I reviewed the new Mac mini M6 and it’s a tiny powerhouse — add one to your desk for $120 off right now

An Apple Mac mini M6 in hand with a Tom's Guide Prime Day deals badge
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
Grab your 30-day free Amazon Prime trial to buy this deal!

(Image credit: Amazon)

As well as access to these exclusive Prime Big Deal Days savings, you can get free Prime shipping, access to Prime Video streaming, Prime Music, Amazon Luna gaming, unlimited cloud photo storage and a whole lot more.

Sign up for Amazon Prime

Whether you’re tired of Windows and are thinking about switching to Mac or you just want to upgrade your older Mac mini, the Mac mini M6 is a great option. And right now you can get it for a great price with this October Prime Day deal.

I recently reviewed the new Mac mini M6 and gave the latest version of Apple’s smallest Mac yet 4.5 stars and an editor’s choice award, and rightfully so. While it features the same redesigned case first introduced with the Mac mini M4, there are enough meaningful updates under the hood — like its more powerful M6 chip and custom N1 networking chip — that easily make it one of the best mini PCs.

While Apple did raise the starting price of its latest Mac mini from $599 to $899, thanks to this excellent October Prime Day discount, you can pick up the Mac mini M6 for $779 at Amazon, or $120 off its normal price right now.

Apple Mac mini M6
Save $120
Apple Mac mini M6: was $899 now $779 at Amazon

The Mac mini M6 keeps the ultra-compact 5x5-inch design introduced with the prior generation, but packs major performance upgrades under the hood. You get the raw speed of Apple's M6 chip, upgraded graphics with hardware-accelerated ray tracing for better 1080p gaming, 16GB of unified memory, and improved connectivity thanks to Apple's custom N1 chip, which adds Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and Thread support.

Given just how popular the Mac mini M4 became for running local AI workloads, I wouldn’t wait on this deal if you’ve been thinking about upgrading. In fact, it’s still cheaper than if you bought one directly from Apple using an education discount at $799. Here’s why the new Mac mini M6 is so easy to recommend, especially at this discounted price.

Same small footprint but now even faster

A person playing the game Control on the Mac Mini with M6

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

At 5 x 5 x 2 inches, the Mac mini M6 takes up the exact same footprint on your desk as its predecessor. Not only does this mean that you can use all of the existing third-party accessories for the M4 model with it but no matter how small your workspace is, you won’t have any trouble finding a spot for the new Mac mini.

While its overall design may be the same, Apple has made some big changes under the hood. For starters, the new M6 chip powering it is both faster and more efficient due to the fact that it’s built using a cutting-edge 2nm manufacturing process. In our benchmark tests, the Mac mini M6 showed results that were even faster than those from Apple’s M4 Pro model.

One thing that really impressed me personally was how much better the Mac mini M6 is at gaming over its predecessor. Although it isn’t one of the best gaming PCs, we were still able to play Cyberpunk 2077 at nearly 60 fps at 1080p using the game’s dedicated “For this Mac” preset.

During my testing, I booted up Control and after lowering the resolution down to 1440p on Apple’s Studio Display XDR, the game played great and looked fantastic despite the fact that it was running on a premium monitor better suited for the new Mac Studio.

The rear ports of the Mac Mini with M6

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

When it comes to connectivity, you still get two USB-C ports and a headphone jack around front as well as three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, Ethernet and a power port on the back. However, Apple gave the Ethernet port a quiet but impressive upgrade, going from gigabit Ethernet on the Mac mini M4 to 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet on the new Mac mini M6.

If you’re downloading or uploading big files, this upgraded wired port will definitely make a massive difference. For everyday use though, you’re still getting a major connectivity upgrade, thanks to the inclusion of Apple’s custom N1 chip that adds Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and even Thread smart home support to the Mac mini M6. From faster downloads to lower-latency wireless audio to the fact that you can now use your Mac mini as a smart home hub, this new networking chip makes a big difference in how you’ll use Apple’s new Mac mini.

Whether you’re looking to upgrade from an older MacBook, want to downsize from a big, bulky tower PC or you’re fed up with Windows and want to switch to Mac, the Mac mini M6 is easily one of the best Macs you can buy right now and this October Prime Day discount sweetens the deal by putting over $100 back in your pocket.

Shop more deals

TOPICS
CATEGORIES
Anthony Spadafora
Managing Editor Security and Home Office

Anthony Spadafora is the managing editor for security and home office furniture at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches to password managers and the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. He also reviews standing desks, office chairs and other home office accessories with a penchant for building desk setups. Before joining the team, Anthony wrote for ITProPortal while living in Korea and later for TechRadar Pro after moving back to the US. Based in Houston, Texas, when he’s not writing Anthony can be found tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.