Apple refreshed its two compact desktops on Tuesday and, later in the week, set a date for the iPhone event.
Mac mini with M6, from $1,449
The new Mac mini can be configured with Apple’s new M6 chip or with M5 Pro. The M6 model has a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU, a dual 16-core Neural Engine, and starts at $1,449 including GST. The M5 Pro model starts at $2,699. Education pricing on the M6 mini starts at $1,289. Apple says the M6 mini is up to 40 per cent faster in CPU tasks, and up to four times faster in AI tasks, than a previous-generation M4 mini in its tests.
M6 is the first of Apple’s chips with a dual Neural Engine, using two 16-core engines rather than one, and memory bandwidth of up to 170GB/s. Both mini models add Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and 2.5Gb Ethernet, with 10Gb as an option. Pre-orders opened on Tuesday, 25 August, with availability from Tuesday, 22 September, in Apple Stores and on apple.com/au.
Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra
Alongside the mini, Apple introduced a new Mac Studio with M5 Max or the new M5 Ultra. The Max model starts at $4,299 including GST, with an 18-core CPU, up to a 40-core GPU and up to 128GB of unified memory. The Ultra model starts at $9,499, scaling up to a 36-core CPU, an 80-core GPU and up to 512GB of unified memory. The 512GB configuration is due in late October; the rest of the lineup is due on 22 September, the same day as the mini.
Apple also says the new Studio uses a faster SSD architecture, up to twice as quick as the previous model. Studio gains Thunderbolt 5 at up to 120Gb/s, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, can drive up to eight displays, and can be clustered with other Studios over Thunderbolt 5 for heavier AI work, at up to three times the performance of a single machine in Apple’s tests. It is a lot of money, but it is also the most powerful Mac Apple has sold. Education pricing starts at $3,949 for the Max model and $8,809 for the Ultra.
Apple sets a ‘Surprise and Shine’ date
On the same busy week, Apple announced that its iPhone event will be held on Wednesday, 9 September, at 10am Pacific time — 3am AEST on Thursday here — at Apple Park, under the tagline ‘Surprise and Shine’. The event will be streamed, and it is expected to include new Pro iPhones and Apple’s first foldable iPhone, plus new watches and AirPods. A standard iPhone 18 is not expected this year; those models are widely tipped to wait until spring 2027. Australian prices and opening dates usually follow in the local newsroom once the presentation ends.
What to watch next week
John Ternus becomes CEO on Tuesday, 1 September, with Tim Cook moving to executive chairman. The iPhone event follows the week after, early on Thursday morning, Australian time. If you are considering a new mini or Studio, pre-orders are already open for a 22 September arrival.
