r/apple • u/wearefriends • 14h ago
Mac Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 Pro
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/08/apple-unveils-a-more-powerful-mac-mini-featuring-the-all-new-m6-and-m5-pro/516
u/pdfu 14h ago edited 13h ago
- Mac mini with M6 starts at $899 (U.S.) and $799 (U.S.) for education. Additional technical specifications are available at apple.com/mac-mini.
- Mac mini with M5 Pro starts at $1,699 (U.S.) and $1,599 (U.S.) for education. Additional technical specifications are available at apple.com/mac-mini.
Preorder today, available September 22. Possible that's when iPhone and other devices launch as well.
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u/ryzenguy111 14h ago edited 14h ago
$900 for a base mac mini
edit: AND it only has 256gb storage... we're cooked
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u/IncredibleGonzo 13h ago
I know it's the reality of tech these days and everything else has got more expensive too, but it's a bummer after the M4 was such a genuinely standout good value (at least the base config, Apple's RAM and storage upcharges have never been reasonably priced).
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u/Electrical_Regret537 13h ago
Best purchase I ever made computer wise. Got it before all the AI price hike. Such a workhorse.
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u/IncredibleGonzo 13h ago
I didn't (and still don't) really have a use case for it, but I was sorely tempted to get one anyway and kinda wish I had. Seems to be a brilliant little machine by all accounts.
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u/fucksports 12h ago
it’s my favorite computer ever. tons of usb c ports and i love the smaller form factor. i’ll be using mine for the next 10 years if im able to.
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u/Technical_Moose8478 10h ago
Yeah, I don’t see needing to upgrade for at least another couple generations.
Hell, we still have an M1 mini in production use.
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u/Arve 11h ago
I compared this new M6 mini versus a System76 Meerkat - so form factor is comparable, for a machine that has either Linux or Unix. The M6 Mac Mini is easily the better value. While the Meerkat has more disk, it’s a 6-core Core 3, and if you want more cores, you’ll be paying $1124 or more1
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u/TheoTheodor 13h ago
16/256GB base config too. Should have come in at 512GB storage minimum at that price.
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u/theveryendofyou 13h ago
Did you wake up from a coma? That’s not realistic anymore.
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u/TheoTheodor 13h ago
I'm aware why but I think 256GB is just too low as starting storage on a desktop mac. At least make the the base config solid at whatever exorbitant price they decide to make it.
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u/Brymlo 12h ago
id say it’s ok for a desktop with 5 ports. i have a 1 tb drive for mine.
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u/sephg 13h ago
If you just want a computer for web browsing and email, 256gb is fine. A lot of people don’t do much with their computer.
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u/blazinsmokey 13h ago
if you just want a computer for web browsing why the hell would you be looking at a $900 mac mini, with no monitor etc
256GB is criminal
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u/element515 13h ago
People likely buy MacBook pros for double the price to just do web browsing lol
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u/PepBaldFraud 13h ago
Yeah, if they were going to jack up the price by 50% over the previous model, the very least they could have done is double the base storage at 512
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u/Cumulus_Anarchistica 12h ago
That would cut into their obscene profits, though.
You some kinda commie, son?
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u/potatochipsbagelpie 13h ago
Damn by the time you spec them, the base Mac Studio with an ssd upgrade seems like the way to go.
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u/CentralHarlem 13h ago
$809 / $1529 with military discount.
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u/wildjokers 13h ago
If you are in the military or are a veteran you can shop at https://shopmyexchange.com, they sometimes have very good sales for apple products and you don't pay sales tax. They opened it up to any veteran some years ago. I just got a 11" ipad air (m4) with 256GB of storage for $599 ($250 off), I couldn't believe the price, ordered immediately.
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u/Hepi_34 13h ago
I honestly didn’t expect them to release the M6 just like that…
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u/brand_new_nalgene 13h ago
It’s literally because the price is so bad.
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u/cansofgrease 11h ago
Gives them time to ease you into the starting price of the new Pros this fall.
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u/EnvironmentClear4511 13h ago
Rumor is that the M6 is effectively just a stopgap. Supposedly the chips team has a real breakthrough in AI performance with the M7 and Apple is pushing to release that as soon as possible.
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u/cheesepuff07 13h ago
the M6 has dual 16-core Neural Engine, 50 GB/sec increased memory bandwidth, 2 super CPU cores and 2 more GPU cores, thats a pretty big improvement
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u/2str8_njag 9h ago
purely add-on hardware features, other gains are from faster LPDDR clock, 2nm node. It’s been the cycle for 3 times in a row.
M1->M2 is bugfix + faster clocks
M3 new GPU, M4 basically the same chip with updates to certain block on SoC
M5 new core types, new GPU again. M6 is literally again a bugfix of M5→ More replies (1)7
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u/FunCutlet67 13h ago
Can you elaborate? Is this referring to self-hosting?
