Small boards, big impact in computing education and hobbyist hardware
Apple has announced preorder availability for its new Mac Mini with the M6 chip and the Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra, with shipments slated for September 22. The M6 brings a 12-core CPU, a 12-core GPU and new 2nm process, delivering faster CPU/GPU performance and AI capabilities, while the M5 Ultra targets heavy workloads with up to 36-core CPU, up to 80-core GPU, and massive unified memory. Prices start at $899 for the Mini and $5,499 for the Studio.
Hugging Face’s Pollen Robotics has released Microduck, a small open-source robot that runs reinforcement learning and is built for developers to train and deploy new tricks. The device is powered by Rockchip and ARM tech, with open-source software and a growing ecosystem around it. Several firms are launching similar affordable robots as the space gains attention amid potential industry consolidations.