Should I upgrade my Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023)?

3 years old · Runs macOS 27 Golden Gate, the current macOS

Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023)¹Mac mini (M5 Pro)²

Quick look

Quick look: Mac mini M2 Pro against Mac mini M5 Pro
Figure	Mac mini M2 Pro¹	Mac mini M5 Pro²
Price	£1,399³launch price	£1,699⁴Apple UK store
Chip	M2 Prochip	M5 Prochip
CPU	10-coreCPU	15-coreCPU
GPU	16-coreGPU	16-coreGPU
Memory	16GBunified memory, base	24GBunified memory, base
Storage	512GBstorage, base	512GBstorage, base
Released	24 January 2023³ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 17 January 2023.	22 September 2026⁵ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026.
Security updates	Not available⁶Security updates	Not available⁶Security updates

Software support

Security updates: Not available⁶
macOS: macOS 27 Golden Gate, the current macOS

Mac mini M2 Pro and the Mac mini M5 Pro

The newest Pro-tier Mac in this line that Apple still sells.

Specifications

Body

Body: Apple Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) against Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro)
Specification	Mac mini M2 Pro¹	Mac mini M5 Pro²
Dimensions	35.8 x 197 x 197 mm	50 x 127 x 127 mm
Weight	1.28 kg	0.73 kg
Colours	Silver	Silver
Ports	Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), 3.5mm headphone jack	Front: 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) ports
Thunderbolt ports⁷	4	3
Thunderbolt version	Thunderbolt 4	Thunderbolt 5
USB-A ports	2	No USB-A ports.⁸
HDMI	HDMI port	HDMI port
SD card slot	No SD card slot.⁹	No SD card slot.¹⁰
Headphone jack	Yes	Yes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) against Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro)
Specification	Mac mini M2 Pro¹	Mac mini M5 Pro²
Chip	Apple M2 Pro chip	Apple M5 Pro chip
Apple silicon	Yes	Yes
CPU cores	10	15
Super cores	Not available¹¹	5¹²
Performance cores	6	10¹²
Efficiency cores	4	Not available¹³
GPU cores	16	16
Neural Engine cores	16	16
Chip options	M2 Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, or M2 Pro with 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU	M5 Pro with 15-core CPU and 16-core GPU, or M5 Pro with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU
Memory (base)	16GB	24GB
Memory (maximum)	32GB	64GB
Memory options	16GB or 32GB	24GB, 48GB or 64GB
Memory upgradeable by user	No, as Apple documents¹⁴	No, as Apple documents¹⁴
Memory bandwidth	200 GB/s	307 GB/s
Storage (base)	512GB	512GB
Storage (maximum)	8TB	8TB
Storage options	512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB	512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB
Media engine	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine	Hardware-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 (M2 Pro, 2023) against Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro)
Specification	Mac mini M2 Pro¹	Mac mini M5 Pro²
Maximum continuous power	185 W	155 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) against Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro)
Specification	Mac mini M2 Pro¹	Mac mini M5 Pro²
Wi-Fi	Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)	Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth	5.3	6
Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)	2.5Gb Ethernet (100/1000/2500BASE‑T Multi‑Gigabit Ethernet; configurable to 10Gb Ethernet)
External displays (base)	3	3

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) against Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro)
Specification	Mac mini M2 Pro¹	Mac mini M5 Pro²
Speakers	Built-in speaker¹⁵	Built-in speaker¹⁶

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023) against Apple Mac mini (M5 Pro)
Specification	Mac mini M2 Pro¹	Mac mini M5 Pro²
Newest macOS	macOS 27 Golden Gate¹⁷	macOS 27 Golden Gate¹⁷
Model identifier	Mac14,12¹⁸	Mac17,16¹⁹
Model year	2023	2026

The rest of the range at the price

Macs from other lines with a price read from Apple’s UK store, released within a year of the Mac mini M5 Pro and priced within a quarter of its £1,699 at Apple’s UK price as read on 2 October 2026, nearest price first. Each links to its side-by-side table, with your Mac mini M2 Pro (2023) or, where that pair is not one this site indexes, with the Mac mini M5 Pro.

Trade-in and used prices

CeX pays, grade A: £621 cash / £666 voucher²⁰Base configuration
CeX sells, grade A: £900²⁰Base configuration, out of stock online and in store when read
The Mac mini M5 Pro new, less CeX’s cash: £1,078£1,699 new at Apple’s UK price as read on 2 October 2026, less £621 cash CeX was offering on 3 November 2026 for a grade A Mac mini M2 Pro (2023) in its base configuration

Sources

Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac mini M2 Pro · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026
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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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Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro — more powerful, capable, and versatile than ever · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026
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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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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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Apple publishes no date for the end of updates, and this site does not guess one. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 30 Sep 2026
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Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac mini M2 Pro: Thunderbolt 4. Mac mini M5 Pro: Thunderbolt 5.
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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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Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023): No SD card slot. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026
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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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Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores
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Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026
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Apple lists this chip’s cores as 5 super cores, 10 performance cores, with no efficiency cores
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Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model · Apple’s figure · read 10 Oct 2026
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CeX — Trade-in, Grade A, cash · third-party figure · read 3 Nov 2026
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Not published by Apple

Mac mini M2 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro — more powerful, capable, and versatile than ever, read 9 Oct 2026.

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.

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