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Tech News
Apple broke a decade-long pattern this week by quietly releasing updated Mac mini and Mac Studio models in late August, even though they won't ship until September 22. This timing suggests Apple needed to clear these updates off its plate before the September 9 'Surprise and shine' event, which is rumored to feature five to nine or more new products.
Apple's Mac Studio, available with M5 Max or the fused-together M5 Ultra chip, offers up to 80 GPU cores, 512GB of RAM and a 16TB SSD, along with more ports than the Mac mini, including four Thunderbolt 5 connections. The Mac mini starts at $899 and covers most everyday needs, while the Mac Studio starts at $2,499 and targets professionals with intensive workloads.
Amazon has opened pre-orders for Apple's new M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini models across several configurations, ranging from $899 to $1,699. Best Buy is separately offering up to $500 off the M6 Mac mini when trading in an older M4 unit, while other current discounts include AirTag 2 at $20, renewed iPhone 17 Pro units up to $220 off, and Apple's official iPhone Air Bumper case down to under $13.
A commentator argues that Apple should introduce a new budget desktop, dubbed the Mac Neo, to replace the entry-level role the Mac mini once played. The suggestion comes as the M6 Mac mini's starting price has risen to $899, well above the sub-$1,000, guilt-free price point the mini has occupied since its 2005 debut at $499. The piece notes that rising memory costs and AI demand have pushed Apple Silicon machines toward power users, leaving casual buyers, students, and hobbyists without an affordable Mac option.
Sonnet has released the Echo 21 Thunderbolt 5 SuperDock, an updated version of its Echo 20 dock that swaps Thunderbolt 4 for Thunderbolt 5 across all its ports. The $499 dock offers nine USB 3 ports, 10Gb Ethernet, 140W power delivery, an M.2 SSD slot for up to 8TB of storage, and support for up to three external displays, all through a single cable connection to a Mac.
Apple has begun reaching out to customers whose M4 Mac mini orders were still backordered when the company unveiled new M6 and M5 Pro models. Those pending orders are being automatically switched to the newer chips while keeping the original price, with some buyers reporting earlier delivery dates and savings of up to $300.
Apple shared a short Instagram reel showing how its recent Mac mini with M6 commercial was made, featuring animators Justin Rasch and Scott DaRos and art director Josh Mahan. The clip highlights sketches, props, sculptures and stop-motion techniques used to build the ad's practical effects.
The August 25, 2026 episode of 9to5Mac Daily podcast summarized the day's top Apple news, including the unveiling of a refreshed Mac mini and Mac Studio lineup. The episode is distributed through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, and an RSS feed for players like Overcast.
Apple published a support document listing the devices that fully support Wi-Fi 7, following today's update to the Mac mini and Mac Studio, which now include the technology for the first time. The list differs from Apple's broader compatibility list, since Wi-Fi 7 networks remain backward-compatible with older Wi-Fi 6E devices that can still connect but lack full feature support.
Following Apple's announcement of new Mac Studio and Mac mini models with M6 and M5 Pro/Ultra chips, Amazon has begun accepting pre-orders for the 2026 Mac mini lineup starting at $899. Apple also refreshed its Magic Keyboard, which is now listed on Amazon in configurations ranging from $99 to $199.
Apple has introduced a new version of the Mac Mini, now available with either its M6 or M5 Pro chip options. The update brings a performance boost to Apple's compact desktop lineup, giving users more choice depending on their computing needs.
Apple has introduced a new Mac Mini and Mac Studio lineup featuring the M6, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra chips, with the M5 Ultra standing as the company's most powerful processor to date. The chip offers an 80-core GPU, up to a 36-core CPU, up to 512GB of unified memory, and quadruple the LLM prompt performance of the previous M3 Ultra, built using a quad-die design that fuses two M5 Max chips. Prices have risen across the board, with the Mac Mini M6 now starting at $899 and the top Mac Studio configuration with M5 Ultra starting at $5,499.