Apple Mac mini M6 and Mac Studio M5 Ultra: 4 Times More Powerful for AI

While its fans are focused on the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple has unveiled new Mac mini and Mac Studio models with more powerful chips and optimisations for artificial intelligence. The Mac mini M6 also uses Apple’s first-ever 2 nm chip and delivers AI performance that is 4 times higher than its predecessor.

The rumours were right. Before introducing the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and its first foldable iPhone in September, Apple has made its new Mac mini models with more powerful processors official. Although the previous versions were already highly popular for their AI capabilities, Apple has gone all out with a new Mac mini powered by the M6 chip, Apple’s first-ever 2 nm processor.

Mac mini M6: Apple’s first 2 nm chip

The M6 chip in this new Mac mini combines a 12-core CPU with a 12-core GPU. Every GPU core includes a “neural accelerator”. Apple says the outcome is AI performance that is 4 times greater on the new Mac mini M6 than on the previous Mac mini M4. “In addition, the brand-new 16-core Dual Neural Engine delivers performance up to twice that of the previous generation and, combined with the advanced GPU, makes Mac mini an ultra-powerful tool for every AI application,” the Cupertino company adds.

This M6 version is chiefly aimed at users running AI models or platforms such as OpenClaw on a Mac mini. It starts at €1,049. Apple has also announced a new Mac mini with an M5 Pro chip for the most demanding professionals, including those editing video, developing apps or running simulations. Starting at €1,999, this chip delivers unprecedented performance through an 18-core CPU and a 20-core GPU “with an enhanced shader core and third-generation ray tracing for demanding 3D design, visual effects and game development workloads.”

Apple rides the local AI wave

This year, artificial intelligence has suddenly made the Mac mini extremely popular. Thanks to the capabilities of Apple chips and its price, the Mac mini has become the ideal machine for running artificial intelligence agents locally. As a result, the product has been out of stock, as Apple had not anticipated this rise in demand.

Mac Studio M5 Max and M5 Ultra for AI workloads

For those needing even more AI power, Apple has also unveiled new Mac Studio models featuring the M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips. “Mac Studio is at the forefront of high-performance AI computing. Now, powered by M5 Max and M5 Ultra - the most powerful chips Apple has ever created - it is supercharged, bringing leading AI models directly to the user’s desk,” the Cupertino company says.

The M5 Ultra model, which starts at €6,599, is, for example, up to 4.3 times more powerful than a Mac Studio M3 Ultra for AI computations. For those same calculations, it is 9.8 times more powerful than the M1 Ultra.