In an uncharacteristic August launch, Apple has updated the Mac mini, retaining the same design and adding the M6 and M5 Pro processors. The release comes almost two years after the redesigned M4 Mac mini. There is nothing different externally, with the major change being the new M6 processor.

Wait times were as long as two months on the morning of August 25 for the M4 version, and the new model will almost certainly sell out rapidly upon release. Sri Santhanam, Apple's vice president of Silicon Engineering Group, stated the M6 combines a new CPU complex and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine built using the cutting-edge 2 nm process. Johny Srouji, Apple's chief hardware officer, said the chip delivers a whole new level of AI performance.

The M6 chip supports up to 32GB of unified memory with 170GB/s of bandwidth. Both Mac mini M5 and M5 Pro models include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, as well as upgraded 2.5Gb Ethernet. A 10Gb option is available at an extra cost.

Thunderbolt 5 is not universal. On the back, there are three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the Mac mini with M6. The Mac mini with M5 Pro has three Thunderbolt 5 ports, along with HDMI and Ethernet.

At the moment, there is no sign of the first units being made in America. At some point later in 2026 they are expected to be assembled in Houston, TX. Pricing starts at a record-high amount, with customer configuration options available online.