Apple announced new Mac mini and Mac Studio models last month, with both available to pre-order now. It is the first time in years that Apple has revised its two desktop Macs simultaneously, so which should you choose?


There are now two desktop Macs to choose from following the discontinuation of the Mac Pro, but the prices have moved sharply. The ‌Mac Studio‌ starts at $2,499 and rises to $5,499 for the M5 Ultra model, while the ‌Mac mini‌ starts at $899 with the M6 chip and $1,699 with the M5 Pro.

Those prices come on top of the across-the-board Mac and iPad increases Apple made in June, which took the ‌Mac mini‌ from $599 to $799, the M4 Pro configuration from $1,399 to $1,599, and the ‌Mac Studio‌ from $1,999 to $2,499. The M5 Ultra adds a further $200 to the post-June M3 Ultra price, putting it $1,500 above what the M3 Ultra cost at launch.

Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two desktop Macs is best for you. The two machines now share a large number of key features, including:

• A boxy silver aluminum enclosure with no color options


• Apple's N1 chip, bringing Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 to both machines for the first time


• Neural Accelerators built into every GPU core


• Hardware-accelerated ray tracing


• A Media Engine with hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW, plus AV1 decode


• A next-generation SSD architecture that Apple says is up to twice as fast as before


• Genlock support over USB-C for synchronizing a display with a camera, including the iPhone 17 Pro


• An HDMI port with multichannel audio output


• A 3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones

Beyond that, the two lines diverge on chip generation, memory capacity, ports, and external display support.

‌Mac mini‌ (M6)	‌Mac mini‌ (M5 Pro)	‌Mac Studio‌ (M5 Max)	‌Mac Studio‌ (M5 Ultra)
M6 chip	M5 Pro chip	M5 Max chip	M5 Ultra chip (two dual-die M5 Max chips joined by UltraFusion)
Made with TSMC's 2nm process	Made with TSMC's 3nm process	Made with TSMC's ‌3nm‌ process	Made with TSMC's ‌3nm‌ process
12-core CPU (2 super cores + 4 performance cores + 6 efficiency cores)	15- or 18-core CPU (up to 6 super cores + 12 performance cores)	18-core CPU (6 super cores + 12 performance cores)	30- or 36-core CPU (up to 12 super cores + 24 performance cores)
12-core GPU	16- or 20-core GPU	32- or 40-core GPU	64- or 80-core GPU
Dual 16-core Neural Engine	16-core Neural Engine	16-core Neural Engine	32-core Neural Engine
Up to 170GB/s memory bandwidth	307GB/s memory bandwidth	Up to 614GB/s memory bandwidth	1.2TB/s memory bandwidth
16GB, 24GB, or 32GB unified memory	24GB, 48GB, or 64GB unified memory	32-core GPU: 36GB unified memory 40-core GPU: 48GB, 64GB, or 128GB unified memory	64-core GPU: 96GB or 256GB unified memory 80-core GPU: 96GB, 256GB, or 512GB unified memory
256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage	512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage	512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage	1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB, or 16TB storage
Video decode engine	Video decode engine	Video decode engine	Two video decode engines
Video encode engine	Video encode engine	Two video encode engines	Four video encode engines
ProRes encode and decode engine	ProRes encode and decode engine	Two ProRes encode and decode engines	Four ProRes encode and decode engines
Support for up to three displays: two at 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, plus a third at 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI	Support for up to three displays, all at 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz	Support for up to five 4K displays, four 6K displays, or two 8K displays	Support for up to eight 4K displays, eight 6K displays, or four 8K displays
Two displays per Thunderbolt port	All three displays through a single Thunderbolt port
Three rear Thunderbolt 4 ports	Three rear Thunderbolt 5 ports	Four rear Thunderbolt 5 ports	Four rear Thunderbolt 5 ports
Two front USB-C ports	Two front USB-C ports	Two front USB-C ports	Two front Thunderbolt 5 ports
		Two rear USB-A ports	Two rear USB-A ports
2.5Gb Ethernet or 10Gb Ethernet port	2.5Gb Ethernet or 10Gb Ethernet port	10Gb Ethernet port	10Gb Ethernet port
		SDXC card slot (UHS-II)	SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Bottom power button	Bottom power button	Rear power button	Rear power button
Starts at $899	Starts at $1,699	Starts at $2,499	Starts at $5,499

Both enclosures carry over unchanged, so the dimensions of the two devices remain radically different, with the ‌Mac Studio‌ dwarfing the ‌Mac mini‌ in every way.

