Mac mini (M6) vs Mac mini (M4, 2024)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac mini M61 | Mac mini M42 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £8993Apple UK store | £5994launch price |
| Chip | M6chip | M4chip |
| CPU | 12-coreCPU | 10-coreCPU |
| GPU | 12-coreGPU | 10-coreGPU |
| Memory | 16GBunified memory, base | 16GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 256GBstorage, base | 256GBstorage, base |
| Released | 22 September 20265ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026. | 8 November 20244ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 29 October 2024. |
| Security updates | Not available6Security updates | Not available6Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac mini M6 is £899 on Apple’s UK store; the Mac mini M4 is £599 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
True to scale
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
| Specification | Mac mini M61 | Mac mini M42 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 50 x 127 x 127 mm | 50 x 127 x 127 mm |
| Weight | 0.67 kg | 0.67 kg |
| Colours | Silver | Silver |
| Ports | Front: 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 | Front: two USB-C ports with support for USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s), 3.5mm headphone jack. Back (M4): Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), HDMI port, three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports |
| Thunderbolt ports | 3 | 3 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.7 | No USB-A ports.8 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | No SD card slot.7 | No SD card slot.9 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac mini M61 | Mac mini M42 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M6 chip | Apple M4 chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 12 | 10 |
| Super cores | 2 | Not available10 |
| Performance cores | 4 | 4 |
| Efficiency cores | 6 | 6 |
| GPU cores | 12 | 10 |
| Neural Engine cores | Dual 16-core | 16 |
| Chip options | M6 with 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU | M4 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU11 |
| Memory (base) | 16GB | 16GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 32GB | 32GB11 |
| Memory options | 16GB, 24GB or 32GB | 16GB, 24GB or 32GB11 |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents12 | No, as Apple documents12 |
| Memory bandwidth | 153 GB/s | 120 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 256GB | 256GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 2TB | 2TB11 |
| Storage options | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB11 |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac mini M61 | Mac mini M42 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous power | 155 W | 155 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac mini M61 | Mac mini M42 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) | Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) |
| Bluetooth | 6 | 5.3 |
| Ethernet | 2.5Gb Ethernet (100/1000/2500BASE-T Multi-Gigabit Ethernet, configurable to 10Gb Ethernet) | Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet) |
| External displays (base) | 3 | 3 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple UK store — Mac mini M6, 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, 16GB, 256GB — From £899 ·
↩- ↩
Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 Pro ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Mac mini (M6): No USB-A ports. No SD card slot.
↩Mac mini (M4, 2024): No USB-A ports.
↩Mac mini (M4, 2024): No SD card slot.
↩Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩
Not published by Apple
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.
Mac mini M4. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2024) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple’s new Mac mini is more mighty, more mini, and built for Apple Intelligence, 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 M4 (2024)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.