Mac mini Price Increase 2026: Which Model to Buy Now

The 2026 Mac mini price increase is now official, and it is bigger than the tweak I first wrote about here. Apple has retired the entire M4 Mac mini line and replaced it with a new model built around the M6 chip, which starts at £899 in the UK (£799 for education). If you have been holding out for the cheap M4 mini, that machine is gone, so the real question now is which of the new options makes sense.

Apple announced the refreshed line-up on 25 August 2026, with pre-orders opening the same day and machines shipping from 22 September 2026. Alongside the M6 model sits a Mac mini with M5 Pro at £1,699 (£1,599 education). I have covered the full spec sheet in a separate piece, so here I want to focus on the money and the buying decision.

What the Mac mini Price Increase Actually Means

Here is the before and after. The Mac mini that launched in October 2024 opened at £599 with the M4 chip, and that was the machine most people meant when they called the mini the best-value Mac. That configuration has now been discontinued.

The new line-up looks like this:

• Mac mini with M6: £899 (£799 education) with a 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory (configurable to 32GB) and a 256GB SSD
• Mac mini with M5 Pro: £1,699 (£1,599 education) with 24GB of unified memory and a 512GB SSD

So the entry price has moved from £599 to £899. That is a £300 jump on paper (my own sum, £899 minus £599), but it is not a like-for-like increase. The M6 is a generation ahead of the M4: Apple quotes up to 4x faster AI, 2x faster graphics and storage, and around 40% faster CPU performance against the old model, plus its first dual Neural Engine. You are paying more, but for meaningfully newer silicon rather than the same chip in a smaller range.

Rising Memory Costs Are the Backdrop

This price increase does not exist in a vacuum. Apple has been nudging UK prices up across the Mac range through 2026, largely because memory prices have been climbing as AI infrastructure soaks up DRAM and NAND supply. The MacBook Neo, for instance, went up by around £100 on 25 June 2026 for that reason, with no change to its specs. Apple has also been reshaping the desktop range more broadly, including retiring the Mac Pro, so a reset at the bottom of the mini line fits the pattern.

The Mac mini Was the Best Mac Value. Now It's a Bigger Commitment.

The £599 M4 mini earned its reputation because it delivered a real desktop computer for the price of a decent iPad. At £899 for the M6 model, that reflexive 'just buy the mini' answer needs more thought. You are getting a faster chip and the same compact enclosure Apple has used since the M4 generation, but £899 sits in a different psychological tier from £599.

The base M6 still ships with 256GB of storage, which fills up quickly once you have macOS, your apps and a Photos library in place. If you can stretch to it, the storage and memory upgrades are worth costing out before you buy, because they are not cheap to add later. For a lot of people the M6 mini will still be the sensible desktop Mac, just not the impulse buy it once was.

M6 or M5 Pro: Which Mac mini to Buy

For most people, covering general work, coding, photo editing and everyday multitasking, the £899 M6 model is the one to get. Step up to the M5 Pro at £1,699 only if you are doing sustained heavy lifting, such as large video exports, 3D work or running bigger local AI models where the extra cores and 24GB of memory pay off. The gap between them is £800 (again, my own sum, £1,699 minus £899), which is a lot to spend unless your workload genuinely needs it.

If you want the full breakdown of the new chips, ports and configurations, I have written it all up separately.

Where the MacBook Neo Fits In

If the £899 starting price has pushed the mini out of your budget, the MacBook Neo is worth a look. It now starts at £699 in the UK after its own June 2026 price rise, runs the A18 Pro chip and gives you a portable Mac rather than a desktop. It is a different machine for a different job, but it is the cheapest way into a new Mac right now.

Worth knowing that the Neo has been selling faster than Apple can supply it, so availability can be patchy. If you need a machine this week, that is a factor. For anyone who genuinely needs a desktop with their own monitor and keyboard, though, the mini is still the better fit.

Should You Buy a Mac mini Right Now?

If you need a desktop Mac, the M6 mini is a straightforward recommendation at £899, with the caveat that it is a pre-order until units start shipping on 22 September 2026. There is no cheaper new mini coming to rescue the old £599 price, so waiting will not bring that back.

The one reason to hold off is if 256GB feels tight and you have not settled on your storage tier. Spend a few minutes configuring the machine you actually want before you order, because the base model is the one Apple builds in volume and any custom build will take longer to arrive. Beyond that, this is the mini to buy for the next few years.

FAQ

Why is the Mac mini more expensive now?

Apple has replaced the M4 Mac mini, which started at £599, with a new M6 model that starts at £899 (£799 for education). It is a full chip and generation upgrade rather than a simple price bump, and it arrives during a stretch of rising memory costs that has pushed several Mac prices up across 2026.

Is the £599 Mac mini still available?

Not from Apple. The M4 Mac mini has been discontinued and pulled from the line-up. Some third-party retailers may still have old stock for a while, and the refurbished store is worth checking if you specifically want the older, cheaper model, but Apple's new entry point is the £899 M6.

Which Mac mini should I buy, M6 or M5 Pro?

The £899 M6 model suits most people, from general work to photo editing and coding. The £1,699 M5 Pro is for sustained heavy workloads like large video projects, 3D or bigger local AI models, where its extra cores and 24GB of memory earn their place. If you are not sure, the M6 is almost certainly enough.

Should I get a Mac mini or a MacBook Neo?

The Mac mini makes sense if you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse and want a stationary desktop. The MacBook Neo, from £699, makes more sense if you want a portable Mac, you do not already have peripherals, or you want the cheapest new Mac. Both run macOS well; they just suit different setups.

Source: Apple UK Newsroom - Apple unveils a more powerful Mac mini featuring the all-new M6 and M5 Pro. Pricing and specifications confirmed via apple.com/uk.