	‌Mac mini‌	‌Mac Studio‌
Height	2.0 inches (5.0 cm)	3.7 inches (9.5 cm)
Width	5.0 inches (12.7 cm)	7.7 inches (19.7 cm)
Depth	5.0 inches (12.7 cm)	7.7 inches (19.7 cm)
Weight	M6: 1.5 pounds (0.67 kg) M5 Pro: 1.6 pounds (0.73 kg)	M5 Max: 6.0 pounds (2.7 kg) M5 Ultra: 8.0 pounds (3.6 kg)

Most customers should choose the M5 Pro ‌Mac mini‌ over the M5 Max ‌Mac Studio‌, saving $800 on the base models. The gap widens across custom configurations, since the ‌Mac Studio‌'s memory and storage tiers start higher and climb further.

There is an unusual situation at the bottom of the lineup this year. The $899 ‌Mac mini‌ is the only machine of the four with a latest-generation chip, and the M6 is Apple's first 2nm chip. Its Dual 16-core Neural Engine, which Apple says system frameworks can drive simultaneously, is also more Neural Engine hardware than either the M5 Pro or the M5 Max provides. If your workload leans on on-device machine learning rather than sustained CPU or GPU throughput, the cheapest Mac in this comparison is not obviously the weakest one for the task. The trade-offs are Thunderbolt 4 rather than Thunderbolt 5, a 32GB memory and 2TB storage ceiling, and a single video encode engine.

You should only consider the ‌Mac Studio‌ if you have a professional workflow that can genuinely leverage the M5 Max or the M5 Ultra, along with the additional ports, display outputs, and memory capacity. If you need the ‌Mac Studio‌, you will likely already know that you are looking for a highly powerful machine capable of supporting a specific intense workload. The M5 Ultra is Apple's first quad-die M-series chip, and its four ProRes engines, four video encode engines, and 1.2TB/s of memory bandwidth are aimed squarely at multi-stream video work and large local AI models. The 512GB memory ceiling has no equivalent anywhere else in the Mac lineup, and it is what allows models with hundreds of billions of parameters to run entirely on device.

The ‌Mac Studio‌ still has a superior selection of ports, with four rear Thunderbolt 5 ports on the M5 Max and six in total on the M5 Ultra, plus an SDXC card slot, USB-A, and 10Gb Ethernet as standard. This makes a practical difference for anyone working off fast external storage or camera media. The ‌Mac mini‌ has closed part of the distance by moving to 2.5Gb Ethernet as standard, up from Gigabit.

Clustering over Thunderbolt 5 and RDMA is not a point of difference between the two machines, since it arrived in macOS 26.2 last December and works on any Mac with Thunderbolt 5, including the M5 Pro ‌Mac mini‌ and the previous-generation ‌Mac Studio‌. The exception is the M6 ‌Mac mini‌, which has Thunderbolt 4 and cannot take part.

Both ‌Mac mini‌ models still cap out at three external displays, but they now reach 165Hz at 4K, up from 144Hz on the M4 generation, and the M5 Pro model drives all three through a single Thunderbolt port. For a three-display desk setup at high refresh rates, the M5 Pro ‌Mac mini‌ is sufficient. It is only above three displays, or at 6K and 8K, that the ‌Mac Studio‌ becomes necessary.

