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Mac mini (M6) vs Mac mini (M1, 2020)

Mac mini (M6)1Mac mini (M1, 2020)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac mini M6 against Mac mini M1
FigureMac mini M61Mac mini M12
Price£8993Apple UK store£6994launch price
ChipM6chipM1chip
CPU12-coreCPU8-coreCPU
GPU12-coreGPU8-coreGPU
Memory16GBunified memory, base8GBunified memory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Released22 September 20265ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026.10 November 20206Available online; Apple gave no in-store day
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available7Security updates
Price
The Mac mini M6 is £899 on Apple’s UK store; the Mac mini M1 is £699 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).

True to scale

Mac mini (M6) · 127 × 50 mm frontMac mini (M1, 2020) · 197 × 36 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 (M6) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M61Mac mini M12
Dimensions50 x 127 x 127 mm36 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight0.67 kg1.2 kg
ColoursSilverSilver
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) portsTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5 Gb/s), HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports832
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 3
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.92
HDMIHDMI portHDMI port
SD card slotNo SD card slot.9No SD card slot.10
Headphone jackYesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac mini (M6) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M61Mac mini M12
ChipApple M6 chipApple M1 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores128
Super cores2Not available11
Performance cores44
Efficiency cores64
GPU cores128
Neural Engine coresDual 16-core16
Chip optionsM6 with 12-core CPU and 12-core GPUM1 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU
Memory (base)16GB8GB
Memory (maximum)32GB16GB
Memory options16GB, 24GB or 32GB8GB or 16GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents12No, as Apple documents12
Memory bandwidth153 GB/sNot available13
Storage (base)256GB256GB
Storage (maximum)2TB2TB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decodeNot available13

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac mini (M6) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M61Mac mini M12
Maximum continuous power155 W150 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac mini (M6) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M61Mac mini M12
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth65.0
Ethernet2.5Gb Ethernet (100/1000/2500BASE-T Multi-Gigabit Ethernet, configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)
External displays (base)32

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac mini (M6) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M61Mac mini M12
SpeakersBuilt-in speakerBuilt-in speaker14

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac mini (M6) against Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
SpecificationMac mini M61Mac mini M12
Shipped withNot available15macOS Big Sur16
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate17macOS 27 Golden Gate17
Model identifierMac18,518Macmini9,119
Model year2026202020

Sources

  1. 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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  2. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac mini M1 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. 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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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 15 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 15 Sep 2026

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  6. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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

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  8. Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac mini M6: Thunderbolt 4. Mac mini M1: Thunderbolt 3.

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  9. 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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  10. Mac mini (M1, 2020): No SD card slot. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  11. Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores

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

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  13. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  14. Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  15. Not published by Apple. 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

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  16. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac · Apple’s figure · read 14 Oct 2026

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

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

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  19. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  20. 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 M6. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones. 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.

Mac mini M1. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Introducing the next generation of Mac, 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 M6? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini M1 (2020)?

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