Mac mini M6 or M5 Pro? A Practical Guide for Photographers
Apple recently released two new Mac minis, and you may be trying to decide which one is better, and whether you should upgrade at all. One is the M6, the newest generation of Apple’s standard chip. The other is the M5 Pro, the professional version of last year’s chip. So which one is better for Lightroom and Photoshop?
Just to be clear I don’t own either machine yet, though I may upgrade at some point. I’m still working on the Mac mini M4 Pro I wrote about last year, and I’m very happy with it. What follows is based on Apple’s specs, some reviewers I trust who tested both machines with real photo work, and my own experience living with a Mac mini every day. So my recommendations here are based on how I would choose.
Do you need to upgrade at all?
If you’re on an Intel Mac or an M1, it’s probably time. The new machines are dramatically faster, and you’ll feel it every day in Lightroom, especially with AI Denoise and masking. When I moved to the M4 Pro, Denoise on a 50MP file went from four or five minutes on my old PC to about 40 seconds, and that kind of change alters how you work.
If you’re on an M3 or M4, I’d hold on to what you have unless it’s genuinely slowing you down. Early reviewers came to the same conclusion, and the gains for photo work are modest.
If you’re not sure if your Mac has enough memory, here’s a simple test. Open Activity Monitor (it’s in Applications > Utilities), click the Memory tab, and keep an eye on the “Memory Pressure” graph at the bottom while you do your heaviest editing: a large file in Lightroom, a few files open in Photoshop, or whatever pushes your machine the hardest.
If it stays green, you have enough. If it turns yellow, you’d benefit from more. If it goes red, more memory should be your top priority on your next computer.
The two machines
Here are the configurations that matter for photographers:
| M6 | M6 | M5 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,099 | $1,299 | $1,699 |
| Memory | 16GB | 24GB | 24GB |
| Maximum memory | 32GB | 32GB | 64GB |
| Storage | 512GB | 512GB | 512GB |
| Ports | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 5 |
There’s also a $899 M6 with 256GB of storage, but I’d skip it: you’ll use up that amount of storage in no time! And most importantly, you can’t upgrade the internal storage later, so this is a decision you make once.
What the tests show
As I said before, I watched some in-depth reviews from people I trust, and here are their results.
Adam from Adam Talks Tech ran a group of Lightroom Classic tests on both machines, and the cheaper M6 won most of the ones you sit and wait for while you’re editing:
- Building previews for 500 photos: 15.5 seconds on the M6, 18 on the M5 Pro
- AI Denoise on 50 raw files: 4 minutes 7 seconds on the M6, 5 minutes 10 on the M5 Pro
- Exporting 500 JPEGs: 1 minute 50 on the M6, 1 minute 31 on the M5 Pro
The ArtIsRight channel ran a larger series of tests with 61MP Sony files and found the same pattern in Lightroom Classic. The M6 was faster at Denoise, sky and subject masking, and previews, while the M5 Pro was a little faster at exporting images.
He also noticed that the M5 Pro was oddly slow in some of Adobe’s tests, slower in a few cases than the previous M4 Pro, and he suspects Adobe hasn’t fully optimized for it yet. That may improve with future updates.
So the short version is that for the editing itself, the M6 is as fast or faster. The M5 Pro pulls ahead on large exports, which is something you can usually start and walk away from anyway.
Ports and Expansion?
The M6 has Thunderbolt 4 and the M5 Pro has the newer, faster Thunderbolt 5. Apple doesn’t explain why, but it did the same thing last year, when the standard M4 Mac mini got Thunderbolt 4 and the M4 Pro got Thunderbolt 5. It seems faster ports are one of the things Apple reserves for its Pro machines, whatever the generation.
For most photographers, I don’t think this matters much. A good external SSD on Thunderbolt 4 runs at roughly 3,000 MB/s, which is more than fast enough for a Lightroom library. Thunderbolt 5 roughly doubles that, and you’d notice it if you regularly copy very large folders or edit high-resolution video from an external drive. Otherwise, I wouldn’t let the ports decide this for you.
My recommendation
For most photographers, I’d buy the M6 with 24GB of memory and 512GB of storage ($1,299). It’s fast where it counts for Lightroom, it handles Photoshop well, and the extra memory over the base model is the best $200 you can spend on it.
I’d consider the M5 Pro if any of these describe you:
- You regularly export large batches and want them done faster
- You work with very large files in Photoshop and want room to grow past 32GB
- You also edit video, or plan to
- You run three high-resolution monitors, or two at high refresh rates (one or two calibrated monitors are fine on either)
- You want the fastest connection to external drives (Thunderbolt 5)
If you edit video regularly or do any significant streaming, then the M5 Pro is the better option. Otherwise, the M6 is the better option. I fall into the former group (lots of video editing, and streaming for every Academy session), so the M5 Pro is the one I’d choose.
A few practical notes
Storage: 512GB is enough if you keep your photo library on an external drive or a NAS, which is how I work. My internal drive holds my applications, my Lightroom catalog, and whatever I’m actively working on, and finished projects go to my Synology. If you plan to keep everything on the computer itself, go with 1TB or more.
External drives: use a Thunderbolt or USB4 drive rather than an older USB drive. ArtIsRight pointed out that macOS maintains SSDs properly over those connections, so they stay fast as they fill up.
Ports and hubs: this is one I learned the hard way. Both machines have only five USB-C ports, the same as my M4 Pro, and between monitors, drives, a card reader, a microphone, and everything else, you’ll run out quickly.
That means you’ll need a USB hub, and the hub matters more than you’d think. A cheap one can slow your drives to a fraction of what the Mac’s own ports can do. A good Thunderbolt hub keeps those speeds intact, but it isn’t cheap.
I use the CalDigit Element 5, which runs about $250, and it’s been well worth it. One thing to know if you choose the M6: the Element 5 is a Thunderbolt 5 hub, and on the M6 it can only run at Thunderbolt 4 speeds. It still works well, and it means you’re ready if you move to a Thunderbolt 5 Mac later.
So when you’re budgeting, I’d think of the money you save by choosing the M6 as money for the things around it: a good hub and fast external storage. Those will make as much difference to your day-to-day work as the computer itself.
Final thoughts
Either of these computers will be a big step up if you’re coming from an older Mac or PC. Honestly, the difference between them matters less than getting enough memory and storage in whichever one you choose, because you can’t add either later.
If you’re still unsure please post any questions below or send me an email!