Apple Has Just Announced Its First Products for the Season.
Anyone who follows Apple news knows the company is gearing up for some major announcements. While the exact date is still unknown, Apple typically holds a major fall event in September to unveil brand new products, including the latest generation of iPhones. This year, the event promises to be especially significant, as the world anticipates Apple will unveil its first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Ultra.
But while I expected to learn about Apple’s newest devices only next month, I was surprised to see Mac news in my feed on Tuesday morning. As is often the case, Apple made several new announcements well before the expected keynote, indicating both its enthusiasm for the Mac in the age of artificial intelligence and the fact that its fall event will likely be entirely iPhone-focused. Here’s what’s new.
If you enjoy predicting what products and services Apple will announce this year, be sure to check out Lifehacker’s “Big Guessing” game , which is currently in its third round. The winner will receive the newest Apple Watch.
Apple’s new Mac mini is more powerful (and more expensive) than ever.
Today’s star is arguably the new Mac mini . Apple’s miniature Mac computers have recently become incredibly popular, with users snapping them up to run AI agents like OpenClaw . While the previous generation of Mac minis has become harder to find, Apple’s updated models could make them more accessible—if you’re willing to pay the premium price.
At first glance, the new Mac mini looks identical to its predecessor. Of course, the biggest upgrade is in the internals: the Mac mini now comes with one of Apple’s two M-series chips: the all-new M6 and the existing, more powerful M5 Pro. The M6 chip features a 12-core GPU (two more cores than the previous generation) and a 16-core neural processing unit (NPU). Apple claims the M6 delivers up to four times the AI performance of the M4-based Mac mini, twice the storage and graphics performance, and up to 40 percent faster CPU performance. (Apple seems well aware that its primary market for the mini is now AI users.) The M5 Pro, on the other hand, can be configured with up to an 18-core CPU and up to a 20-core GPU. You can upgrade the M5 Pro with up to 64GB of RAM, which is double the maximum memory of the M6.
Regardless of the Mac mini model you choose, Apple states that the device is equipped with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, though it can be expanded to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The front panel features two USB-C ports and a headphone jack, as well as support for USB-C syncing for better display and camera syncing.
The new Mac mini is available for pre-order today . The M6 model starts at $899, while the M5 Pro starts at $1,699. Both models are now $100 more expensive than their previous-generation counterparts, which is unsurprising given that the global memory crisis is forcing companies to raise prices across the board. Apple itself has already raised prices ahead of this release.
Apple’s new Mac Studio comes with the M5 Ultra chip.
Apple is offering users who want more from their Mac the new Mac Studio. This model is similar in appearance to the previous model, but its internal design is different.
The new Mac Studio comes with either the Apple M5 Max processor or the all-new M5 Ultra chip. Apple claims the M5 Max delivers 3.9 times faster AI performance than the previous generation, thanks to an 18-core CPU and up to 40 GPU cores. The company claims the new neural accelerators are now 50% faster than in the previous Mac Studio, and it can be configured with up to 128GB of RAM.
Apple claims the M5 Ultra delivers 4.3 times the “peak AI performance” of the M3 Ultra. If you’re upgrading from the M1 Ultra, Apple says you can expect up to 9.8 times the performance. The Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra processor can be configured with up to 36 CPU cores and up to 80 GPU cores, which Apple says is the most powerful GPU ever. At launch, the M5 Ultra could be configured with up to 256 GB of RAM, but Apple says it will soon be possible to upgrade to 512 GB.
The Studio features a full complement of I/O components, including four Thunderbolt 5 ports, Ethernet, two USB-A ports, HDMI, and a headphone jack. It can connect up to eight displays or up to four Studio Display XDR monitors.
Mac Studios are available for pre-order today , starting at $2,499 for the M5 Max or $5,499 for the M5 Ultra. (Though, of course, you can pay much more if you upgrade components.) The price of the M5 Max is technically unchanged, but it’s the same price Apple raised for the Studio line in June. The price of the M5 Ultra is now $200 higher than before.
Today, Apple quietly updated other products as well.
While Apple’s official announcements focused on two new Mac models and the M-series chips, the company has quietly updated some other products as well. If you buy Apple’s new Magic Keyboard today , you’ll notice that some keys have changed: text has been replaced with glyphs (for example, the “Caps Lock” label has been replaced with an arrow icon). While the keyboards remain functionally the same, these small updates bring the design in line with Apple’s latest laptop models.
Today, the ” polishing cloth ,” popular among Apple fans, also saw a change, but for the better. The product itself remains the same, but it’s now priced at $9 instead of $19. It’s now a much better deal to add to your cart, even if it’s just a cloth with the Apple logo embossed in the corner.