Apple has introduced its latest Mac mini, bringing the new M6 chip and M5 Pro to its compact desktop while placing a much greater emphasis on local AI workloads and always-on agentic computing. Despite retaining its ultra-compact footprint, the new Mac mini promises substantially higher CPU, graphics and AI performance alongside faster storage and upgraded connectivity.
In Malaysia, the Mac mini with M6 starts at RM3,799, while the more powerful M5 Pro model starts at RM7,499. Pre-orders open on August 27, with availability beginning September 22.
M6 Gives the Mac mini a Major AI Upgrade
The M6 version represents the biggest upgrade for mainstream Mac mini users, featuring Apple’s new 12-core CPU with two additional cores compared with the previous generation. Apple claims CPU performance is up to 40% faster, while the new 12-core GPU also gains two additional cores and introduces Neural Accelerators within every GPU core.
These changes allow the M6 Mac mini to deliver up to four times faster AI performance and twice the graphics performance of the M4 model. Apple’s new Dual 16-core Neural Engine is also claimed to offer up to twice the performance of the previous generation.
The M6 Mac mini comes standard with 16GB of unified memory and can be configured with up to 32GB, while memory bandwidth has increased to 170GB/s. Storage performance has also been doubled.
Apple says the M6 model can process LLM prompts in LM Studio up to 4.8 times faster than the M4 Mac mini and 13.5 times faster than the M1 model. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet calculations are up to 1.5 times faster than M4, while ray-traced gaming in Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition can be up to twice as fast.
This increased AI capability is also central to Apple’s positioning of the new Mac mini as an always-on agentic computing device. Its small footprint and power efficiency allow it to operate continuously for local AI agents and other automated workloads without requiring a large workstation.
M5 Pro Takes the Mac mini Up to an 18-Core CPU and 64GB Memory
For developers and creative professionals requiring significantly more performance, the M5 Pro Mac mini can be configured with up to an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU.
The GPU features an enhanced shader core, third-generation hardware-accelerated ray tracing and Neural Accelerators within each GPU core. This enables more demanding AI applications such as large diffusion models, image and video upscaling and local AI inference.
Memory capacity also increases substantially over the M6 version, with up to 64GB of unified memory and 307GB/s of memory bandwidth. This gives the M5 Pro enough headroom for larger local AI models, complex 3D scenes, ProRes RAW editing and large research datasets.
Compared with the M4 Pro Mac mini, Apple claims the M5 Pro delivers up to four times faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio, 1.4 times faster ray-traced rendering in Blender and 1.5 times faster image processing in Affinity.
The M5 Pro’s performance and efficiency also make it suitable for clustering multiple Mac mini systems together for larger AI workloads. Thunderbolt 5 enables multiple systems to be connected to run large AI models locally.
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Faster Ethernet
Connectivity receives a substantial upgrade across both models. The new Mac mini supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, while wired Ethernet is now 2.5Gb as standard with an optional 10Gb configuration.
The front retains two USB-C ports supporting USB 3 alongside a headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones. Around the back, the M6 model provides three Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the M5 Pro gets three faster Thunderbolt 5 connections. HDMI and Ethernet are also included.
Apple has additionally introduced genlock support through USB-C, enabling precise synchronisation between displays and cameras, including the iPhone 17 Pro. This could be particularly useful in professional production environments involving multiple cameras or displays.
The new Mac mini ships with macOS 27 Golden Gate, which introduces faster AirDrop transfers and network file browsing, improvements to Safari and a rebuilt search foundation used by Spotlight, Photos and Mail. Apple has also refined its Liquid Glass interface with improved readability, updated window designs and greater visual consistency across macOS.
Mac mini M6 Starts at RM3,799 in Malaysia
The new Mac mini will be available for pre-order in Malaysia from August 27 before going on sale on September 22.
The Mac mini with M6 starts at RM3,799, or RM3,399 with education pricing. Those requiring substantially more performance can opt for the M5 Pro model starting at RM7,499, or RM7,099 for eligible education customers.
With M6, the Mac mini is becoming more than just Apple’s affordable compact desktop. Its significantly faster Neural Engine and GPU-based Neural Accelerators show Apple positioning the machine for a future where local AI agents can operate continuously in the background. Meanwhile, M5 Pro provides the processing, memory bandwidth and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity needed to turn the same tiny desktop into a surprisingly capable professional and AI workstation.
