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For months, the Mac mini has been sold out due to colossal demand.
The diddy desktop PC has enjoyed a spike in demand, thanks to its ability to crunch local Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads, with delivery dates slipping from next-day to multiple weeks. Out of nowhere, Apple has announced a successor to its bestselling Mac mini with a choice of speedier silicon, faster storage, and improved graphics.
The entry-level Mac mini now sports an all-new M6 system-on-a-chip. This custom-designed silicon promises a dramatic boost in performance, while keeping the supersmall desktop design that gives this Mac its name.
Mac mini has become a popular way to run on-device AI tasks, like applying style effects to photos, running local models, or creating AI agents that automate your everyday tasks
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With M6, Apple is promising up to 4x faster AI performance, 2x faster storage and graphics, and 40% faster CPU performance when pitted head-to-head with the previous-generation Mac mini, which was powered by the M4.
Elsewhere, the Mac mini boasts Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 for speedy wireless connections, as well as an upgraded 2.5Gb Ethernet connection — with 10Gb available for an additional fee — for those who prefer a wired connection.
Mac mini supports the latest Apple Intelligence features, including Siri AI, which has been rebuilt from the ground up to answer any question — drawing on context from the emails, photos, and text messages stored on your device. This next-generation assistant includes ChatGPT-like smarts to answer open-ended queries, handle multiple requests back-to-back, and dream up itineraries for your next trip, draft emails, rewrite text messages, and much more.
Mac mini keeps the same compact form-factor, but dramatically increases the power under the bonnet with the latest chipsets
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That'll arrive when macOS 27, the next major desktop operating system from Apple, rolls out worldwide. The new Mac mini is available for preorder now, with availability beginning September 22.
If you want a measure of what a step-up the new Mac mini truly is, Apple says you can expect 13.5x faster processing in Large Language Model (LLM) prompts in LM Studio when compared to the Mac mini with M1, and up to 4.8x faster than the M4. That equates to up to 2.3x faster spreadsheet calculations in Microsoft Excel when compared to Mac mini with M1, and up to 1.5x faster than M4.
When it comes to gaming, Mac mini owners will enjoy up to 2x faster gaming performance with ray tracing in Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition when compared to the previous Mac mini with M4.
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Discussing the new arrival, Apple Chief Hardware Officer, Johny Srouji, said: "Mac mini has always been our most versatile Mac. Whether it’s being used as a home computer, powering a professional studio, or as an always-on agentic device, it’s the little Mac that can do it all.
"Today, we’re taking this versatility even further. With a more powerful CPU and graphics, Neural Accelerators in the GPU, and higher memory bandwidth, Mac mini with M6 delivers a whole new level of AI performance. And with up to an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, Mac mini with M5 Pro is an ultracompact powerhouse for complex pro workflows. We can’t wait to see all the incredible ways people will use it next."
Mac mini with M6 starts from £899, but that drops to £799 if you're eligible for Apple's education discount, which is available to full-time students and teachers.
Alongside the all-new M6, Apple has announced a more powerful M5 Pro system-on-a-chip that offers improved AI performance and better graphics
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Apple also announced a more powerful Mac mini with M5 Pro, which it claims "redefines what’s possible on such a small desktop."
This model supports up to 64GB of unified memory with 307GB/s of memory bandwidth, which unlocks some serious processing power, letting Mac mini owners run larger local AI models, work with complex 3D scenes, edit ProRes RAW files, and load large datasets for research. The M5 Pro model starts from £1,699.