Apple Mac mini (Late 2012) vs Apple Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)

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Mac mini (Late 2012) compared with Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)

	AppleMac mini (Late 2012)	AppleMac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2012	September 2026
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-3210M, Intel Core i7-3615QM or Intel Core i7-3720QM	Apple M6 or Apple M5 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	2 or 4	12, 15 or 18
CPU threads
CPU threads	4 or 8	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000	12-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
Memory
Memory	4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB, 48 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 1 TB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	2.5 GHz dual-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz; 2.3 GHz quad-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz, configurable to a 2.6 GHz quad-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz. Macworld and Ars Technica identify the standard chips; Geekbench identifies the optional Core i7-3720QM.	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 HD Graphics 4000 on all configurations; no discrete graphics option	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	4 GB (two 2 GB modules) of 1600 MHz DDR3, configurable to 8 GB or 16 GB; two SO-DIMM slots accessed through the removable bottom cover (Engadget)	–
Storage type
Storage type	500 GB 5400-rpm hard drive on the Core i5 model; 1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive on the Core i7 model, configurable to a 256 GB SSD or 1 TB Fusion Drive. Separate Mac mini Server dual-drive configurations are outside this entry.	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	Thunderbolt, 4 × USB-A, HDMI, SD card slot, 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 2	Up to 3 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n	Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	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	Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s, FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, four USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, HDMI, SDXC slot, Gigabit Ethernet, separate digital/analogue audio input and headphone/line output; IR receiver	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	Up to two displays at 2560 × 1600; native Mini DisplayPort output over Thunderbolt. HDMI supports 1080p at up to 60 Hz; DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI require the applicable adapter.	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 supports multichannel audio; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	–	None built in; Apple says an external microphone or headset is needed for calls
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Power lead and HDMI to DVI adapter; monitor, keyboard and mouse sold separately	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	1.22 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
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Dimensions and weight are for the computer only; actual weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process	–
Power supply
Power supply	Integrated power supply; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; maximum continuous power 85 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	Apple's specification overview states 12 dBA idle for the dual-core model and 15 dBA for the quad-core model; its acoustic table instead lists 14 dB idle for the 2.3 GHz quad-core configuration	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	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; BFR-free and PVC-free with regional power-lead exceptions	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 50% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	–	Silver
In the box
In the box	Mac mini, HDMI to DVI adapter and power lead; OS X Mountain Lion and iLife included	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)