A notable exception arises at the top of the ‌Mac mini‌ lineup. An M5 Pro ‌Mac mini‌ configured with additional memory and storage moves close enough to the $2,499 ‌Mac Studio‌ that the comparison changes somewhat. For an increment of a few hundred dollars, the ‌Mac Studio‌ substitutes a chip with roughly twice the memory bandwidth, a second video encode engine, far greater display support, and headroom to 128GB of unified memory. If you are already spending heavily on a ‌Mac mini‌, price the ‌Mac Studio‌ before committing.

If you plan to keep the machine for many years, the ‌Mac Studio‌'s ceiling matters more than its starting price, because it is the only one of the two that can be configured beyond 64GB of unified memory. Buyers weighing the M6 ‌Mac mini‌ against the M5 Pro ‌Mac mini‌ should note that the newer chip generation and the newer process node both sit in the cheaper machine, and that the M5 Pro's advantages are concentrated in multi-core and graphics performance rather than in longevity.

To some extent, purchasing decisions should be driven by budget, but any savings on the computer itself can be put toward a good external display such as Apple's Studio Display, which starts from $1,599 and was one of the few products spared June's price rises. An M6 ‌Mac mini‌ paired with a ‌Studio Display‌ comes to $2,498, a dollar less than a bare M5 Max ‌Mac Studio‌ with nothing to plug into. An M5 Pro ‌Mac mini‌ and a ‌Studio Display‌ together come to $3,298, which is $799 more than the base ‌Mac Studio‌ and $2,201 less than the M5 Ultra ‌Mac Studio‌ with no display at all.

Both machines are available to pre-order now and arrive on Tuesday, September 22, with education pricing of $799 and $1,599 on the two ‌Mac mini‌ models and $2,299 and $5,099 on the two ‌Mac Studio‌ models. ‌Mac Studio‌ configurations with 512GB of unified memory are not due until late October.
This article, "Mac Mini vs. Mac Studio Buyer's Guide: 20 Differences Compared" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Today, Apple announced a new M6 chip that will debut in the Mac mini and an M5 Ultra that is coming to the Mac Studio. The company also announced an M5 Pro Mac mini and an M5 Max Mac Studio. Let’s take a look at the headline specs.

The headline feature of the M6 chip is that it’s Apple’s first 2-nanometer chip. The chip also includes “a larger 12-core CPU complex with the world’s fastest CPU core, a larger 12-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, and up to 170GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.”

Looking more closely at the M6, Apple says it consists of two super cores, four performance cores, and six efficiency cores and is 1.2x faster in multithreaded performance than an M5 and up to 2.4x faster than an M1. Apple says the GPU delivers nearly 30% more peak GPU compute for AI than the M5. The M6’s 10% faster memory bandwidth will help with AI tasks, too, but its 32GB memory ceiling will limit which models can run locally.

The M6 mini’s GPU sounds impressive, too, with two more cores, Neural Accelerators for each core, which is a first for the mini. According to Apple, that leads to an up to four-fold increase in AI performance and a 2x graphics bump compared to the M4 mini. The Neural Engine has also been improved.

Apple also introduced an M5 Pro mini. It’s understandable if you find it confusing that the base model Mac mini has a more recent generation chipset than the more expensive model. What matters more than the chip generation is the “Pro” in M5 Pro, which makes it more capable than the M6, which has been designed for entry-level models. The same sort of asymmetry occurred with the 2025 Mac Studio, which included an M4 Max model alongside the M3 Ultra. A big part of that difference is the M5 Pro mini’s support for 64GB of memory (double the M6 version’s top memory spec) and its 307GB/s of memory bandwidth compared to the M6 model’s 170GB/s memory bandwidth.

As for the M5 Ultra, which debuts in the Mac Studio, it sounds like a beast. According to Apple, the chip uses a next-generation version of its UltraFusion technology, resulting in a quad-die architecture for the first time in an Apple silicon chip. In addition, the M5 Ultra features an “up-to-36-core CPU and up-to-80-core GPU with a massive 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth, 50 percent more than M3 Ultra.”

