From The Verge · Antonio G. Di Benedetto · · 5m
The Mac Mini is still mighty, just not as cheap
Apple's tiny desktop gets faster chips but a $300 price hike that stings.
In brief
Apple's tiny desktop gets faster chips but a $300 price hike that stings. The M6 and M5 Pro Mac Minis remain the best compact desktops available, but their $300 price increase makes them feel less like the bargain they once were. Originally reported by The Verge.
Tiny computer, big power
The Mac Mini's 2024 redesign shrunk it to 0.82 liters, smaller than gaming laptop chargers. It packs speedy ports including a front headphone jack and maintains serious performance despite its minimal chassis.
M6 and M5 Pro arrive
The 2026 Mac Mini gets Apple's new M6 chip with more cores than the M4, plus a beefier M5 Pro model. Both represent a chip bump year, but also a price bump year.
Price jump stings
The M6 Mac Mini now starts at $899, up from $599 for the old M4 base model. That's a $300 increase, though the M4's cheapest model was discontinued due to supply constraints and OpenClaw demand.
M6 dominates single-core
The M6's 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU make it about 10 percent faster than M5 in single-threaded work and over 20 percent faster than the M4. It's now the fastest single-core chip in the entire market.
M5 Pro crushes multithreading
The M5 Pro's six super cores, 12 performance cores, and zero efficiency cores make it 40 to 50 percent faster in multi-threaded CPU and GPU benchmarks than the M6, though it costs $1,699 to start.
Real-world video export test
In Adobe Premiere 4K export, the M6 finishes in 2 minutes 34 seconds, 40 seconds faster than the M4. The M5 Pro does it in 1 minute 51 seconds, almost a third faster than the M6.
M6 handles everyday work
The M6 imported 1,253 50-megapixel RAW images into Lightroom in about 6 minutes 13 seconds. It's plenty fast for generalists doing creative work on the side or anyone wanting a desktop that lasts a decade.
M5 Pro for heavy lifting
Heavy batch editing with AI subject detection showed the M5 Pro's advantage. The M6 hit swap memory and slowed mid-processing, while the M5 Pro sailed through without breaking a sweat.
Video editors need M5 Pro
For video editing, visual effects, or 3D rendering, the M5 Pro Mac Mini or Mac Studio is the better choice. The M6 works for creative side projects but lacks the headroom for professional video work.
AI compute ready
Both Mac Minis are great for local AI compute thanks to fast unified memory. Apple's press release mentions AI capabilities nearly 40 times across the M6 and M5 Pro announcements.
Port selection unchanged
Both models have two 10-gigabit-per-second USB-C ports and a headphone jack on the front. The rear adds three Thunderbolt ports, HDMI 2.1, and ethernet bumped from 1 gigabit to 2.5 gigabits per second.
“Lots of ports.”
Bottom power button persists
The power button remains on the bottom, which is rarely an issue since the Mini sips power when idle. Apple added a software feature to turn it back on after power cuts, though mounting it somewhere hard to reach could pose problems.
“The bottom power button remains weird, but it's rarely an issue.”
Speakers still mediocre
The Mac Mini's built-in speakers remain crummy and should only be relied on for notification sounds. You'll want external speakers or headphones for any serious audio work.
Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6
The 2026 Mac Minis add Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support, a nice small upgrade. These are welcome additions for wireless connectivity but not game-changers.
macOS Golden Gate arrives
The new Mac Mini ships with macOS 27 Golden Gate, which tones down Liquid Glass transparency, improves window sidebar legibility, and fixes window corner radii. It's a nice improvement over Tahoe.
Industry-wide price creep
The Mac Mini's price increase reflects broader trends. Minisforum raised mini PC prices, Framework Desktop costs more than at launch, and Intel and AMD chip costs are rumored to rise soon.
Still beats the competition
No other mini PC truly competes with the Mac Mini's balance of performance, price, and size. There are cheaper options and smaller ones, but none match all three together.
Cheaper than laptops with same chips
The base M6 Mac Mini is $400 cheaper than the cheapest M5 MacBook Air. The base M5 Pro model is $800 less than a MacBook Pro with the same chip and memory.
The new normal
The Mac Mini remains a great deal and an easy recommendation for a tiny desktop that runs circles around comparably priced PCs. But the price increases mean it no longer feels like the steal it once was.
The bottom line
The M6 and M5 Pro Mac Minis remain the best compact desktops available, but their $300 price increase makes them feel less like the bargain they once were.
