Apple announces new $899 M6 Mac mini and M5 Ultra Studio

Apple announces new $899 M6 Mac mini and a $5,499 M5 Ultra Mac Studio in a surprise desktop refresh. Preorders are live now, with shipping set for Sept. 22. The jump matters because Apple says these chips deliver major AI and graphics gains over the last generation—while the boxes look the same.

A day after rumors swirled about fresh Mac hardware, Apple unveiled two updated desktops: the first Mac mini with the M6 chip and a Mac Studio built around the M5 Ultra. External designs are unchanged, but the silicon story is the real then-and-now moment for anyone who still remembers yesterday’s M4 mini and M3 Ultra Studio.

For more tech milestones framed as past-meets-present, browse our Nostalgia: Then & Now hub.

Key Takeaways

• Apple surprise-announced an $899 M6 Mac mini and a $5,499 M5 Ultra Mac Studio; preorders are open, with shipping on Sept. 22.
• The M6 Mac mini is Apple’s first 2-nanometer chip device and starts $100 above the M4 mini’s launch price.
• The M5 Ultra Mac Studio is Apple’s “most powerful chip ever,” with a base $5,499 config and max builds up to $18,299.
• Both lines also offer M5-series configs (M5 Pro mini from $1,699; M5 Max Studio from $2,499).
• Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and (on Studio) Thunderbolt 5 plus up to eight displays round out the connectivity upgrade.

What did Apple announce, and why does the $899 price matter?

According to Mashable’s report on the announcement, Apple unveiled a portable Mac mini with the new M6 chip and a hulking Mac Studio with M5 Ultra silicon. Sri Santhanam, Apple’s vice president of Silicon Engineering Group, said the new processors offer “the next giant leap in performance and AI compute.”

The M6 Mac mini starts at $899—$100 more than its M4 predecessor. Apple and coverage attribute higher pricing partly to memory market pressure (“RAMageddon”). The M5 Ultra Mac Studio starts at $5,499, or $200 more than the M3 Ultra model, with richer configurations climbing as high as $18,299.

That $899 figure is the headline for everyday buyers: still an accessible entry to Apple’s desktop line, but no longer the same sticker as the last generation. The nostalgia angle is clear—same tiny chassis, new process node, and a modest price step that marks how quickly “affordable Mac desktop” has evolved.

How does the new M6 Mac mini compare with the M4 era?

The Mac mini is Apple’s inaugural M6 device and the company’s first processor built on a 2-nanometer manufacturing process. Earlier M3, M4, and M5 chips used 3nm technology. Apple says that denser silicon translates to “a major leap in performance and power efficiency.”

The M6 chip adds two more CPU and GPU cores than the M5 chip, for a total of 12 apiece, plus a Dual 16-core Neural Engine. Versus the M4 Mac mini, Apple claims up to four times faster AI performance and up to two times faster graphics. The company positions it for everyday users, students, developers, AI hobbyists, and enterprises.

Base configuration is $899 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Memory now maxes out at 32GB, up from the M4 mini’s 24GB ceiling. A second config uses the M5 Pro chip: up to an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of storage, starting at $1,699 with 24GB of memory and 512GB of storage—aimed at pro users handling app development, video rendering, and scientific simulations.

Both new Mac mini models support 2.5Gb Ethernet (with a 10Gb upgrade available), plus Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Mashable notes Mac minis have become popular for running AI agents this year, with some M4 units hard to find in stock—another reason demand for the M6 refresh may run hot.

What makes the M5 Ultra Mac Studio a then-and-now leap?

The M5 Ultra is Apple’s first chip with quad-die architecture, formed by fusing two dual-die M5 Max chips. It offers up to a 36-core CPU and 80-core GPU, up to 512GB of unified memory, and 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth. The prior M3 Ultra capped at 32 CPU cores, 96GB of RAM, and 819GB/s of memory bandwidth.

Compared with its predecessor, Apple says the M5 Ultra Mac Studio delivers up to 4.5 times faster AI compute and up to 40 percent faster graphics. Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, called it “the ultimate desktop for on-device AI and the world’s most demanding pro workflows.”

The base M5 Ultra Studio starts at $5,499 with a 30-core CPU, 64-core GPU, 36GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. An 80-core GPU option adds $1,300. A lower Mac Studio config with the M5 Max starts at $2,499 ($2,299 for education); the Ultra’s education price is listed at $5,099.

Mashable’s preorder guide adds that both Studio models include Thunderbolt 5 ports and support for up to eight displays. The Ultra’s I/O includes dual Thunderbolt 5 ports and an SDXC slot on the front, plus four Thunderbolt 5 ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI, Ethernet, and a headphone jack on the back. Apple says the M5 Max can deliver up to 3.9x faster on-device AI prompt processing than the prior generation—useful for musicians, videographers, engineers, and motion-graphics work without the Ultra’s bulkier price.

When can you preorder, and what ships when?

Preorders for the refreshed Mac mini and Mac Studio are live in the Apple Store. Units will not start shipping until Sept. 22. Apple also notes a Mac Studio configuration with 512GB of unified memory is coming in late October.

The Apple Upgrade program is available for either Studio model, per Mashable’s preorder coverage. Timing sits just ahead of Apple’s annual September hardware event, where the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 series, a foldable iPhone, updated smart home devices, and new Apple Watches—so these desktops land as an early overture before the bigger stage show.

In short: same silhouettes you already know, new silicon that Apple frames as its biggest AI and graphics step yet, and a clear price ladder from the $899 M6 mini to five-figure Studio builds. If you are upgrading from an M4 mini or M3 Ultra Studio, the official claims sketch a sharp then-versus-now gap—especially for on-device AI.