Apple has officially unveiled the latest generation of the Mac mini, now powered by the M6 and M5 Pro chips. This compact desktop brings significant upgrades in artificial intelligence (AI) performance, graphics, storage, and connectivity.
Enhanced Performance with M6 Chip
The Mac mini equipped with the M6 chip claims to deliver AI performance that is up to four times faster, graphics that are twice as quick, and a CPU performance increase of up to 40% compared to the previous generation. This makes it a compelling choice for both casual users and professionals alike.
M5 Pro for Professional Users
On the other hand, the Mac mini with the M5 Pro chip is designed for professionals who require more robust capabilities, such as app development, video rendering, scientific simulations, and running AI models locally. This version is particularly suited to those who need high-performance computing.
Improved Connectivity Features
The new Mac mini also boasts enhanced connectivity features, supporting WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6, and standard 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, with an option for 10 Gbps Ethernet. The front of the device has two USB-C ports and a headphone jack, while the back features three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the M6 model and three Thunderbolt 5 ports on the M5 Pro version. The Thunderbolt 5 ports enable multiple M5 Pro units to be clustered together for running large AI models locally.
Memory and Graphics Enhancements
The M6 chip is equipped with a 12-core CPU, which is an increase of two cores from the previous generation. Its GPU also features 12 cores and now includes a Neural Accelerator on each core. According to Apple, this configuration leads to AI performance that is four times faster and graphics performance that is double that of the M4 model.
The M6 chip comes with 16 GB of unified memory as standard and can be configured up to 32 GB, with memory bandwidth reaching 170 GB/s. In Apple's testing, prompt processing using LM Studio was reported to be up to 13.5 times faster than the Mac mini M1 and 4.8 times faster than the M4.
For gaming enthusiasts, Apple mentions that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition with ray tracing can run up to twice as fast compared to the M4 model.
For professionals, the M5 Pro chip can be configured with a CPU of up to 18 cores and a GPU of up to 20 cores, both supporting a Neural Accelerator. The M5 Pro variant supports unified memory up to 64 GB with a bandwidth of 307 GB/s, allowing it to handle larger local AI models, complex 3D projects, ProRes RAW video editing, and large research datasets.
New macOS Features
The latest Mac mini will run on macOS 27 Golden Gate, which features the newest generation of Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. Siri AI is designed to leverage personal context from messages, emails, and photos to assist with cross-application tasks and understand the content displayed on the screen through Visual Intelligence.
With these hardware improvements, the new Mac mini is not only appealing as a work desktop but also as a compact local AI machine. The M6 model is sufficiently powerful for developers and creators looking to run AI models directly on their devices. The Neural Accelerator in the GPU, faster Neural Engine, and large memory bandwidth make it suitable for language model inference, AI coding assistance, image processing, and agent-based automation.
Benefits of Local AI Processing
One advantage of running AI locally is that data does not need to be continuously sent to the cloud, enhancing privacy, reducing latency, and supporting always-on AI applications. The Mac mini M5 Pro offers even greater capacity for such tasks, with unified memory up to 64 GB, making it well-suited for large open-source models or dedicated AI agent tasks.
Its compact size and energy efficiency further enhance its appeal as an always-on AI device compared to larger workstations. However, ultimate performance will depend on model size, memory capacity, software optimization, and the AI framework used. Claims of performance are based on Apple's internal testing, so real-world results may vary.
The new Mac mini will be available for pre-order starting August 25, 2026, in 30 countries and regions, with the first sales commencing on September 22, 2026.
Source: https://inet.detik.com/consumer/d-8634212/mac-mini-baru-diotaki-m6-dan-m5-pro-makin-siap-jadi-mesin-ai
