The M6 Mac mini has arrived, with Apple refreshing its most compact desktop in an unusually timed update. Rather than waiting for its customary autumn Mac window, Apple introduced the new model just ahead of its main iPhone event, moving on from the M4 generation that had powered the machine for close to two years.
The shift skips the M5 entirely, going straight to the M6 chip. As with previous refreshes, this is largely a specification bump, with the meaningful changes happening inside the aluminium shell rather than on the outside. Apple has retained the Mac mini’s compact form while carrying over much of its existing design.
Design, Weight and Size
The Mac mini received a substantial redesign with the M4 generation, shrinking to a considerably smaller footprint. Apple has left that design untouched for the M6 model. The M6 Mac mini keeps the same 5-inch by 5-inch square footprint and stands 2 inches tall, compared with the 1.41 inches of the wider M2 version.
The front-facing ports carry over from the M4 redesign. That means two USB-C 10 gigabit per second ports and a headphone jack on the front, so everyday connections do not require reaching around the back. Weight is unchanged at 1.5 pounds, matching the M4 exactly, which is expected given the shared enclosure. The power button remains in a corner underneath the unit, a quirk of the smaller design that continues on the new model.
For most buyers, the two generations are visually indistinguishable. The rear connectivity likewise mirrors the earlier model, with HDMI, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and further USB-C connections.
Performance and Specifications
The M4 chip in the previous Mac mini used a 10-core CPU, comprising four performance and six efficiency cores, paired with a 10-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. The M6 Mac mini moves to the 2-nanometre M6 chip, making it the first model to ship under the new chip generation.
The new processor runs a 12-core CPU, made up of two super cores, four performance cores and six efficiency cores. Apple describes the new chip as offering improved cores, this time citing the world’s fastest single-threaded performance. Graphics move up to a 12-core GPU, while AI handling is served by a dual 16-core Neural Engine alongside GPU Neural Accelerators.
Memory bandwidth rises from 120GB/s on the M4 to 170GB/s on the M6, though RAM configurations remain the same at 16GB, 24GB and 32GB. Storage options are also unchanged, spanning 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB. Networking sees a step up, moving from Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, with 2.5Gb Ethernet as standard and a 10Gb upgrade option.
The M6 Mac mini carries a starting price of around £710, up from the roughly £470 starting price of the M4 model it replaces.
Source
Image: appleinsider.com