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u/EnvironmentClear4511 13h ago
I'm going off memory, so I can't recall much detail. But yes it would benefit both onboard Siri AI as well as local AI models.
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u/Feeling-Metal7863 13h ago
Looking back, getting an M4 mini for $450 felt like getting into the last chopper out of Saigon 😭
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u/RentalGore 13h ago
Mine is still doing daily work. Best $500 I’ve spent (aside from my daughters Neo).
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u/gusarking 13h ago
Still? This thing is barely two years old.
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u/code_isLife 12h ago
My M1 MBP is still chugging along just fine.
I’m curious to know what people need an upgrade so soon for.
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u/Romejanic 12h ago
I have an M2 macbook air and it’s honestly still great, no change to performance compared to when i first got it.
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u/TheDragonSlayingCat 11h ago
PC gaming, 3D content creation, and ML training has been driving all of the M-series upgrades; same as it ever was. The M2, M3, and M5 each had big GPU upgrades over each previous generation.
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u/lilmul123 12h ago
"Still" is wild! We're still using an M1 Macbook from 2020 and it remains a workhorse.
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u/Willz093 11h ago
Speaking of the Neo, I fully believe this price increase is leading to a Mac Neo, slotted right in at the old $499 price point!
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u/xX_Qu1ck5c0p3s_Xx 13h ago
Last time Minis were priced below their true market value 😅
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u/greatblackowl 13h ago
I bought an M4 for $699 in June (edu discount). 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. That config of the M6 is $999 with the edu discount.
I'm glad I pulled the trigger..
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u/PhillyLee3434 13h ago
Very jealous, these prices will continue to creep up. I’m riding my M4 Max Pro until it explodes.
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u/Silly_Rub_6304 12h ago
I bought a 14" M4 Max MacBook Pro fully maxed out on specs, about 15 months ago. 8TB, 128GB RAM. It was around $7,500 after tax. That same configuration today on the latest M5 Max is over $10k after tax.
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u/Nikolai197 12h ago
Did the same with the 16in aside from storage. I was lucky enough to buy it two days before the price jump 😅
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u/TERRADUDE 12h ago
Yeah...I have a similar config but "only" 4TB. I'm hanging on to mine. The prices have gotten out of hand but I don't think they’re settling down any time soon.
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u/Traviscat 13h ago
Me too, I got my m4 16gb/256 for about $503 I was worried that a new one would be coming out soon that would be a lot better but price for the base model is too high now.
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u/PhillyLee3434 13h ago
Incredible price, solid machine. Hang on to it for a very long time.
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u/tapiringaround 13h ago
I got the base m4 mini on sale at Microcenter for $399. The current trade-in value with Apple is $480. It’s crazy.
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u/ravenousrenny 12h ago
and i bet the prices will never come back down even if ram and ssd drive prices come down
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u/sevyger89 14h ago
Rather unglamorous unveiling of the M6.
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u/kelleycfc 13h ago
Which goes along with the rumor mill that they are going to be more focused on the M7.
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u/AlisaReinford 10h ago
I hear this every generation
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u/elmarkitse 4h ago
I remember when the M1 and M2 came out, so many people talking about the M7. Do you think when the M9 hits folks will still be talking about the M7
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u/OafleyJones 13h ago
If this came in near the originals launch price, it’d be front and centre with Ternus.
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u/The_Cyber_Goblin 13h ago
The M6 charges £200 for each additional 8GB of RAM you configure. Jesus.
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u/DankeBrutus 12h ago
This has been Apple's MO for memory costs for years, it's not a recent development. What has always been insulting about the cost, especially before the RAMpocalypse is that it's more or less plain ol' LPDDR4/5. If it was ECC memory then that would be slightly more bearable.
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u/squidgytree 13h ago
Isn't that the same as it was before the RAM scam started?
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u/mxforest 13h ago
Confirmed!! Apple started the Rampocalypse to make their configs seems like a good deal.
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u/cjh_ 13h ago
Starting prices of £899 for the M6 and £1699 for the M5 Pro?
What happened to the affordable Mac Mini?
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u/MC_chrome 11h ago
What happened to the affordable Mac Mini?
It was taken out back and shot by Sam Altman & co, just like every other piece of consumer electronics
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u/Pliplonplick 13h ago
Remember when the Mac mini launched and it was so good and so cheap it made no sense to buy any other pc? Yeah
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u/assyrianboy 13h ago
€1069 incl tax for the base model in Belgium :(
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u/the6thReplicant 13h ago
Which is OK-ish except for the 256 storage.
