Apple Mac mini (M2 or M2 Pro) vs Apple Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Mac mini (M2 or M2 Pro) compared with Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)

	AppleMac mini (M2 or M2 Pro)	AppleMac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	January 2023	September 2026
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M2 or Apple M2 Pro	Apple M6 or Apple M5 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	8, 10 or 12	12, 15 or 18
Graphics
Graphics	10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 19-core GPU	12-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
Memory
Memory	8 GB, 16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB, 48 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 8 TB	256 GB to 8 TB
CPU
CPU	M2: 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; M2 Pro: 10-core CPU with 6 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 12-core CPU	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	M2: 10-core GPU; M2 Pro: 16-core or 19-core GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	Dual 16-core Neural Engine (M6); 16-core Neural Engine (M5 Pro)
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	M2: 100GB/s; M2 Pro: 200GB/s	M6: 153GB/s with 16GB, 170GB/s with 24GB or 32GB; M5 Pro: 307GB/s
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	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	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	2 × Thunderbolt 4, 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 2	Up to 3 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	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	2 × Thunderbolt 4 (M2) or 4 × Thunderbolt 4 (M2 Pro), with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s); 2 × USB-A (up to 5Gb/s); HDMI with multichannel audio output; Gigabit Ethernet, configurable to 10Gb Ethernet; 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones	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	M2: up to two (one at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt, plus one at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI); M2 Pro: up to three (two at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt plus one at up to 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz over HDMI	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	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	None built in	None built in; Apple says an external microphone or headset is needed for calls
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	1.18 kg	0.67 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	197 × 197 × 35.8 mm	127 × 127 × 50 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 150W (M2) or 185W (M2 Pro) maximum continuous power	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power
Power use
Power use	M2 with 24GB and 2TB: 7W idle, 50W CPU maximum; M2 Pro with 32GB and 8TB: 7W idle, 100W CPU maximum	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)	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; 50% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
In the box
In the box	Mac mini, power lead	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)