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At its annual hardware launch event earlier this month, Apple demoed four Mac Studios strung together to ‌run an ⁠AI model with a trillion parameters to find and fix a graphics coding bug.

The new desktop computers underscore Apple’s pitch that a stack of Macs could handle AI workloads that would typically require data-centre infrastructure, potentially offering a cheaper alternative to renting data-centre capacity for corporate buyers.

The new Macs also broaden Apple’s push into enterprise computing, putting the iPhone-maker directly against Nvidia and PC makers who are expected to unveil new desktop machines at a Microsoft Windows event in San Francisco, California, US, next month.

Apple has about 4.6 per cent of the enterprise desktop market ⁠versus 91.3 per cent for Windows, according to IDC’s Linn Huang. While Cupertino faces a steep challenge, the company hopes its experience squeezing performance out of battery-powered devices like iPhones will help it take ​a bite out of Microsoft’s home turf. Thanks to the shared chip architecture, on-device AI models developed on Macs can be scaled across its devices, from high-end Mac Studios to iPhones and iPads.

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“Once you have the machine on your desk, you’ve paid for it. And I believe we provide absolutely great value, not only in terms of performance, but cost. There’s no cost per token. You’re just using the machine again and again,” Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“There is so much power you can pump into the data centre. We’re offering a variety of products that customers can choose based on their own needs: Which computer, which product do I need?” Srouji added.

Both Mac Minis and Mac Studio models are available now in India at Apple Store locations, on apple.com, and in the Apple Store app. The Mac Mini with M6 starts at Rs 99,990, while Mac Mini with M5 Pro is available at Rs 2,09,900. Mac Studio with M5 Max starts at Rs 2,79,900 while Mac Studio with M5 Ultra starts at Rs 6,29,900.

Why are Macs suited for intense AI workloads?

Before Apple rolled out its first Silicon chips in 2020, PCs generally housed separate computing and memory chips. Apple crammed them together in a unified memory architecture for better battery life. One of the unexpected outcomes of this move is that Macs became good at handling AI workloads. Nvidia and others have only recently shifted toward this type of chip architecture.

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Mac mini can run on-device AI tasks like applying style effects to photos, running local models, or creating AI agents that automate daily tasks.

When OpenClaw, an open-source agentic AI tool, burst onto the scene earlier this year and became widely popular, Apple started selling out of Mac Minis in markets like China.

The upgraded Mac Minis and Mac Studio feature next-generation GPUs with Neural Accelerators in every core, along with advanced CPUs, and Neural Engines, making them powerful platforms for on-device AI. They also come with the newly launched macOS 27 and the latest Apple Intelligence features, including Siri AI.

The Mac Mini with the M6 chip has a 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. Apple claims this doubles the peak AI compute over the M4. Memory tops out at 32GB with 170GB/s bandwidth. Apple claims the M6 has 40 per cent faster multi-threaded CPU, twice the graphics speed, and four times the AI compute over the M4.

For heavier workloads, there’s the Mac Mini with M5 Pro option that supports up to 64GB unified memory and adds Thunderbolt 5. Both variants include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and 2.5Gb Ethernet standard. For anyone upgrading from an M1 Mac mini, Apple claims up to 20x faster AI inference.

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Those interested in the Mac Studio can get either an M5 Max or the new M5 Ultra. The top of the line Ultra model has a quad-die chip with a 36-core CPU, 80-core GPU, up to 512GB of unified memory, and 1.2TB/s memory bandwidth. The extra memory bandwidth is what can let the machine handle very large AI models without breaking a sweat, according to Apple.

With M5 Pro, Mac mini delivers faster AI photo-upscaling performance in Topaz Photo when compared to the previous generation.

Against the M3 Ultra, Apple claims 30 per cent faster CPU, 80 per cent faster graphics, and 4.5x higher AI compute.

Both models feature Thunderbolt 5 with Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) also enables multiple Mac Studio systems to be clustered, which Apple says delivers 3x faster performance for distributed AI inference when compared to a single unit. Mac Studio also supports up to eight displays, or up to four Studio Display XDR at full 5K resolution and 120Hz.