GoKawiil
Tech News
A Verge columnist proposes that Apple create a cheaper Mac Mini variant, dubbed the 'Mac Neo,' powered by an iPhone-class chip rather than the full M-series silicon in the current $899 M6 Mac Mini. The suggestion follows the success of the MacBook Neo, which uses a smartphone chip to deliver a $699 laptop with a solid screen, keyboard, and battery life.
Apple's latest Mac mini keeps the same compact redesign introduced with the M4 generation but swaps in the new M6 chip. The entry configuration with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage now costs $899, a $300 jump from the $599 starting price of the 2024 M4 model with identical specs. Apple attributes the increase to a global memory shortage affecting RAM and storage pricing.
Apple introduced the M6 chip, launching first in a new Mac mini, alongside the M5 Ultra. The M6 marks the first base-tier Apple silicon chip built on a 2-nanometer process and the first to combine three core types—two super cores, four performance cores, and six efficiency cores—a mix previously limited to the pricier M5 Pro and M5 Max.
Apple introduced a refreshed Mac Mini powered by its new M6 chip, priced from $899 for 256GB storage and 16GB RAM, with pre-orders open now and shipping starting September 22. A higher-end M5 Pro variant starts at $1,699 with 512GB storage and 24GB RAM. Apple also launched new Mac Studio desktops built on M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips, priced from $2,499 and $5,499 respectively.
Apple has updated the Mac mini for the first time in nearly two years, keeping its compact design but switching to a new chip lineup. The base model now runs on the newly introduced M6 chip, Apple's first built on a 2nm process, while the higher tier uses the M5 Pro chip that debuted earlier this year in the MacBook Pro. Both configurations are available for pre-order starting today.
Apple unveiled two new chips, the 2nm M6 and the quad-die M5 Ultra, alongside refreshed Mac desktops built around them. The M6 combines super, performance and efficiency cores for the first time and adds a Neural Accelerator to each GPU core, while the M5 Ultra fuses two M5 Max chips into one processor with up to 36 CPU cores, 80 GPU cores and 512GB of unified memory. Neither desktop gets major new features beyond faster specs and higher pricing.
Apple has introduced the M6 chip, its first built on a 2nm process, featuring a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU with a dual 16-core Neural Engine for on-device AI tasks. Alongside it, Apple revealed the M5 Ultra, which fuses two M5 Max dies into a quad-die chip with up to 36 CPU cores, 80 GPU cores, and support for 512GB of unified memory. The M6 will power a new Mac Mini and the M5 Ultra a new Mac Studio, both open for preorder Tuesday ahead of a September 22nd release.