Apples newest Mac chips are here: Do you actually need the upgrade?

Apple just recently announced the launch of the new Mac mini with the M6 chip, along with the M5 Ultra in the Mac Studio.Both launches are currently available for preorder, with orders set to be ready for shoppers on Sept.22.But what makes these new chipsets worth your buck, especially since the new Mac mini is much pricier than the M4 iteration? (Editor’s note: the M4 Mac Mini was originally priced at $599 but due to memory cost increases it was recently re-priced to $799.)Built to increase energy efficiency and productivity, the M6 chip in the Mac mini is designed for everyday users who have a lot on their plate.

“M6 has a brand-new 12-core CPU complex — two more cores than M5 — that consists of 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores,” according to Apple’s press release.Essentially, the chip makes your computer faster, more efficient and smarter when it comes to AI integration.It’s built for heavier workloads like photo editing and more intensive multitasking.

For coders, editors or anyone juggling multiple programs at once, the M6 chip keeps everything running at full speed, no lagging or freezing of your screen before the latest project can be saved.According to Apple, this new design gives the M6 up to 1.2x faster multithreaded CPU performance than the M5, while also delivering what it calls the world’s fastest single-threaded performance.In comparison, the M5 Ultra is pegged as Apple’s most powerful chip ever.It’s built for people who need serious computing power.

Apple uses a quad-die architecture so the chipset to work like one massive processor, giving demanding tasks like video editing, 3D rendering and AI workloads a lot more horsepower.Compared with the M3 Ultra, the M5 Ultra is 25% faster for tasks that rely heavily on one CPU thread and up to 30% faster when workloads use many cores at once.It’s perfect for demanding tasks, where multiple tabs and programs are required, including running large AI models dir...