Here’s what Sri Santhanam, Apple’s vice president of Silicon Engineering Group, had to say about the new chips:

Today, we’re debuting the next giant leap in performance and AI compute for Apple silicon with the incredibly advanced M6 and the most powerful M-series chip yet, M5 Ultra. Built using the cutting-edge 2 nm process, M6 combines a new CPU complex, two additional CPU and GPU cores, a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, and more unified memory bandwidth to power through workloads with amazing energy efficiency. And for the ultimate desktop performance and the ability to run massive AI models, M5 Ultra features a massive GPU, now with Neural Accelerators, and more unified memory bandwidth, pushing the boundaries of what a desktop can do.

Apple is fusing two dual-die M5 Max chips to create a single quad-die architecture. Apple says the M5 Ultra is “up to 1.25x higher single-threaded performance and up to 1.3x higher multithreaded performance than M3 Ultra”, the fastest Mac previously for sale. The M5 Ultra also supports up to an 80-core GPU with up to 4.5x the peak GPU compute for AI tasks compared to the M3 Ultra and features an upgraded Media Engine, according to Apple.

For those who don’t need the bleeding-edge performance of the M5 Ultra, Apple also introduced what sounds like a very capable M5 Max Mac Studio. The M5 Max version of the computer “features an 18-core CPU, an up-to-40-core GPU with Neural Accelerators built into each core, and up to 128GB of unified memory, accelerating complex pro and AI workloads.”

Macs featuring the new chips won’t be available immediately. You can preorder both online today for delivery on September 22 with the caveat that the M5 Ultra Mac Studio with 512GB of memory won’t be available until later in October.

Prices have risen too. The Mac mini models are both $100 more than the models they replace, while the M5 Ultra Mac Studio’s base configuration has risen $200. However, the M5 Max Mac Studio’s starting price hasn’t changed.

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The Mac mini has been a lot of things to a lot of people over the years. From a compact, minimalist desktop system to a headless server, the mini is Apple’s jack-of-all-trades. More recently, demand for the tiny computer has surged as people put them to work for a variety of AI tasks, including running LLMs locally and serving as standalone Hermes and OpenClaw machines.

With memory and storage constraints, it’s no surprise that the base prices of the mini have risen. Despite those challenges, I hope Apple is able to produce enough to meet demand. I’ve loved having an M4 Pro model working away day and night in the background. It’s fast, relatively cool, energy efficient, and easy to run remotely. If the claims of Apple’s press release hold up under real-world use, I expect the new models will be the same, but faster and more capable, which is especially important for tasks like running models locally.

I’m also looking forward to seeing how the new Mac Studios perform in real world tests. I’ve used an M1 Max Mac Studio for a few years now and it’s been every bit the workhorse computer I need for my day-to-day work. However, it’s beginning to show its age when it comes to AI tasks, coding, and other tasks. It may finally be time for me to upgrade.

O MacBook Air foi atualizado neste ano com o chip M5 e é o notebook ideal para quem quer um Mac portátil capaz de lidar com a grande maioria das tarefas diárias. Além disso, ele traz um visual moderno, com uma tela Liquid Retina e o conector MagSafe 3.

Se você está de olho nesse notebook, estamos trazendo hoje duas ofertas muito boas no KaBuM! — atrativas principalmente levando em conta os recentes aumentos de preços na linha de computadores da Maçã.

Modelo de 13 polegadas

O modelo de 13″, na cor prateada, traz 16GB de memória unificada, 1TB de SSD ¹Solid-state drive, ou unidade de estado sólido. e chip M5 com uma GPU ²Graphics processing unit, ou unidade de processamento gráfico. de 10 núcleos.