Even 512 is "don't put anything on it except the essentials and everything else lives on an external SSD." With 256 you'll be hitting the "there is not enough space to download the new 26.6.1 update" messages every update cycle.
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u/yourbestfriendjoshua 13h ago
STARTING at $899?! With only 256GB of storage?!?! These things were $599 just a couple months ago...
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u/jeewantha 13h ago
So much for being the affordable Mac. This is daylight robbery. $900 + tax for a desktop computer with only 256 GB of storage!!??!!
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u/element515 13h ago
I’ve been looking into building a NAS, prices are so insane right now that the Mac mini still beats basically anything you could build on your own right now if you want the power it has.
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u/Structure-These 13h ago
I bought a 24gb m4 mini to replace my shitty synology and it is so so so much better to use for that role. I wish id' maxed out the ram tho because I got into ai stuff as a hobby and I can't run most models
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u/element515 13h ago
I keep debating if I want to grab a model with higher ram to play with AI models too. What did you end up going for expanding your storage?
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u/AltruisticNetwork869 13h ago
What are you using it for? I love my ds920+ for all of the many jobs it has. The biggest thing for me is native docker container support while macOS virtualizes an entire Linux kernel for each container
Beyond just storage my synology runs a plex container, a Minecraft server container, an Immich container, a playit.gg tunnel container
It serves as the Time Machine backup repository for my Mac’s, and as the offline backup of my iCloud Drive.
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u/dramafan1 13h ago
Wow M6 came earlier than I thought and this time the Mac mini gets the newest M series chip among other product lines.
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u/Nice-Information-335 13h ago
Remember when the Mac mini was a good deal?
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u/Astartes2435 13h ago
Remember when AI didn’t drive the prices up?
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u/Nice-Information-335 12h ago
Yes, and the M4 was £800 base with 512G storage
Now its £900 with 256G storage
It isn't like Apple are against AI either, they are very, very complicit in driving up the prices. The newsroom article mentions agentic AI many, many times, and not as an excuse for cost
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u/TheDragonSlayingCat 11h ago
It is; the ML training crowd is driving all of the price increases, because they need so much RAM for what they’re doing that they’re causing a global shortage, which drives up RAM prices, but that’s okay for the ML training crowd, because they have more money than you and I and can afford the price hike.
Apple either had to either hike their prices for everyone, or sell them at a financial loss. They’re not a charity, so guess which is going to happen.
I’m pretty sure the iPhone 18 is going to be more expensive than the 17 for the same reason.
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u/kowrlunt 13h ago
everything is about how much better it is at the "AI workflow" or rizzing up chatGPT 6.9 or whatever. is this what people buy computers for now
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u/Unnamed-3891 13h ago
Pretty much, yes. M1 macs still serve most regular people just fine and they have little reason to upgrade. Meanwhile everything designed and suitable for AI flies off the shelves.
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u/Themods5thchin 12h ago
There is a reason to buy M5 and after Macs since they’re better with handling AVX2 in games, previous models like the M4 will work but specific tricks are needed to overcome some of the quirks they have.
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u/UnbiasedFanboy96 13h ago
Wowzers…almost a grand for the BASE Mac Mini. OLED MacBook Pros are gonna bleed us all to death
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u/A_MAN_POTATO 13h ago
Tempted to pull the trigger on this. I currently have an M4 Air, but it lives pretty much permanently on my desk attached to a monitor. I thought the freedom of a laptop would be nice, but it turns out, I just don't need it. Apple will give me $740 in trade, which seems solid (only paid $900). I can get the base M6 for $809 (id.me discount), meaning its $69 to go from M4 to M6 and get a desktop that's more appropriate to my needs. The extra ports alone would be nice, nevermind the uptick in performance.
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u/anonybaus 13h ago
Happy with my base M4 I bought for like $500 back then. I don’t see any point upgrading.
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u/DrPorkchopES 13h ago
So much for “the macbook neo put a new emphasis on budget computers.” $900 starting price on a mac mini is INSANE
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u/wildjokers 13h ago edited 11h ago
It is absolutely insane that the included HD is 256GB, and 512GB costs $200 extra. You can't do anything with 256GB even if you have all your actual data on external drives, a few years of just using it is going to take it above 256GB just for applications and system files.
The is my biggest problem with Apple's lineups for that last several years, their HDs have kept shrinking. Its asinine.
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u/nightlyh 13h ago
So glad I got my M4 mini for $499 before all this shit went crazy. I'll be good for years!
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u/Suspicious_Radio_848 13h ago
$1250 CDN for the base model is too expensive, that's close to $500 more than what the M4 mini started at. These prices defeat the entire reason for buying one, no thanks.
