Apple Mac Mini (M6) Review: The Best Compact Desktop Is No Longer A Great Deal – Engadget

Apple Mac Mini (M6) Review: The Best Compact Desktop Is No Longer A Great Deal  EngadgetApple M6 Mac mini review: $300 price hike spoils a nice upgrade  Ars TechnicaThe M5 Ultra Mac Studio tears through our benchmark tests  The VergeM5 Ultra Mac Studio Review: The Dream Mac for Local AI Agents  MacStoriesM6 Mac mini Review: A Better Tiny Desktop, With or Without AI  Gizmodo

At $899, the new Mac mini loses the fun factor of the previous models. When we last reviewed the Mac mini in 2024, Apple was sitting pretty with a compact redesign and a surprisingly affordable $599 starting price. And then, the AI frenzy begat the RAMaggedon. Mac minis flew off the shelves (we never got an M5 version), while storage and memory prices exploded. Now we have the M6 Mac mini, which still has a wonderfully small case, but starts at $899. That's not so adorable, is it? The M6 Mac mini remains a very powerful and compact desktop, but it's no longer the shockingly great deal that it used to be.

It wasn't unusual to see earlier models go on sale for $499 or less, making them perfect servers, sturdy computers for kids or AI dev boxes. Now the Mac mini just seems a lot less fun. But if you absolutely need a powerful little system, it's still the best mini desktop you can buy today. After skipping the base M5 chip last year, the new Mac mini lineup is a bit confusing. You can choose