Apple’s M6 Mac mini and Mac Studio go on sale

Apple ↘ 0.80% began selling its redesigned Mac mini and Mac Studio desktop computers on September 22, bringing the company's first 2-nanometer processor to market and marking a new push into on-device artificial intelligence for desktop users. Retailers are already cutting prices, with Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 2.24% listing the base M6 Mac mini at $879.99 — a $20 discount from the $899 list price.appleinsider

The new Mac mini comes in two configurations: one with the M6 chip starting at $899, and a higher-end model with the M5 Pro chip starting at $1,699. The Mac Studio, aimed at professional users, starts at $2,499 with the M5 Max chip and tops out at $5,499 with the new M5 Ultra, which Apple calls its most powerful chip ever. Both ship with macOS 27 Golden Gate preinstalled.apple+4

What's New in the Hardware

The M6 is the first Apple silicon chip built on a 2-nanometer process, featuring a 12-core CPU — a first for Apple — along with 12 GPU cores and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. Apple claims the M6 is 20 percent faster than the M5 in multithreaded performance and 40 percent faster than the M4. The chip also includes Neural Accelerators, a feature introduced with the M5, designed to speed up on-device AI tasks.wired

The Mac Studio's M5 Ultra uses a new quad-die architecture with a 36-core CPU. A configuration with 512GB of unified memory will follow in late October.cultofmac+1

Pricing and Early Deals

The $899 entry price for the Mac mini represents a notable increase from the $599 starting price of the M4 model. The base configuration includes 16GB of unified memory and 256GB of storage. Upgrading to 24GB of memory and 512GB of storage brings the price to $1,299.apple+2

Amazon is already offering discounts across multiple configurations. The 512GB M6 model is listed at $1,069.99, a $30 savings, and the 24GB/512GB version is $1,269.99, also $30 off, though shipping on the latter has slipped to mid-to-late October. AppleInsider noted these are the lowest prices currently available for the 2026 Mac mini.appleinsider

AI as the Selling Point

Apple is positioning the new desktops as AI-capable machines, with all models supporting Apple Intelligence features. The M6's doubled Neural Engine cores and Neural Accelerator coprocessors are central to this pitch. PCMag, which tested the M6 Mac mini, called it a "new midrange marvel," noting that while the higher starting price ends the era of a budget Mac mini, the performance gains are substantial. Additional M6-powered Macs, including a MacBook Pro and iMac, are expected to follow in October.pcmag+3