of shared memory and 256GB of storage. Shared means the same memory serves the main processor and the graphics. Schools and students in the U.S. can buy it for $799. Apple That starting setup matters for people who set up many computers the same way for coding and Apple Intelligence features.
The $899 price sounds like a $300 jump from the old $599 starting price. There is background here. Apple stopped selling the $599 256GB model because of supply problems. Since May, the cheapest old mini cost $799 and had 512GB of storage. With the same storage, the new mini costs $100 more.
Two test machines show who each model is for. The Verge tested a $1,299 M6 mini with 12 main cores, 12 graphics cores, 24GB memory, 512GB storage, and 2.5Gb Ethernet for wired internet. The other was a $2,899 M5 Pro mini with 18 main cores, 20 graphics cores, 48GB memory, 1TB storage, and 10Gb Ethernet. One is a good everyday desktop and light work machine. The other is a small powerhouse for heavy jobs that need many cores and lots of memory at once.
The new base chip grows from 10 main cores and 10 graphics cores in M4 to 12 and 12. Inside are 2 super cores for quick bursts, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores that save power, like a team with sprinters and steady workers. M6 is Apple's first 2 nm chip, made with tinier parts, with a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, the part built for AI jobs. Apple Apple says the result is 40 percent faster processing, 2 times faster graphics, and up to 4 times faster AI. The AI part helps with jobs done on the machine itself, such as turning speech into text, making summaries, creating images, and coding help in Xcode. Storage is also twice as fast as the M4 and M4 Pro minis, so installing and opening big projects takes less time.
The small box is almost the same as the 2024 design, with a volume of 0.82 liters. The headphone plug is still on the front, useful for test desks and audio checks. The M5 Pro model has Thunderbolt 5 ports for faster drives, more screens, and larger docking setups. Wired internet speed stays split by model.
Apple will also build the Mac mini in Houston later this year at a new factory. Apple said in February this will double the size of that campus. Apple Building in the U.S. can make shipping and paperwork simpler, even though chips still come from around the world. Apple is also updating the larger Mac Studio desktop with an M5 Max chip option. Bloomberg The mini stays the choice for single users, test machines, edge servers, and home labs, while the Studio is for bigger graphics and memory needs. The old $599 price was unusually low for Apple, and The Verge still calls the mini the best value among Macs. Big buyers will care more about memory cost, how long storage lasts under heavy use, and reuse of Thunderbolt 5 accessories than the base price alone.
In my view, the two super cores are the detail to watch. They should handle quick taps and responses first, while the other cores handle longer background jobs like building software and preparing data. If Apple's software directs work well, the Mac should feel smoother during a busy day without using much more power.
From raising two kids through many Apple chip changes, I have learned they never asked about chip names. They noticed when video work finished faster and the machine stayed quiet. This mini follows that path, with more power in less space and more AI that can run at home instead of over the internet. That is a hopeful direction.
