Apple Announces the New Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro

Apple has announced the next generation Mac mini, and it is a big one. The new lineup, unveiled on August 25, replaces the M4 and M4 Pro models from late 2024 and brings two new chip options: the M6 and the M5 Pro.

We know many of you have been waiting for this refresh, so here is what’s new and what it means for dedicated Mac mini hosting.

The M6

The base Mac mini now runs on the brand new M6, Apple’s first processor built on a 2nm process. It features a 12-core CPU (up from 10 cores in the M4 and M5) and a 12-core GPU, plus a dual Neural Engine with two 16-core engines. Memory bandwidth climbs to 170GB/s, up from 120GB/s on the M4.

Compared to the previous M4 Mac mini, Apple says the M6 model delivers:

• Up to 40% faster CPU performance
• Up to 4x faster AI performance
• Up to 2x faster graphics
• Up to 2x faster storage speeds

Apple cites up to 4.8x faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio versus the M4 Mac mini, and up to 13.5x faster than the original M1.

M6 configurations support up to 32GB of unified memory and up to 2TB of storage.

The M5 Pro

The higher-end configuration steps up to the M5 Pro, available in two variants: a 15-core CPU with 16-core GPU, or an 18-core CPU with 20-core GPU. M5 Pro models can be configured with up to 64GB of unified memory.

What This Means for Mac Mini Vault

We are actively working to bring the new M6 and M5 Pro Mac minis into our dedicated Mac mini lineup. As with every generation, we will be testing units as soon as they arrive to validate performance, thermals, and stability in our hosting environment before rolling them out to customers.

If you are interested in a dedicated M6 or M5 Pro Mac mini, or want to discuss upgrading your existing service, reach out to our team and we will keep you posted on availability and pricing. Stay tuned to the blog for updates as we get hardware in hand.