TLDR
- Apple launched updated Mac mini and Mac Studio desktops on Tuesday, with the Mac mini starting at $899 and the Mac Studio from $2,499.
- The new Mac mini runs on Apple’s first 2-nanometer chip, the M6, featuring a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU.
- Both machines go on sale September 22 and ship with macOS 27 Golden Gate.
- The Mac mini’s base price has risen from $599 to $899 over recent months, linked to memory chip supply constraints tied to AI demand.
- Apple plans to begin producing the Mac mini in the U.S. later this year.
Apple announced updated Mac mini and Mac Studio computers on Tuesday, with new chips and higher price tags across the lineup.
$AAPL LAUNCHES NEW MAC MINI WITH M6 AND M5 PRO
Apple unveiled a new Mac mini lineup, with preorders starting today and availability beginning Sept. 22.
M6 Mac mini:
• Starts at $899
• 12-core CPU / 12-core GPU
• Up to 40% faster CPU performance vs. M4
• Up to 4x faster AI… pic.twitter.com/xJSCqz14Bg— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) August 25, 2026
The Mac mini now starts at $899, up from the $799 price set in May, and can be configured with either the new M6 chip or an M5 Pro processor. AAPL stock was down 0.34% on the day, trading around $309.30.
The Mac Studio starts at $2,499 with the M5 Max chip and goes up to $5,499 for the M5 Ultra model. A fully loaded Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra tops out at $18,299.
Both computers are available to preorder today and will hit stores on September 22. They ship with macOS 27 Golden Gate, which will roll out to other Mac users this fall.
The M6 is Apple’s first chip built on a 2-nanometer process. It packs a 12-core CPU, a 12-core GPU, and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine. Memory bandwidth comes in at 170 gigabytes per second, a 10% improvement over the M5.
“Built using the cutting-edge 2nm process, M6 combines a new CPU complex, two additional CPU and GPU cores, a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, and more unified memory bandwidth,” said Sri Santhanam, Apple’s VP of Silicon Engineering.
The standard Mac mini with M6 includes 16GB of unified memory. The M5 Pro version can go up to 64GB.
Mac Studio Goes Big on Pro Power
The Mac Studio is aimed squarely at professional users who need serious horsepower. The M5 Ultra configuration offers up to a 36-core CPU and an 80-core GPU, with a ceiling of 512GB of unified memory.
The M5 Ultra uses a quad-die architecture, connecting two dual-die M5 Max chips via Apple’s UltraFusion technology. It delivers 1.2 terabytes per second of memory bandwidth, 50% more than the M3 Ultra.
Both machines include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The Mac mini keeps the compact form factor introduced with the M4 models back in 2024.
Price Hikes Tied to Supply Squeeze
The Mac mini’s climb from $599 to $899 didn’t happen overnight. Apple pulled the $599 base model in May, bumping the floor to $799. Now it’s risen again to $899.
Former CEO Tim Cook, who is stepping down at the end of this month, noted during Apple’s Q2 earnings call that demand for the Mac mini and Mac Studio has outpaced supply. He pointed to advanced chip node availability, not memory, as the bottleneck.
“I think on the Mac Mini and the Mac Studio, I believe it will take several months to reach supply-demand balance,” Cook said.
The Mac mini has found a particularly strong audience among developers running AI agents locally, with OpenClaw cited as a popular use case.
Apple also confirmed plans to begin manufacturing the Mac mini in the U.S. later this year.
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