MacBook Air de 13” (M5 com GPU de 10 núcleos, 16GB de memória e 1TB de SSD)

Parcelado: de R$19.599,00 por R$12.902,10 em até 10x
À vista no Pix: de R$17.639,10 por R$12.257,00

🛍️ Produto vendido pelo KaBuM; resgate o cupom 8DO8💰https://t.co/j6W0OyChmj

— MM Ofertas (@MMOfertas) August 7, 2026

Ele está saindo por R$12.902,10, valor que pode ser parcelado em até 10 vezes no cartão de crédito. Se levarmos em conta que o preço tabelado desse mesmo computador é de R$19.599, estamos diante de um desconto de 34%.

Para quem preferir pagar à vista no Pix, o preço cai para R$12.257,00, o que representa um desconto de 31% se compararmos com o valor à vista praticado pela Apple, de R$17.639,10.

Modelo de 15″

Para quem prefere um Mac com uma tela maior, o modelo de 15“ também está em oferta no KaBuM!.

Na cor meia-noite, a máquina é equipada com o chip M5 com uma GPU de 10 núcleos, 16GB de memória unificada e SSD de 1TB.

MacBook Air de 15” (M5, 16GB de memória, 1TB de SSD)

Parcelado: de R$21.599,00 por R$14.387,36 em até 10x
À vista no Pix: de R$19.439,10 por R$13.667,99

🛍️ Produto vendido pelo KaBuM; resgate o cupom 8DO8💰https://t.co/NAIhJNTn2n

— MM Ofertas (@MMOfertas) August 7, 2026

Ele está saindo por R$14.387,36 — representando um desconto de 33% em comparação com o valor tabelado da Apple no Brasil, de R$21.599,00.

Para pagamentos à vista no Pix, o preço fica melhor: cai para R$13.667,99. Como o valor à vista praticado pela Maçã no país é de R$19.439,10, estamos diante de um desconto de 30%.

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Para aproveitar ambas as ofertas, aplique o cupom 8DO8 no carrinho.

Não perca! 💻

Fique sempre por dentro das ofertas!

Se você não é louco, é claro que gosta de economizar. E, para isso, o MacMagazine tem diversas opções para ajudar você a conseguir comprar o seu produto Apple pagando menos!

Você pode usar a nossa extensão para os navegadores Chrome/Opera/Edge, acompanhar as ofertas pelo MM Fórum, pelo Facebook, pelo X, pelo Threads, pelo Bluesky, pelo Mastodon ou por um canal no Telegram. Escolha a melhor opção para você — ou todas, para depois não se arrepender — e economize! 😉

NOTA DE TRANSPARÊNCIA: O MacMagazine recebe uma pequena comissão sobre vendas concluídas por meio de links deste post, mas você, como consumidor, não paga nada mais pelos produtos/serviços usando os nossos links de afiliado.

Notas de rodapé

• 1
  Solid-state drive, ou unidade de estado sólido.
• 2
  Graphics processing unit, ou unidade de processamento gráfico.

Anunciado na Computex 2026 e disponível desde 16 de julho, o novo processador de gaming da AMD traz os 96 MB de cache 3D V-Cache por 354,90 euros. Mas enfrenta um dilema de posicionamento, o mais rápido Ryzen 7 7800X3D está agora disponível pelo mesmo preço em algumas lojas.

The post AMD coloca a tecnologia 3D V-Cache ao alcance de mais jogadores com o novo Ryzen 7 7700X3D appeared first on Tek Notícias.

Os próximos meses têm tudo para ser extremamente movimentados quando o assunto são novos Macs, com a Apple preparando uma série de atualizações para os MacBooks Pro e Air, duas novas versões do iMac e até mesmo Macs mini e Studio atualizados, segundo informações da Bloomberg.

De acordo com o veículo, a Apple já encerrou o desenvolvimento de um novo MacBook Pro de 14 polegadas, o qual deverá ser um dos primeiros dispositivos a contar com o chip “M6”. De codinome J804, ele deverá contar com o mesmo design do modelo de entrada atual, que vem equipado com o chip M5.

