New Mac Mini and Mac Studio: 13 Things You Might Have Missed

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced new M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini models and M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studio models. We've covered all of the announcements in-depth, but wanted to highlight some interesting tidbits about the new machines.

• Price Increases - The Mac mini now starts at $899, $300 over the original starting price of the M4 Mac mini when it launched in October 2024. Mac Studio pricing starts at $2,499, $500 more than the original price of the M4 Max model when it came out in March 2025.
• Connectivity - Apple upgraded the new Macs with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, so they are on par with the connectivity standards in the latest iPhone models. Wi-Fi 7 offers faster data speeds in the 6GHz band, lower latency, and an option to connect across 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz networks at once for reliability improvements.
• Genlock - The Mac mini and Mac Studio support genlock over USB-C, so there's no need for a separate sync box. Genlock is used in multi-camera shoots and virtual production to lock timing to a shared reference signal. The Mac's display and the camera filming it are synchronized, preventing flickering and tearing from a mismatch between the display refresh rate and camera shutter. Apple previously added genlock support to the iPhone 17 Pro models, so now an iPhone 17 Pro and one of the new Macs can work in tandem for pros who need the feature.
• Ethernet - The Mac mini now starts with 2.5Gb Ethernet instead of 1Gb. There's an option to upgrade to 10Gb, which is what the Mac Studio starts with (same as the prior-generation model).
• Neural Engine - The M6 chip has an upgraded Neural Engine with two 16-core engines instead of just one. Apple says the new Neural Engine offers 2x more peak compute so AI workflows run faster.
• GPU - The M6 Mac mini's 12-core GPU has Neural Accelerators in each core, offering up to 4x faster AI performance and 2x faster graphics than the M4 Mac mini. The Mac Studio's M5 Ultra is also the first Ultra chip with Neural Accelerators. Peak AI compute performance is 4.3x the M3 Ultra's performance.
• SSD - Mac Studio storage is twice as fast with new SSD architecture built on PCIe Gen 6.
• SSD Pricing - As Daring Fireball points out, upgrading a Mac mini with a 2TB SSD costs $1,000, which is more than the $899 base price of the machine. Upgrading to the 4TB SSD for the M5 Pro costs $1,800, which is $100 over the price of the base machine.
• Thunderbolt - The M6 Mac mini continues to have Thunderbolt 4, not Thunderbolt 5. The M5 Pro model does have Thunderbolt 5.
• Current Max Pricing - An M5 Pro Mac mini with 18-core CPU, 64GB RAM, an 8TB SSD, and 10GbE is $6,799. The M5 Ultra Mac Studio with 36-core CPU, 256GB RAM, and 16TB SSD is $18,299.
• 512GB RAM - The M5 Ultra Mac Studio supports up to 512GB RAM, with the option coming in late October. Upgrading to 256GB RAM costs $4,000, and the 512GB option will be even more expensive. 96GB and 256GB RAM are the only options right now.
• Announcement Timing - This is the first time Apple has announced new Macs in August since the 27-inch iMac debuted in August 2020.
• macOS Golden Gate - When the new machines launch on September 22, they will likely have macOS Golden Gate installed. The software update is probably going to come out the week of September 14.

The new Mac Studio and Mac mini models can be pre-ordered starting today, and will be available on September 22.

Article Link: New Mac Mini and Mac Studio: 13 Things You Might Have Missed

 

[LeeW]

Happy with what I have right now, and even happier given these price rises.

 

[mklnz]

The 512GB SSD starting for Mac Studio is borderline criminal in 2026 sigh

 

[mthomas184]

Happy with what I have right now, and even happier given these price rises.

Wish I wouldve gotten something better with the M4 256. Regretting that decision now ugh. Oh well.

 

[Odan]

Great... it's ordered, the most expensive and smallest computer I ever owned. Bad time to order as it's 2k over what it used to be, but my M1 and its never ending bluetooth problems have to go at some point.

 

[vegetassj4]

I missed the decent pricing and value for the buck.

 

[LeeW]

Wish I wouldve gotten something better with the M4 256. Regretting that decision now ugh. Oh well.

Fortunately, I went all in with the M5 upgrades on my and my wife's devices, so I won't need anything for a few years.

 

[SamRyouji]

$300 price increase is not something that anyone gonna missed noticing nor went unnoticed by any human eyes, btw. 🤌💵

 

[LeeW]

Great... it's ordered, the most expensive and smallest computer I ever owned. Bad time to order as it's 2k over what it used to be, but my M1 and its never ending bluetooth problems have to go at some point.

With the amount of ongoing issues with Bluetooth, don't assume this will fix it 🙂

 

[cybercommand]

Don’t forget that today Apple released a new version of its Polishing Cloth on its online store. In the U.S., pricing is now set at $9, down from $19 for the previous version of the cloth.

 

[jz0309]

when configuring some options for the Studio and the mini, I noticed that the leasing option is not offered for the mini, for the Studio it, wonder if that is an oversight or intention?

 

[novagamer]

Are the specific SSD speeds listed anywhere? Can someone point me to them?

 

[1BadManVan]

Fortunately, I went all in with the M5 upgrades on my and my wife's devices, so I won't need anything for a few years.

Yup, glad I got my upgraded m5 air in march. 24gb/1tb should last me a good number of years. Crazy to think the same config in the m6 mini costs more and it doesn’t even have a screen or keyboard and trackpad lol.

 

[ShivneelSingh]

Looks like I’m keep my M2 Mini with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. New Mac Mini is not worth the drastic price increase.

 

[richinaus]

There goes my fantasy of a studio ultra running everything - just specced up the machine I would want - AU$18k.......

 

[raindogg]

Let's all remember Apple received 2.5 Billion in Tariff refunds that we paid for, only to raise prices anyway.

 

[brewcitywi]

I'm getting the feeling that these are the chips and the power everyone's been asking for. Yet, with elevated RAM costs, I'm sure most of these computers are a little out of reach!

 

[McWetty]

I will continue to use my M1 Max Studio for the foreseeable future. I have a backup M4 mini I got for $349 just in case Apple decides to sideline macOS updates for M1 family chips.

 

[svish]

Disappointing to see these price hikes. Very happy that I got my M4 mini at $599. Great Mac. Long wait time for the new Macs.

 

[brewcitywi]

Wish I wouldve gotten something better with the M4 256. Regretting that decision now ugh. Oh well.

You can't regret those decisions. I have a Mac Studio with M2 Max. Running apps like Illustrator and Photoshop are already running at "real time" speeds. However, I don't run multi-task AI projects or edit video.

 

[MarkGurmanRumors]

I predicted this.

Everyone, be sure to thank AI and everyone that pushes it 👍🏻

 

[Peperino]

It is ridiculous, useless and as someone else said borderline criminal that they are delivering baseline models of a
Mac Studio with 512. ???
Mac Mini with 256. ????
Really? As in raising the prices is not enough that they need to keep this absurd unusable baseline RAMs?
Someone tell Apple we are on 2026 and Mac Mini/Studios are NOT phones... 🙁

 

[ArrayDecay]

RAM costs must make up a big chunk of these prices.

 

[CharlesShaw]

... $300 over the original starting price of the M4 Mac mini when it launched in October 2024.

With lots of angry "slap in the face" comments back in 2024 perhaps Apple felt that as long as they were angering customers with an exceptionally affordable base model, why not make the anger justified. 😂

 

[LeeW]

We all have a value threshold for everything; for me, that threshold has now been hit. It's not about whether I can afford to pay; I can, but not at those prices.