The Mac mini remains one of Apple’s most compelling Macs, offering an exceptional balance of performance, affordability, and compact design. Following a major redesign in October 2024, Apple’s desktop became smaller, faster, and more versatile than ever, with a dramatically reduced 5-by-5-inch footprint and the introduction of M4 and M4 Pro chips.
If you’re thinking about buying a Mac mini, you may be wondering whether another update is just around the corner, what new features a 2026 refresh might bring, and whether Apple will maintain the attractive $599 starting price.
Those hoping Apple would reveal a new Mac mini at its early-March “Special Experience” events were disappointed – no new model appeared. However, Apple did unveil the M5 Pro chip, which is widely expected to power one of the next-generation Mac mini configurations. When the new Mac mini does arrive, it should benefit from the performance gains offered by the M5 and M5 Pro chips, including improved graphics performance and enhanced on-device AI capabilities.
When Apple will release the next Mac mini is less clear, but an early to mid 2026 launch is expected, with a date around WWDC in June most likely.
Below, we break down everything we expect from the 2026 Mac mini, including potential performance improvements, whether an M5 Pro model is likely, and what other specification updates could be in store.
2026 Mac mini M5 processor: M5 and M5 Pro chips explained
- Expected to offer M5 and M5 Pro options.
The new M5 chip may make its way into the Mac mini.
Apple
Apple has yet to establish a consistent upgrade cycle with the Mac mini since the introduction of Apple Silicon (M-series chips). Apple released M1 and M2 versions but skipped the M3 and went with the M4. So, Apple isn’t afraid to skip a chip cycle with the Mac mini. However, it looks like Apple isn’t going to skip the M5:
- In November 2025, Mark Gurman reported that Apple has the Mac mini on the 2026 release schedule with M5 and M5 Pro chips.
- Then, in December 2025, MacRumors reported that references to the M5 and M5 Pro Mac mini appeared in a set of leaked Apple files.
The new Mac mini is likely to shop M5 and M5 Pro chips, both are already on the market, so we know what to expect from them:
Apple’s M5 chip: Debuted in October 2025. It represents a significant shift in Apple silicon by prioritizing graphics performance and on-device artificial intelligence. While it maintains the 3-nanometer architecture of its predecessor, it introduces a new GPU design that incorporates dedicated hardware for AI tasks.
Apple’s M5 Pro chip: Arrived in March 2026. It introduces a new “Fusion Architecture” combining two dies into one SoC. It offers an 18-core CPU architecture (with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores) and improved multithreaded performance and AI capabilities.
At a glance: Expected performance improvements
Key performance highlights of the M5 chip, as seen in the M5 MacBook Pro, include:
- Graphics: In the MacBook Pro M5 the GPU delivers up to 45% faster performance than the M4 and is roughly 4x faster in peak compute tasks.
- AI Tasks: Due to the new accelerators, certain AI functions—such as image generation in apps like Draw Things – can be up to 3.5 times faster than on the M4.
- Storage Speed: The M5 architecture supports significantly faster SSD performance, with some tests of the M5 in the MacBook Pro showing read and write speeds nearly doubling compared to the previous generation.
- CPU Output: General processing sees a more iterative increase, with single-core and multi-core scores rising by approximately 14% to 22% over the M4 in our MacBook Pro tests.
2026 Mac mini M5 specs: Will the new Mac mini have better specs and configurations?
- Faster 512GB SSD as standard
- Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth 6
Simon Jary / Foundry
In October 2024, Apple upgraded the base unified memory (RAM) for the Mac mini to 16GB, moving away from the long-standing 8GB entry point. We expect that this 16GB baseline will continue with the M5 models to support multitasking and modern AI workloads.
As with the current M4 models, the new 2026 Mac mini models are likely to offer configurations up to 32GB of RAM for the standard chip and higher for the Pro versions (up to 64GB RAM).
The SSD specs could improve, though. When Apple introduced the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in March 2026 is doubled the storage at the entry level. So it is likely that Apple will mirror this with the Mac mini, moving from 256GB SSD to 512 SSB. It’s also likely to offer up to 4TB SSD as a build to order option for the M5 model, while 8TB will remain the limit for the M5 Pro. This storage is also faster.