Outro Mac que já estaria prestes a passar por atualizações é o iMac, que deverá ganhar não só uma, mas duas novas versões, sendo que uma delas ainda receberá uma tela OLED ¹Organic light-emitting diode, ou diodo emissor de luz orgânico.. Com os codinomes J833 e J834, eles também serão equipados, é claro, com chips mais recentes — embora o modelo com o display mais avançado demore mais tempo para chegar ao mercado do que o primeiro.

E por falar em telas OLED, também teremos novos MacBooks Pro de 14″ e 16″ que, além de contar com essa tecnologia, também deverão ter painéis sensíveis ao toque, inaugurando esse método de interação entre os Macs. Com os codinomes K114 e K116, respectivamente, eles deverão ser lançados entre o fim deste ano e o início de 2027. No momento, eles estão sendo testados pela Apple com uma versão preliminar do macOS Golden Gate 27.1, cujo lançamento é aguardado para outubro próximo.

Ao contrário do modelo de entrada, no entanto, esses seguirão “presos” na família de chips M5, contando com o M5 Pro e o M5 Max dos MacBooks Pro atuais. Novas versões com os chips “M7 Pro” e “M7 Max”, porém, já estão planejadas para algum momento entre o fim de 2027 e o início de 2028.

Por falar no MacBook Pro de entrada, uma versão do modelo com um design completamente novo — baseado nos modelos com OLED — já estaria sendo desenvolvida pela Apple. Ele deverá vir ainda com o chip “M7” e conta com o codinome K104.

Já os MacBooks Air deverão ganhar novos modelos no início do ano que vem. Com os codinomes J913 (modelo de 13″) e J915 (15″), eles seguirão com o design atual. Vale lembrar, no entanto, que modelos com telas OLED já estão no forno há alguns anos e com lançamento previsto para o início de 2028.

Caçula da família, o MacBook Neo, também já conta com uma nova versão no horizonte, a qual deverá contar com o chip A19 Pro e mais memória integrada — provavelmente 12GB, ante aos 8GB do modelo atual.

Por fim, temos os dois desktops mais tradicionais da Apple: o Mac mini e o Mac Studio. Segundo Mark Gurman, o modelo em testes do primeiro usa os chips M5 Pro e “M6”, enquanto o segundo é empurrado pelos processadores M5 Max e “M5 Ultra”. Não há, no entanto, uma previsão de quando esses computadores chegarão ao mercado — cortesia da atual crise no mercado de memórias.

Haja computador novo, hein?! 😮‍💨

NOTA DE TRANSPARÊNCIA: O MacMagazine recebe uma pequena comissão sobre vendas concluídas por meio de links deste post, mas você, como consumidor, não paga nada mais pelos produtos/serviços usando os nossos links de afiliado.

Notas de rodapé

• 1
  Organic light-emitting diode, ou diodo emissor de luz orgânico.

One of the benefits of building an AMD PC is that the company has historically supported its processor sockets for longer than Intel does, allowing the same motherboard (and RAM kit, if you want) to power your PC through multiple CPU upgrades. Today at Computex, AMD announced chips for the current AM5 socket and the improbably-still-around AM4 socket that will help extend their lives a little further, a nod to just how expensive it has become to build a new PC or perform a major upgrade these days.

The first of these announcements is something we knew about already: the relaunch of 2022's Ryzen 7 5800X3D, the first of AMD's commercially available 3D V-Cache processors. Dubbed a "10th Anniversary Edition" in reference to how long Socket AM4 has been around, the re-released chip is slower than regular 8-core Ryzen 5000-series CPUs in general productivity tasks but comes with 64MB of extra L3 cache that disproportionately benefits games. If you're trying to use a high-end GPU with an AM4 motherboard, it could help keep your CPU from being a performance bottleneck. The 5800X3D (re-)releases on June 25 for a suggested retail price of $349, which is less than it currently costs to buy secondhand.

As for the current AM5 socket, AMD officially announced that it was extending its support to at least 2029—it was originally planned to last until 2025, then until "2027+," so that means between two and four years of additional support, depending on how you're counting.

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