Apple's new M6 MacBook Pro and iMac: what's new, what it costs, and who should wait
· 1 min read · Drafted with AI help, reviewed by Kepler Oates
Apple just refreshed two of its most popular Macs with its new M6 chip, ahead of a "Pro and Tell" event. The pitch is faster AI on the device itself and longer battery life. Here's what's new, what it costs, and whether you should buy now, wait, or skip it.
The two new Macs
InteractiveM6 MacBook Pro vs M6 iMacPick a Mac.
14-inch MacBook Pro: From $1,999. Chip: M6: 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU. Memory: 16GB, up to 32GB. Battery: Up to 24 hours (Apple claim). Ports: HDMI, MagSafe 3, three Thunderbolt 4, SD card, headphone jack. Wireless: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6. Colors: Space black, silver.
24-inch iMac: From $1,499. Chip: M6 with Neural Accelerators in every core. Display: 24-inch 4.5K Retina. Ports: Up to four Thunderbolt 4. AI claim: Up to 5x faster on-device AI than the M4 iMac. Colors: Blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange, silver.
Up to 1.3x faster overall, with up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI workloads.
Memory bandwidth up to 170GB/s, from 153GB/s.
Up to 13x the prompt-processing speed for local AI models compared with the original M1 MacBook Pro.
These are Apple's numbers. Independent reviews usually arrive around shipping day, and real-world gains are often smaller than "up to" figures.
Key dates
Preorders: October 28 (today)
Ships: November 6
Should you buy it?
On an Intel Mac or an M1: this is a big jump in speed and battery life. Worth a serious look.
On an M3, M4 or M5: the gains are real but modest. Most people can skip a year without missing much.
Mostly email, browsing and video calls: you don't need an M6 Pro. A cheaper laptop plus a good monitor can feel better day to day. Our home office setup under $300 shows how.
Running AI models on your own computer: the extra memory bandwidth and AI speed matter most for you. Consider more memory, since it can't be upgraded later.
What it means for you
Wait for reviews. Preordering on day one gets it a week sooner. Waiting gets you real battery and speed tests.
Check for deals. Black Friday is November 27. Retailer discounts on new Macs are usually small, but older models often drop.
Budget the full cost. A $1,999 laptop plus memory upgrades, AppleCare and a hub adds up. Plan it in the free budget planner below before you click buy.
Not financial advice. This summarizes public reporting for information only. It is not investment, tax or legal advice. Do your own research or talk to a licensed professional.
