What reviewers found in the M6 Mac mini: a big CPU jump, an $899 starting price, and a base SSD only one review testedWhat reviewers found in the M6 Mac mini: a big CPU jump, an $899 starting price, and a base SSD only one review tested

AppleInsider published its review of the M6 Mac mini on 2 October, the seventh hands-on review of the machine and the only one so far to test the $899 base model with its 256GB drive.

Apple's M6 Mac mini went on sale on 22 September. The base configuration has a 12-core CPU, a 12-core GPU, 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage. Apple's upgrade prices, consistent across the reviews, are 200 dollars for 512GB, 500 dollars for 1TB and 400 dollars for 32GB of memory. Most reviews were published on 21 September under a shared embargo; below are six of them, plus a first look from CNET.

Performance: where they agree

Every reviewer found a large CPU gain over the M4 model, though the size depends on the test. WIRED measured 36 per cent more multi-core performance. Tom's Guide, on Geekbench 6, found 44 per cent. AppleInsider and 9to5Mac, both on Geekbench 7, found 47 and 48 per cent, and 68 and 71 per cent on graphics. Six Colors' Jason Snell compared with the M5 instead and called the M6 a dead-on average generational step, at 23 per cent multi-core.

Games were consistent: WIRED, Tom's Guide and Engadget all measured Cyberpunk 2077 at between 53 and 56 frames a second. 9to5Mac found the M6 beat the 12-core M4 Pro on CPU but not on graphics, and WIRED measured the M4 Pro 15 per cent faster in one graphics test.

Where they disagree

• Fan noise: WIRED could hear the fan under heavy load. Tom's Guide called the machine dead silent, and Engadget heard no loud fan noise.
• Value: Engadget headlined that it is no longer a great deal, and Six Colors noted $899 is 50 per cent above the old $599 starting price. Tom's Guide gave it 4.5 out of 5 and WIRED 9 out of 10.
• Memory: WIRED and AppleInsider both said 16GB is too little for local AI work; WIRED could not load a 70-billion-parameter model.

Is the 256GB base Mac mini's SSD slower?

On AppleInsider's unit, yes. It measured the 256GB drive at about 3,150 MB/s for both reading and writing, against about 6,300 MB/s on a 512GB model. Tom's Guide, 9to5Mac and Engadget tested 512GB or 1TB machines and reported speeds of about 6,000 to 6,400 MB/s. AppleInsider gave the base model 3.5 out of 5 and said the 512GB model would get 4. Because storage is soldered, the drive chosen at purchase is the drive for life.

Our take

The consensus is clear on speed and split on value, and the split comes down to which configuration a reviewer had. Six of the seven tested something better than the cheapest model. That is not unusual, since Apple decides which units reviewers receive, but it means most of the headline numbers describe a machine that costs at least $1,099.

AppleInsider's result is one measurement on one unit, and we would want a second before calling it settled. It fits a pattern, though. Reviewers found the M5 Max Mac Studio's SSD speed also depends on capacity, because fewer flash chips means less parallel bandwidth. And since the new Mac mini has its storage soldered down again, nobody can fix the choice later.

What none of the reviews tested is how the 256GB model behaves after a year of use, with Apple Intelligence models, system data and caches taking their share. APPDOOK's reading is that the M6 is the right Mac mini to buy, and the 512GB model is the one to buy: the extra 200 dollars buys double the drive speed and the room to keep it.