New Mac Mini and Mac Studio: 13 Things You May Have Missed

Apple today announced new Mac mini M6 and M5 Pro models and M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studio models. We’ve covered all the announcements in depth, but we wanted to highlight a few interesting tidbits about the new machines.

• Price increases – The Mac mini now starts at $899, which is $300 more than the original starting price of the M4 Mac mini when it launches in October 2024. Mac Studio pricing starts at $2,499, which is $500 more than the initial price of the M4 Max model when it launches in March 2025.
• Connectivity – Apple has upgraded new Macs with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, so they are on par with the connectivity standards of the latest iPhone models. Wi-Fi 7 offers faster data speeds in the 6 GHz band, lower latency, and an option to connect simultaneously on 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz networks to improve reliability.
• Genlock – The ‌Mac mini‌ and ‌Mac Studio‌ support genlock via USB-C, so there is no need for a separate sync box. Genlock is used in multi-camera filming and virtual production to lock timing to a shared reference signal. The Mac’s screen and the camera filming it are synchronized, preventing flickering and tearing caused by a mismatch between the screen refresh rate and the camera shutter. Apple previously added genlock support to the iPhone 17 Pro models, so now an ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ and one of the new Macs can work in tandem for professionals who need this feature.
• Ethernet – The ‌Mac mini‌ now starts with 2.5 GB Ethernet instead of 1 GB. There is an option to upgrade to 10 GB, which is what the ‌Mac Studio‌ starts with (same as the previous generation model).
• Neural engine – The M6 ​​chip features an improved Neural Engine with two 16-core engines instead of just one. Apple says the new Neural Engine delivers 2x more edge computing so AI workflows run faster.
• GPU – The M6 ​​‌Mac mini‌’s 12-core GPU features neural accelerators in each core, delivering up to 4x faster AI performance and 2x faster graphics than the ‌M4 Mac mini‌. The ‌Mac Studio‌ M5 Ultra is also the first Ultra chip with neural accelerators. The peak AI computing performance is 4.3 times higher than the M3 Ultra performance.
• SSD – ‌Mac Studio‌ storage is twice as fast with the new SSD architecture based on PCIe Gen 6.
• SSD prices – As Bold Fireball points out, upgrading a ‌Mac mini‌ with a 2TB SSD costs $1,000, more than the machine’s $899 base price. Upgrading to the 4TB SSD for the M5 Pro costs $1,800, which is $100 more than the price of the base machine.
• Thunderclap – The M6 ​​‌Mac mini‌ continues to have Thunderbolt 4, not Thunderbolt 5. The M5 Pro model has Thunderbolt 5.
• Current maximum price – An M5 Pro ‌Mac mini‌ with an 18-core processor, 64 GB of RAM, 8 TB SSD and 10 GbE costs $6,799. The M5 Ultra ‌Mac Studio‌ with 36-core processor, 256 GB RAM and 16 TB SSD costs $18,299.
• 512 GB of RAM – The M5 Ultra ‌Mac Studio‌ supports up to 512 GB of RAM, with the option available in late October. Upgrading to 256GB of RAM costs $4,000, and the 512GB option will be even more expensive. 96GB and 256GB RAM are the only options at the moment.
• Announcement calendar – This is the first time Apple has announced new Macs in August since the launch of the 27-inch iMac in August 2020.
• MacOS Golden Gate – When the new machines launch on September 22, they will likely have macOS Golden Gate installed on them. The software update will likely be released the week of September 14.

The new ‌Mac Studio‌ and ‌Mac mini‌ models can be pre-ordered starting today and will be available on September 22.