Apple Mac Mini M6

Despite the price increase, the Mac Mini M6 is still a good deal. It's the Mac desktop that most people should buy. Brand-new Windows- or Linux-based mini PCs start at hundreds of dollars more and lack some of the AI capabilities of the Mac Mini M6. Oftentimes, they're also larger.

If you want the M6 Mac mini, you should double its unified memory and SSD, at which point you’re at $1,499 anyway. At that point, you should get the Mac mini with M5 Pro instead.

Maybe one day, the Mac mini will creep back down to $599 — but it will likely be years before that happens. For now, it's the cheapest entry into the world of Mac desktops, in an era where everything is overpriced.

The Mac mini is also a very quiet system unless you really stress the CPU and the GPU, but it is never annyoingly loud. Since Apple did not change the chassis, there are still teh same drawbacks as before. There are no maintenance options, upgrades are expensive (even though this is not limited to Apple anymore) and the power button location is still very inconvenient. There are also smaller things like the limitation to 160 MHz for the Wi-Fi 7 module, but considering the starting price of $899, this is not a huge deal-breaker.

The latest pint-sized desktop from Apple didn't need to improve much, but the CPU and GPU performance uplift from the M4 makes it one of the best computers available.

If you already have an Apple Silicon Mac, there’s probably no need to upgrade unless you are running into the limits of what your current system can handle. And even then, you should ask yourself what it is that you are running that your current system can’t cope with. Chances are, if all you are doing is answering emails, working on spreadsheets, and editing the odd photo and videos, your current Apple Silicon Mac is going to be still up to the task.

If you're planning to get one, I recommend doing so as soon as possible before all the crazy AI bros snap them up. I've been honestly thinking this would actually make for a great portable gaming device, as long as you don't mind hooking it up with a portable monitor or a hotel room TV, of course.