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Mac mini (M5 Pro) vs Mac mini (M6)

Mac mini (M5 Pro)1Mac mini (M6)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac mini M5 Pro against Mac mini M6
FigureMac mini M5 Pro1Mac mini M62
Price£1,6993Apple UK store£8994Apple UK store
ChipM5 ProchipM6chip
CPU15-coreCPU12-coreCPU
GPU16-coreGPU12-coreGPU
Memory24GBunified memory, base16GBunified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Released22 September 20265ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026.22 September 20266ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026.
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The Mac mini M5 Pro is £1,699 on Apple’s UK store; the Mac mini M6 is £899 on Apple’s UK store.

True to scale

Mac mini (M5 Pro) · 127 × 50 mm frontMac mini (M6) · 127 × 50 mm front

Front faces, from Apple’s published dimensions, drawn to one scale and superposed. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.

Body

Body: Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro) against Apple Mac mini (M6)
SpecificationMac mini M5 Pro1Mac mini M62
Dimensions50 x 127 x 127 mm50 x 127 x 127 mm
Weight0.73 kg0.67 kg
ColoursSilverSilver
PortsFront: two USB-C ports with support for USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s), 3.5mm headphone jack. Back (M5 Pro): 2.5Gb Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), HDMI port, three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) portsFront: two USB-C ports with support for USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s), 3.5mm headphone jack. Back (M6): 2.5Gb Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), HDMI port, three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports
Thunderbolt ports933
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 5Thunderbolt 4
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.10No USB-A ports.11
HDMIHDMI portHDMI port
SD card slotNo SD card slot.12No SD card slot.11
Headphone jackYesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro) against Apple Mac mini (M6)
SpecificationMac mini M5 Pro1Mac mini M62
ChipApple M5 Pro chipApple M6 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores1512
Super cores5132
Performance cores10134
Efficiency coresNot available146
GPU cores1612
Neural Engine cores16Dual 16-core
Chip optionsM5 Pro with 15-core CPU and 16-core GPU, or M5 Pro with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPUM6 with 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU
Memory (base)24GB16GB
Memory (maximum)64GB32GB
Memory options24GB, 48GB or 64GB16GB, 24GB or 32GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents15No, as Apple documents15
Memory bandwidth307 GB/s153 GB/s
Storage (base)512GB256GB
Storage (maximum)8TB2TB
Storage options512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decodeHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro) against Apple Mac mini (M6)
SpecificationMac mini M5 Pro1Mac mini M62
Maximum continuous power155 W155 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro) against Apple Mac mini (M6)
SpecificationMac mini M5 Pro1Mac mini M62
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth66
Ethernet2.5Gb Ethernet (100/1000/2500BASE‑T Multi‑Gigabit Ethernet; configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)2.5Gb Ethernet (100/1000/2500BASE-T Multi-Gigabit Ethernet, configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)
External displays (base)33

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro) against Apple Mac mini (M6)
SpecificationMac mini M5 Pro1Mac mini M62
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker16Built-in speaker

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro) against Apple Mac mini (M6)
SpecificationMac mini M5 Pro1Mac mini M62
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate17macOS 27 Golden Gate18
Model identifierMac17,1619Mac18,520
Model year2026202621

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac mini M5 Pro · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac mini M6 · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  3. Apple UK store — Mac mini M5 Pro, 15-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 24GB, 512GB — From £1,699 · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  4. Apple UK store — Mac mini M6, 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, 16GB, 256GB — From £899 · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  5. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 Pro · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026

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  6. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  7. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 30 Sep 2026

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  8. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  9. Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac mini M5 Pro: Thunderbolt 5. Mac mini M6: Thunderbolt 4.

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  10. Mac mini (M5 Pro): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs. Read 30 Sep 2026

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  11. Mac mini (M6): No USB-A ports. No SD card slot. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs. Read 11 Oct 2026

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  12. Mac mini (M5 Pro): No SD card slot. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  13. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  14. Apple lists this chip’s cores as 5 super cores, 10 performance cores, with no efficiency cores

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  15. Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026

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  18. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  19. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 10 Oct 2026

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  20. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  21. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

Mac mini M5 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 Pro, read 9 Oct 2026.

Mac mini M6. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 Pro, read 9 Oct 2026.

If you own one of them

Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my Mac mini M5 Pro? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini M6?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.