Apple unveils M6 and M5 Ultra chips in new Mac mini and Mac Studio

Apple has announced a major refresh of its desktop lineup, introducing the M6 and M5 Ultra chips in the new Mac mini and Mac Studio, with a strong focus on on-device artificial intelligence. The M6, Apple's first 2-nanometer processor, powers the Mac mini, while the M5 Ultra, described as the most powerful chip Apple has ever made, drives the Mac Studio Source: elcaribedr. Both machines are available for pre-order now and will ship on September 22 Source: hoydo.

The chips

The M6 features a 12-core CPU, a 12-core GPU with neural accelerators, and a dual 16-core Neural Engine, delivering up to four times the AI performance of the M4-based Mac mini Source: lavozar. The M5 Ultra, built by connecting two M5 Max chips via UltraFusion, offers up to 36 CPU cores, 80 GPU cores, and up to 512 GB of unified memory Source: lavanguardia. Apple claims the M5 Ultra provides 4.5 times the AI capability of the M3 Ultra Source: lavanguardia.

AI at the core

Apple emphasizes running large language models and AI agents locally, reducing reliance on cloud services Source: infobae. The Mac mini with M6 reportedly processes LLM prompts up to 13.5 times faster than an M1 model and 4.8 times faster than an M4 model Source: lavozar. The Mac Studio targets professionals like filmmakers and researchers Source: hoydo.

Pricing and availability

• Mac mini with M6: from $899 (US) / €1,069 Source: elcaribedr, lavanguardia
• Mac mini with M5 Pro: from $1,699 (US) / €2,019 Source: elcaribedr, lavanguardia
• Mac Studio with M5 Max: from $2,499 (US) / €3,029 Source: hoydo, lavanguardia
• Mac Studio with M5 Ultra: from $5,499 (US) / €6,649 Source: elcaribedr, lavanguardia

The 512 GB Mac Studio configuration will be available in late October Source: hoydo. The new machines run macOS 27 Golden Gate with Apple Intelligence and Siri AI Source: diariolibree. Apple's September event, expected to unveil the iPhone 18 series, will be led by John Ternus, who takes over from Tim Cook on September 1 Source: infobae.