The M4 Mac mini has Thunderbolt 4, while the M4 Pro Mac mini has Thunderbolt 5. The MacBook Pro with M5 chip also features Thunderbolt 4, so that’s what will be in the M5 Mac mini. While specifications on the M5 Pro have not been reported, it will likely have Thunderbolt 5.
The current Mac mini has Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.3. This didn’t change with the M5 MacBook Pro in October 2025, but, in March 2026, Apple added Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 to the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models, so it is likely to do the equivalent with the M5 and M5 Pro Mac mini.
At a glance: Expected specs
- From 16GB RAM (M5); 24GB RAM (M5 Pro)
- From 512GB SSD and up to 4TB SSD (M5); 8TB SSD (M5 Pro)
- Thunderbolt 4 (M5); Thunderbolt 5 (M5 Pro)
- Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth 6
2026 Mac mini M5 design: Are any design changes expected to the Mac mini
- No design changes expected.
Expect the ports to remain the same on the new Mac mini.
Foundry
The M4 Mac mini underwent a significant physical redesign in October 2024, shrinking to a 5-by-5-inch enclosure. This design will be in place for several years to come. The M5 update is anticipated to focus on internal performance enhancements with no changes to the physical chassis.
No reports have been made on whether Apple will offer new colors – so no Space Gray Mac mini is likely.
New 2026 Mac mini M5: Ports
The port offerings are also expected to remain the same as the M4 Mac mini:
- 2 front USB-C ports (supporting USB 3 at 10Gbps)
- Front 3.5mm audio jack
- 3 rear Thunderbolt ports
- HDMI port
- Gigabit ethernet port (10Gb ethernet option available)
New 2026 Mac mini M5 price: Will the price of the Mac mini increase?
- No price changes rumored, but prices could go if Apple increases base-level storage as it has with other Macs
- Apple is moving some Mac mini production to Texas which could affect pricing
For reference, here are the prices for the current base configurations of the 2024 Mac mini:
- $599/£599/CA$799/AU$999 M4, 16GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD
- $799/£799/CA$1,099/AU$1,299 M4, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD
- $999/£999/CA$1,399/AU$1,599 M4, 24GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD
- $1,399/£1,399/CA$1,999/AU$2,199 M4 Pro, 24GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD
Prices could increase for several reasons, including tariffs and higher component costs. One possible factor is Apple’s recent pricing strategy with the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, where entry-level prices increased while base storage doubled. Apple could adopt a similar approach with the M5 generation of the Mac mini.
If that happens, the starting price could rise by around $100/£100, potentially bringing the entry-level Mac mini to $699/£699 with 512GB of storage.
However, prices may also remain unchanged. In February 2026, Apple announced plans to move part of its Mac mini production to a Foxconn facility in Texas later in the year while continuing manufacturing in Asia. Producing some units in the U.S. could help Apple avoid certain tariffs, although domestic manufacturing may also increase costs.
Another factor in Apple’s pricing strategy is the introduction of the MacBook Neo, which also starts at $599. This means the Mac mini is no longer Apple’s only low-cost Mac. In some ways, the MacBook Neo could be seen as an even better value, since it includes a built-in display.
New 2026 Mac mini M5 Release date: When will Apple update the M5 Mac mini?
- Mid 2026 / June release possible
Apple released new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max chips in early March 2026. There was some expectation that Apple might update the Mac mini at the same time as those MacBooks, but the company has a precedent of releasing laptops first and desktops later in the cycle – and that appears to be the case in 2026.
Because laptops dominate Apple’s Mac sales, desktop Macs like the Mac mini do not tend to receive consistent annual upgrades. The Mac mini has had an erratic release history, with Apple sometimes updating the machine annually and at other times waiting as long as four years between revisions. The transition from Intel to Apple Silicon did not bring much consistency either: the M1 Mac mini remained on sale for nearly three years before receiving an M2 upgrade. The Mac mini then skipped the M3 generation entirely and received an M4 upgrade – along with a major redesign – in November 2024.
That said, a Mac mini with M5 and M5 Pro chips does appear to be on the horizon. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in November 2025 that Mac mini models featuring M5 and M5 Pro chips are on Apple’s product roadmap for 2026. In a February 9 newsletter, he added that “new Mac minis are on the road map for this year,” though he did not provide a specific launch window.
It seems likely that the next Mac mini could arrive in the first half of 2026, possibly around WWDC in June. One reason Apple may not delay the update much longer is speculation that the M6 chip could arrive in the second half of 2026.
