What Apple currently lists
Apple's Mac mini technical specifications, read on 27 September 2026, list four configurations. Models 1 to 3 use the Apple M6 chip; Model 4 uses the Apple M5 Pro chip. Larger memory and storage are configure-to-order options. Apple Mac mini technical specifications
| Apple configuration | Chip | Standard memory | Memory options | Standard storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model 1 | M6 | 16GB | 24GB or 32GB | 256GB SSD |
| Model 2 | M6 | 16GB | 24GB or 32GB | 512GB SSD |
| Model 3 | M6 | 24GB | 32GB | 512GB SSD |
| Model 4 | M5 Pro | 24GB | 48GB or 64GB | 512GB SSD |
Map each memory option to the compute gates
A compute supplier needs at least 24 GB of unified memory. The catalog serves Qwen3.8 27B in three configurations: 4-bit needs 24 GB, 8-bit needs 48 GB and BF16 needs 96 GB. Compute prerequisites and catalog
| Mac mini memory | Where Apple offers it | Meets the 24 GB minimum | Catalog configurations that fit memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16GB | Standard on Models 1 and 2 | No | None |
| 24GB | Standard on Models 3 and 4; option on Models 1 and 2 | Yes | 4-bit |
| 32GB | Option on Models 1, 2 and 3 | Yes | 4-bit |
| 48GB | Option on Model 4 | Yes | 4-bit and 8-bit |
| 64GB | Option on Model 4 | Yes | 4-bit and 8-bit |
The 16GB standard memory of Models 1 and 2 does not qualify. The largest memory Apple lists for a Mac mini is 64GB, so no Mac mini on the current spec page reaches the 96 GB that the BF16 configuration requires.
Fitting a configuration's memory is a prerequisite, not an admitted tier. Admission also needs a signed and countersigned agreement, a passing benchmark and explicit admin approval. Admission steps
Plan the disk, not only the memory
The installer requires at least 26 GB free. The model downloader separately checks the selected model's approximate weights plus 10 GB on its cache volume: 26 GB for 4-bit, 40 GB for 8-bit and 65 GB for BF16. The agent normally chooses the largest catalog model that fits memory, so a 48GB or 64GB Mac mini normally selects 8-bit and needs the larger margin. Disk requirements
Apple states storage in decimal units (1GB is one billion bytes) and notes that formatted capacity is lower. macOS and your own files use part of it, so read the actual free space with df -h "$HOME" rather than the configuration's storage figure.
The rest of the checklist
The chip and memory are only part of the requirement. The Mac also needs macOS 14 or later, native arm64 Node.js 18 or later and native arm64 Python 3.10 or later. Intel and Rosetta are not supported, which also rules out Intel Mac minis. For a Mac mini you already own, apply the same gates to its configured memory, shown in About This Mac. The Mac compute eligibility checker compares every value and lists the requirements that fail.
Keep the Mac powered, awake and connected. The agent's launchd service starts at login, and a Mac that misses heartbeats for three minutes is shown offline. Agent operation
What this guide does not measure
We did not install the agent on a Mac mini or benchmark one. Apple publishes memory bandwidth for each chip, but a bandwidth figure is not an inference result. Measure response time and memory pressure on the actual machine with the benchmark worksheet, read the Apple Silicon memory guide for how weights and context share memory, and read renting out your Mac safely before you install.
Sources and references
Product reviewed September 27, 2026 against public APIs, provider documentation and application code. External technical references explain the evaluation methods and retain their original publication dates. This guide review did not run a paid rental or payout.
- Compute operation and pricing reference. PROXIES.SX.
- Compute provider documentation. PROXIES.SX.
- Mac mini technical specifications. Apple.