I, myself, love surprises. I meet an awful lot of people who claim to dislike them, though. In the face of Apple’s surprise announcement yesterday, I dare them to find something not to like about it.

Bravo to Apple, who’s found it harder to shock and awe us in the age of leaks. This time yesterday we had no idea that Apple would imminently launch a new Mac Mini M6 for $899 and Mac Mini M5 Pro for $1,699. Unlike most Apple releases, you can already preorder them on Amazon and Best Buy so that yours will ship out to you on September 22’s launch day.

small apples, but very sweet

The Mac Mini soldiers on as the cheapest way to get a powerful new Mac onto your desk, especially since Apple raised its prices earlier this summer. Yeah, there’s the $689 MacBook Neo that launched earlier this year, but that uses the iPhone’s weaker A18 Pro chip. That’s why I used the qualifier powerful in front of the Mac Mini. These Chunky Bar-sized powerhouses come with the same Apple-designed M-series chips as the MacBooks. We expect the M6-powered MacBooks in September 2026, by the way.

We don’t have performance benchmarks for the M6 chip yet, but as an evolutionary step on Mac’s M-series chip it’ll obviously be faster than the current Mac Mini M4. The Mac Mini M6 supports WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6 standards, along with a 2.5GB Ethernet port for the option of a wired connection. You’ll be able to configure a 10GB Ethernet port as an option, although we don’t yet know how much that’ll add to the base price. There are two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

the Mac Mini m5 Pro difference

The also newly announced Mac Mini M5 Pro kicks up the performance a notch from the Mac Mini M6. It uses the current generation M5 Pro chip that debuted on last fall’s MacBook Pro M5 lineup, rather than the M6 chip that’ll debut on the next round of MacBooks beginning next month, but it’s the higher-performance option because it’s a “Pro” chip.

The Mac Mini M5 Pro uses the same chip as the MacBook Pro M5 Pro, the mid-level option of the MacBook Pro line and a step up from the base-level M5 chip. Those who plan to use their Mac Mini for more demanding tasks, such as video editing or professional photo editing, should pick the M5 Pro over the M6.

The Mac Mini M5 Port includes all the previously mentioned ports, WiFi 7, and Bluetooth 6 as the Mac Mini M6, as well as the ability to upgrade the Ethernet port to a 10GB connection. It swaps out the M6’s two Thunderbolt 4 ports for three faster Thunderport 5 ports. Isn’t it just like the smallest piece of fruit to taste the sweetest?

Good things come to those who wait, and in the case of Apple, those who wait until September 22. That’s the traditional launch month for its most headline-grabby products, such as iPhones and most Macs. The Mac Mini M6 is slated for release in just a few short weeks.