Apple on Tuesday unveiled a more powerful Mac mini aimed at consumers who want to host artificial intelligence agents remotely, in what is likely the final product launch of Tim Cook’s tenure as chief executive. The new mini, introduced alongside an upgraded Mac Studio, starts at $899 and ships with either the company’s new M6 chip or the M5 Pro, making it $100 more expensive than its predecessor.
Both machines have grown popular with users looking to run autonomous AI agents locally, and strong demand has depleted inventory at several Apple stores. The company’s hardware chief, Johny Srouji, said the device could serve as a home computer, power a professional studio, or act as an always-on agentic machine, describing it as the little Mac that can do it all.
The launch is expected to be Apple’s last major event before Cook hands the reins to hardware veteran John Ternus, one of the most closely watched leadership transitions in the technology industry. It also underscored mounting cost pressures, as memory chip prices climb on strong demand from AI data centres, a trend that prompted Apple to raise prices on some Mac and iPad models earlier in the year.
One variant of the new mini is powered by Apple’s 2-nanometer M6 chip, which the company said delivers up to four times faster AI performance and double the graphics and storage speeds of the previous M4-powered model. A higher-end version, built around the M5 Pro chip, offers up to an 18-core central processor and a 20-core graphics processor, aimed at professionals working on tasks such as visual effects.
Apple also refreshed its Mac Studio desktop line, introducing versions powered by its M5 Max and new M5 Ultra chips. Aimed at developers and other professional users, the machines can run large models on-device and combine the computing power of multiple systems for more intensive AI work. Pricing starts at $2,499 for the M5 Max version and $5,499 for the M5 Ultra model, up from $1,999 for the previous generation.
