Apple Mac mini (2018) vs Apple Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)

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Mac mini (2018) compared with Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)

	AppleMac mini (2018)	AppleMac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2018	September 2026
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i3-8100B, Intel Core i5-8500B or Intel Core i7-8700B	Apple M6 or Apple M5 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	4 or 6	12, 15 or 18
CPU threads
CPU threads	4, 6 or 12	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 630	12-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
Memory
Memory	8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB, 48 GB or 64 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 2 TB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	3.6 GHz quad-core Core i3 with 6 MB shared L3 cache; 3.0 GHz six-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz and 9 MB cache; configurable to 3.2 GHz six-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz and 12 MB cache	M6: 12-core CPU with 2 super cores, 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores; M5 Pro: 15-core CPU with 5 super cores and 10 performance cores, or 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores
GPU
GPU	Intel UHD Graphics 630; exact i3-8100B model identified by Tom’s Guide; i5-8500B and i7-8700B identified in Apple’s Common Criteria security target	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	–	Dual 16-core Neural Engine (M6); 16-core Neural Engine (M5 Pro)
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	M6: 153GB/s with 16GB, 170GB/s with 24GB or 32GB; M5 Pro: 307GB/s
Memory type
Memory type	2666 MHz DDR4 SO-DIMM; 8 GB, configurable to 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB	–
Storage type
Storage type	PCIe-based SSD; launch Core i3 starts at 128 GB and Core i5 at 256 GB; configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB; 128 GB Core i7 combinations omitted because their configure-to-order availability is not independently verified	SSD
Media engine
Media engine	–	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × Thunderbolt 3, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	2.5 Gb/s (better)
External displays
External displays	Up to 3	Up to 3
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5	Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	6
Front ports
Front ports	–	2 × USB-C with USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
Back ports
Back ports	Four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; two USB-A ports up to 5 Gb/s; HDMI 2.0; Gigabit Ethernet, configurable to 10 Gb Ethernet with 1/2.5/5/10 Gb support; 3.5 mm headphone jack	M6: 3 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and DisplayPort; M5 Pro: 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and DisplayPort; HDMI with multichannel audio output; 2.5Gb Ethernet (RJ-45), configurable to 10Gb Ethernet
External displays
External displays	Two displays up to 4096 × 2304 at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt 3 plus one up to 4096 × 2160 at 60 Hz over HDMI 2.0; alternatively, one 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt 3 plus one 4096 × 2160 display at 60 Hz over HDMI 2.0	M6: up to three (two at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, plus a third at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or two (one at up to 8K 60Hz, 5K 120Hz or 4K 240Hz, plus one at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI); M5 Pro: up to three at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, or two (one at up to 8K 60Hz, 5K 120Hz or 4K 240Hz, plus one at up to 5K 120Hz or 4K 200Hz); VRR and HDR supported
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker; HDMI 2.0 supports multichannel audio output	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	–	None built in; Apple says an external microphone or headset is needed for calls
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	1.3 kg	0.67 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	197 × 197 × 36 mm	127 × 127 × 50 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; maximum continuous power 150 W	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power
Power use
Power use	–	M6 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 70W maximum; M5 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 6W idle, 145W maximum
Noise
Noise	–	5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position); declared to ECMA-109 as 1.3 B sound power and 4 dB sound pressure at idle and wireless web (M5 Pro, 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU)
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 50% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Space Grey	Silver
In the box
In the box	Mac mini, power cord	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)