Apple Unveils New Mac Mini and Mac Studio, Enhancing AI Computing Power

Dynamic Beating AI News Flash: As more and more consumers are turning to Apple computers to build and deploy AI agents, Apple (AAPL.O) has unveiled the new Mac Mini and Mac Studio featuring upgraded chips and other enhancements tailored for artificial intelligence applications.

Apple emphasized in Tuesday's announcement that the chips it has designed for the iPhone and Mac include a dedicated component called the Neural Engine for AI model processing, along with a RAM architecture that helps alleviate some memory bottlenecks.

The new generation Mac Mini, available in two versions, M6 and M5 Pro, are priced starting at 6999 yuan and 12999 yuan in China. Apple directly refers to it as a desktop computer suitable for "24/7 Agent Computing," highlighting its ability to continuously run AI agents on the desktop.

The M6 is Apple's first 2nm M-series chip, with both CPU and GPU upgraded to 12 cores, and each GPU core now includes a neural network accelerator for the first time. AI performance is up to 4 times higher than the M4 version. Memory starts at 16GB, up to 32GB, with a bandwidth increased to 170GB/s. Apple states that the large model prompt processing speed of the LM Studio is up to 4.8 times faster than the M4 version.

The higher-priced M5 Pro version supports up to 64GB of unified memory and a bandwidth of 307GB/s, and is directly advertised by Apple as suitable for long-term AI agent operation. Both models have also been upgraded to Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and a 2.5Gb Ethernet port, with official sales starting on September 22.

The prices have also soared significantly. The M4 Mac Mini was priced at just 4499 yuan when it was first launched in 2024, then increased to 5999 yuan this year, and now the new version is priced at 6999 yuan.