[DigitalToday reporter Chi-kyu Hwang (황치규)] Apple has unveiled new Mac mini and Mac Studio models with improved performance for AI tasks.

On Aug. 25 (local time), CNBC reported that Apple applied new chips and related upgrades to its desktop Mac lineup to meet demand for AI agent development and running local models.

Mac mini can be configured with M6 and M5 Pro chips. M6 is the first M6-generation chip used in an Apple computer and is produced using TSMC's 2-nanometer process. The previous Mac mini used M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. Apple said a Mac mini equipped with an M5 Pro processes large language model prompts 8.5 times faster than the previous Pro version.

Mac mini starts at $899, up $100 from the previous model.

Mac Studio uses an M5 Max in some models and an M5 Ultra in higher-end models. Apple said the M5 Max runs large language models nearly 4 times faster than the previous product. The M5 Ultra is the most powerful chip Apple currently offers. Apple said connecting multiple Mac Studio units based on the Ultra chip allows them to share memory like a single machine and run a frontier AI model with 1 trillion parameters.

Mac Studio models based on the M5 Max start at $2,499, unchanged from before, while M5 Ultra-based models start at $5,499. The previous Mac Studio used an M3 Ultra chip and started at $5,299.

Apple said it includes a neural engine, a dedicated component for running models, in iPhone and Mac chips, and uses a RAM architecture designed to reduce memory bottlenecks. It said developers can use these frameworks and the new chips to run and fine-tune large AI models locally on a Mac. Preorders for the new Mac mini and Mac Studio start on Aug. 25, with shipments set for Sept. 22.