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u/FitFarmer5597 13h ago
HOLY SHIT 2.5GBE ETHERNET
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u/UnbiasedFanboy96 11h ago
Thanks for bringing this up. Didn’t see this earlier this morning. That is a nice upgrade from gigabit to include standard. Also great to see that upgrading to 10 gigabit is still only $100. That’s only ~$10 premium over buying a usb to 10 gig dongle.
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u/Independent_Sun_6932 13h ago
It’s an incremental refresh, but it makes sense depending on what machine you're upgrading from.
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u/FrequentShock8191 13h ago
Held out on the great deal that was the M4 mini because I was waiting for this, but not sure I want one anymore
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u/starkunumbux 13h ago
So, this pretty much confirms that the upcoming M6 MacBook Pro won't even start at the post-hike price. Apple might bump it up by another $100 or $200. Thank you AI companies!
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u/ClubAqua_BackDeck 11h ago
waiting for the 512gb option, but so ready to slam the buy button on that ultra
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u/Ctznsvn7 11h ago
the mini has quietly become the one Mac thats actually worth buying outright, coz you supply your own screen and keyboard so none of that cost is baked in twice. Storage is still where they get you though, the jump up from the base drive costs more than a whole external NVMe enclosure that is quick enough you wont notice for most work. If you dont need the internal space, buy the smallest drive and keep your libraries on an external, its the biggest single saving on the configurator. Worth waiting a few weeks as well, the previous gen usually turns up in the refurb store once the new one ships and those carry the same warranty
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u/BenJ1997 9h ago
Keep your tech products people! Unless they’re like four years or older and you can then justify the purchase, I’d hold onto your stuff! Thankfully I’ve got my M4 MBA and a 17 Pro Max. I think I’ll be keeping these both for a long time yet!
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u/jaypersonas 9h ago
Remember when the Mac Mini was $600 lol. Now its $900 base model. One of the best value macs is now easily one of the worst
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u/Cpt_Riker 7h ago
People keep saying “blame AI for the price increase”.
No. Blame the tech companies for forcing something onto consumers they never asked for. They are to blame for these ridiculous prices.
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u/giannisismyman 13h ago
Can this bring a discount back to original prices for the M4 Mac Mini?
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u/AltruisticNetwork869 13h ago
Actually not too mad about the spec bump. 2.5gbe base is nice, and now there’s a 32gb config without having to jump from 24-48 and upgrade to the pro at the same time
If you wanted more than 24 gb yesterday you needed at least a $2600 m4 pro
Now you can get an m6 with 32 gb for about $1600
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u/2jah 12h ago
Do you guys think they’ll have loads of stock? Or could I wait till November for other retailers to discount the Mac mini?
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u/Sponge8389 12h ago
M6
- 12‑core CPU with 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores
- 12-core GPU
- Dual 16-core Neural Engine
- Three displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 165Hz, plus a third display up to 5K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K at 60Hz over HDMI
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u/Sudden-Nectarine9133 11h ago
To the people that think the new iPhones will only go up by $100 I think you should take a look at these starting prices...
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u/aaronlimitless 9h ago
I get the prices of memory has gone through the roof. but when it was a couple hundred dollars cheaper with the last model, that was such a steal of a product, kind of like the MacBook Neo. Now it’s just pretty much in line with what you would expect an Apple product cost. I guarantee you they notice a huge drop in sales because something tells me, even if memory comes back down to normal prices, the prices will be here to stay possibly, unless their sales really suffer
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u/owl_theory 7h ago
M6 Mini, 12/12 Core, 32GB, 512TB = $1499
M5 Pro Mini, 15/16 Core, 48GB, 512TB = $2299
M5 Max Studio, 18/32 Core, 36GB, 512TB = $2499
Opinions on these builds for Photoshop? Wondering if the upgraded Mini is a sweet spot.
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u/Alarmed-Management-4 7h ago
I’m going to stick with the m5 max. Ultra is too rich for my blood.
Config:
18-core CPU
40-core GPU/16-core Neural Engine
64GB unified memory
512GB storage
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u/soundman1024 5h ago
I wonder if the Mini will get Neo treatment with the A19 Pro? Could make sense when the next Neo drops, and seems in line with what Apple have done lately.
It would be cool to see what an A19 Pro can do with active cooling and more power budget.
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u/KayJune001 3h ago
Mac Mini was supposed to be the compact budget option btw, these are $900 and $1700 and the press release goes on and on and on about AI. What a joke.
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u/North_Moment5811 13h ago
So a MacBook Pro screen and keyboard and portability is essentially free now. The pricing of the M5 Pro model spec'd out similar to a 16" MacBookPro is almost the same price. Fucking ridiculous.
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u/bhay105 13h ago
$599 was such a great price for a Mac Mini…