Mac mini with M6: Entry Model Costs 100 Euros More in Test, SSD Soldered Again
Apple's Mac mini with the M6 chip outperforms earlier Pro models in testing but costs significantly more than its predecessor. Apple has soldered the SSD storage in place again.
By Marcel
Automatically translated from German · may contain errors · Read the original
Apple's new Mac mini with the M6 chip costs 1,049 euros in its base configuration, 100 euros more than the cheapest model with the M4 chip had most recently. That is according to a German-language tech YouTuber who bought the base model for a test video. He attributes the price increase to the memory crisis. His claims could not be independently verified.
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According to him, the predecessor launched at 699 euros and was available with a student discount or at retailers for around 500 euros in some cases. In May 2026, Apple reportedly discontinued the base configuration, and the cheapest model with 512 GB then cost 949 euros. Despite the higher price, the new entry-level model again has only 256 GB of SSD storage, he said. "This thing breaks my heart," the YouTuber said – not because it isn't a good computer.
First Apple Chip Built on a 2-Nanometer Process
According to the test, the M6 is Apple's first chip built on a 2-nanometer process, while the M5 Pro is still based on 3 nanometers. In the Geekbench single-core test, the M6 scored more than 4,000 points, putting it ahead of the significantly more expensive Mac Studio with M5 Ultra. In multi-core performance, it is reportedly more than 35 percent faster than the M4 and outperforms both the M4 Pro and the M1 Max.
Apple has doubled the Neural Engine for AI tasks to 32 cores, and according to the test it reaches more than 130 trillion operations per second (TOPS). In Final Cut Pro, the M6 processed one minute of 4K video with the Magnetic Mask in 54 seconds, while the M5 Ultra needed one minute and 14 seconds. For local image generation via the graphics unit, however, the M6 took one minute and 52 seconds, compared with 26 seconds for the M5 Ultra.
The case is unchanged at 12.7 centimeters on each side and five centimeters in height. New features include an N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, as well as a 2.5 Gbit/s Ethernet port in the base configuration. The three Thunderbolt ports support only Thunderbolt 4 on the M6, compared with Thunderbolt 5 on the M5 Pro.
Soldered Storage Instead of Modules
The M6 can be configured with a maximum of 32 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD storage, while the M5 Pro model goes up to 64 GB and 8 TB. The 2 TB upgrade more than doubles the price of the Mac mini, the YouTuber said.
With the M4 model, Apple had introduced replaceable SSD modules, albeit with a proprietary connector. With the M6, the SSD is once again soldered directly to the main board. The YouTuber called this an "absolutely tragic step backward" that contradicts Apple's sustainability goals.
According to him, Apple also no longer uses carbon offset projects with the M6 model to arrive at net-zero emissions on paper. The production emissions of the base model have fallen from 32 kilograms for the M4 to 30 kilograms. Given the prices, the YouTuber called for a cheaper entry-level Mac, for example with an iPhone chip in the Mac mini's case.