Apple announced new versions of its Mac Mini and Mac Studio desktop computers on Tuesday, promising faster processing power to run AI applications. Developers increasingly rely on the machines to host local AI agents, rather than running them in the cloud. The mini will cost $899, a $100 increase over the previous model, which was itself marked up from $599 over the summer because of soaring memory costs. Apple claims its new chips can process large language model prompts anywhere from 4 to 8.5 times faster than their predecessors.
Apple's New Mac Studio Packs the M5 Ultra — Its Most Powerful Chip Ever
The flagship desktop starts at $2,499 with an M5 Max or $5,499 with an M5 Ultra.
Apple just dropped new Mac Studios, and for the first time since 2022's original, both models share one chip generation: the M5 Max and a brand-new **M5 Ultra**.
That reunification ends an awkward era. Last year, Apple split the lineup between the M4 Max and the older-but-more-powerful M3 Ultra (there was never an M4 Ultra). Now it's simple again — and the Ultra is back on top where it belongs.
Same box, beastlier guts
Visually, nothing's changed. It's still the same compact chassis from 2022, USB-A ports and all. But inside:
- **M5 Max Studio** — $2,499, 36GB RAM / 512GB storage
- **M5 Ultra Studio** — $5,499, 96GB RAM / 1TB storage
Both ship with macOS 27 Golden Gate on September 22nd, alongside refreshed Mac Minis. The monster config — an M5 Ultra with 512GB of memory — lands in late October. Pricing? TBD, and yes, brace yourself.
The numbers are absurd
- Up to **4.3x faster AI compute** than before
- **1.8x faster graphics**, **1.3x faster CPU** vs. the M3 Ultra
- Memory bandwidth of **1.2TB per second**
- Up to a 36-core CPU and 80-core GPU
The secret sauce? A next-gen **UltraFusion** link that fuses two dual-die M5 Max chips into one quad-die monster.
There's also double-speed storage like the latest MacBooks, plus Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 — small wins that add up.
The catch
With the Mac Pro dead and buried, this is as fast as Apple computers get — driving up to four 5K/120Hz Studio Display XDRs at full resolution from a box smaller than your keyboard tray.
But thanks to RAMageddon, all that power comes at a premium. The M3 Ultra launched at $3,999 last year; today's Ultra starts $1,500 higher. Power, it turns out, has a price.
Apple's Mac Mini Gets M6 and M5 Pro Chips — And a $100 Price Hike
The compact desktop now starts at $899 (M6) or $1,699 (M5 Pro).
Apple just refreshed the Mac Mini with two new models: a base unit running a brand-new **M6** chip and a step-up with the **M5 Pro** from this year's MacBook Pro. Same tiny footprint as the 2024 models, but faster inside and out — including, finally, better Ethernet.
The damage
- **M6 Mac Mini**: $899 — up $100
- **M5 Pro Mac Mini**: $1,699 — also up $100
What's under the hood
The base configs stay familiar: 16GB/256GB on the M6, 24GB/512GB on the M5 Pro. But everything's quicker:
- **Storage is twice as fast**, matching the latest MacBook Airs and Pros
- **2.5Gb ethernet standard** (10Gb optional), plus Apple's N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 / Bluetooth 6
The M6: Apple goes 2nm
Apple's first **2nm chip** packs a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU with 170GBps of memory bandwidth — up from the M4's 10-core/10-core setup at 120GBps.
The CPU layout: two "super cores," four performance cores, six efficiency cores. The result? A claimed **40% CPU boost** over the M4, and a GPU with neural accelerators that's **up to 2x faster** at ray-traced rendering in some games.
The M5 Pro: small box, big AI muscle
Configurable up to 18 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores with 307GBps of memory bandwidth, the M5 Pro brings serious gains in AI compute and graphics over the outgoing M4 Pro. Think heavy photo/video upscaling and running larger diffusion models — all from a five-inch square.
What didn't change
Everything except Ethernet, essentially. You still get two front-facing 10Gbps USB-C ports, three Thunderbolt 4 ports in back on the M6, or Thunderbolt 5 on the M5 Pro.
Both ship with **macOS 27 Golden Gate** preinstalled, ready for the new Siri AI and full Apple Intelligence support — likely landing no later than the September 22nd ship date.
