Apple's New Mac Mini Starts at $899, $300 More Than the 2024 Model
Apple launched a redesigned Mac mini and Mac Studio on August 25 with faster chips, but the entry-level Mac mini now costs $300 more than it did when it debuted less than two years ago.
Meridians Tech Desk
Published 28 August 2026 · Updated 28 August 2026 · 4 min read
TechThe short answer
- Apple announced a new Mac mini (from $899, M6 chip) and Mac Studio (from $2,499, M5 Max/M5 Ultra chips) on August 25, 2026; both go on sale September 22.
- The base Mac mini has risen from $599 at its October 2024 launch to $799 in June 2026 to $899 now, a $300 increase in under two years.
- CEO Tim Cook attributed the June increase to a "hundred-year flood" in memory and storage chip costs; Apple has not commented further on pricing with this launch.
- M6 is Apple's first chip built on a 2-nanometer process; the top Mac Studio chip, M5 Ultra, uses a new quad-die design and supports up to 512GB of memory.
Apple's new Mac mini starts at $899, up from $599 when the model it replaces launched less than two years ago. The company unveiled the redesigned Mac mini and Mac Studio on August 25, an unusual timing for Apple, which typically saves Mac announcements for October.
The base Mac mini now runs on Apple's new M6 chip and starts at $899 for 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage. A higher-end M5 Pro configuration starts at $1,699. The redesigned Mac Studio starts at $2,499 with the M5 Max chip and $5,499 with the M5 Ultra chip. Apple says pre-orders are open now, with both machines shipping September 22; a 512GB-memory Mac Studio configuration won't ship until late October.
Why the Mac mini costs more now
The $899 starting price is the third increase for this Mac mini line in under two years. It launched at $599 in October 2024. In June 2026, Apple raised prices across its Mac and iPad lineups, and the base Mac mini configuration returned to the lineup at $799 after briefly disappearing. Apple's new chip generation now pushes that same tier to $899.
“We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly. Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable... the situation has become unsustainable.”
What's new inside the chips
- M6 (Mac mini): Apple's first chip on a 2-nanometer process; 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, up to 32GB memory, 170GB/s memory bandwidth.
- M5 Pro (Mac mini): up to 18-core CPU, up to 20-core GPU, up to 64GB memory, 307GB/s memory bandwidth.
- M5 Max (Mac Studio): 18-core CPU, up to 40-core GPU, up to 128GB memory, up to 614GB/s memory bandwidth.
- M5 Ultra (Mac Studio): Apple's first quad-die chip design, up to 36-core CPU, up to 80-core GPU, up to 512GB memory, 1.2TB/s memory bandwidth.
Sources
Every factual claim above is traceable to these documents. Check them — that is why they are here.
- Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 ProApple Newsroom
- Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 UltraApple Newsroom
- Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra for a big leap in performance and AI computeApple Newsroom
- Apple Just Increased Prices on MacBooks, iPads, and MoreMacRumors
- Apple price hikes continue as Mac mini with 16GB RAM and 256GB is now $899Tom's Hardware
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Meridians Tech Desk is an editorial desk at Meridians, not an individual. A desk byline means the article was produced and fact-checked to that desk's published standards. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy.
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