Apple's M6 MacBook Pro is at the top of our wishlist

Apple’s October 27 Mac launch, in short

Apple announced a new 14-inch MacBook Pro and a new 24-inch iMac with its M6 chip on October 27, 2026, by press release rather than with a keynote. Pre-orders open October 28, and both arrive in stores on November 6. The MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, the iMac at $1,499. We will say it plainly: the new MacBook Pro is at the very top of our wishlist.

A wishlist is not a buying recommendation, though, so the useful question is the one every dad with a working laptop asks: is this a real step, or a spec bump with good marketing?

What changed in the 14-inch MacBook Pro

The M6 chip has a 12-core CPU, two more cores than the M5 it replaces, and a 12-core GPU that Apple says delivers up to 30 percent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster on-device AI than the M5. The Neural Engine is now what Apple calls a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, up to 1.9 times faster than the M5’s. Memory starts at 16GB and goes up to 32GB, with memory bandwidth of up to 170GB/s. MacRumors notes that the higher bandwidth applies to the 24GB and 32GB configurations, not the base 16GB model.

The headline number is the battery. Apple quotes up to 24 hours, which it calls the longest battery life ever in a Mac, and fast charging to 50 percent in about 30 minutes with a 96W adapter. For a laptop that moves from the home office to the kitchen table to a hotel room on a family trip, that is the claim worth checking first.

The rest is familiar. The Liquid Retina XDR display reaches up to 1600 nits peak HDR brightness, with a nano-texture option. The ports are HDMI, MagSafe 3, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SDXC card slot and a headphone jack. There is a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View, a six-speaker system and three microphones. Wireless moves to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and the colors stay space black and silver. It ships with macOS 27, where Apple’s new Siri AI is still labelled beta in macOS 27.2 with limited language support.

Who should upgrade, and who should not

Apple’s own comparisons answer this better than any opinion. Against the M5, the gains are measured in tens of percent. Against an M1 MacBook Pro, Apple claims up to 11 times faster graphics and up to 13 times faster AI performance. That is the line we would draw.

If you bought an M5 MacBook Pro in the last year, keep it. MacRumors sums up Apple’s spec sheet as everything else staying the same as the M5 model, and our MacBook Pro M5 news from 2025 still describes most of this machine. A 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 is also worth watching for discounts if the M6 price is a stretch, since so little separates the two.

If you are on an M1 or anything older, the M6 is a real reason to look. Several chip generations, longer battery life, Wi-Fi 7 and support for two external displays add up. Our MacBook Pro 16 M5 Pro review covers what the Pro line’s XDR display, ports and card slot do for photo and video work, and the 14-inch M6 keeps all three.

And if the laptop is for a kid’s homework, none of this applies. We bought the MacBook Neo as a second school machine, and our MacBook Neo review explains why that is the better answer than a $1,999 Pro.

The iMac with M6: a family computer with one catch

The iMac keeps its 24-inch 4.5K Retina display and its seven colors: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange and silver. Inside, the M6 brings up to a 12-core CPU and GPU, the same Dual 16-core Neural Engine, and SSDs that Apple says read and write up to twice as fast as before. Apple claims up to 5 times faster on-device AI and up to twice the graphics performance in Affinity compared with the M4 iMac.

The catch is in the configurations. The $1,499 model has a 10-core CPU and GPU and, according to MacRumors’ rundown of the configurations, two Thunderbolt 4 ports. The $1,699 model has a 12-core CPU and GPU, four Thunderbolt 4 ports and the nano-texture display option. The Ethernet options also differ between the two, so check Apple’s configurator before you order. In a shared family desk, where a printer, an external drive and a camera reader end up plugged in at the same time, the ports matter more than the extra cores. That is the $200 we would spend.

M6 or the new OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro?

One day later, on October 28, Apple announced the bigger news: a MacBook Pro with what it calls a PROLED XDR display, in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. It is the first Mac with a touchscreen, with the touch sensor built directly into a tandem OLED panel. Apple quotes up to 2000 nits of brightness, adds a Dynamic Island for Spotlight, Live Activities and Siri AI, and moves to three Thunderbolt 5 ports. The 14-inch model is half a pound lighter than before, and battery life is again rated at up to 24 hours.

It does not use the M6, though. Apple builds it with the M5 Pro or M5 Max, and the 14-inch model starts at $2,899, which is $900 more than the M6 MacBook Pro. The 16-inch starts at $3,399, the M5 Max versions at $4,499 and $4,799. Pre-orders opened October 28, and it also arrives on November 6.

The OLED model looks great, and touch on a Mac is a nice extra, but that is a steep price. For us, the M6 stays the favorite. It promises the same battery life in a design that has already proven itself, and the $900 difference buys a lot of memory or storage. Touch and OLED are first-generation features in a first-generation design. If your work needs a Pro or Max chip anyway, the OLED model is the one to look at. For a family laptop, it is hard to justify.

How it fits next to the rest of the lineup

If you are deciding between a laptop and a desktop for the family, our guide to switching from Windows to Mac walks through the move, and how much RAM and storage a Mac really needs applies to the MacBook Pro and iMac just as much as to the Mac mini it was written for. Short version: 16GB is enough for a family machine, 24GB suits heavy multitasking and photo work, and 32GB is for local AI.

What’s next

Pre-orders open October 28, and the first reviews will land around the November 6 release. We have not used the M6 MacBook Pro or the M6 iMac yet, so everything here comes from Apple’s announcements. When we get our hands on the MacBook Pro, the 24-hour battery claim is the first thing we will test.

When can I buy the MacBook Pro and iMac with M6?

Apple announced both on October 27, 2026. Pre-orders open October 28 in 35 countries and regions, and both arrive and go on sale on November 6.

How much does the M6 MacBook Pro cost?

It starts at $1,999 in the US, or $1,899 with education savings. The iMac with M6 starts at $1,499 for the 10-core model and $1,699 for the 12-core model.

Should I upgrade from an M5 MacBook Pro?

Probably not. The M6 adds two CPU cores, a faster GPU and Neural Engine, Wi-Fi 7 and longer battery life, but the design, display and ports stay the same. From an M1, the jump is much bigger.

Should I buy the OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro instead of the M6?

For most families, no. The OLED model announced on October 28 adds touch, a tandem OLED display and a lighter body, but it uses the M5 Pro or M5 Max instead of the M6 and starts at $2,899, $900 more than the M6 MacBook Pro. It makes sense if you need a Pro or Max chip anyway.

Is the M6 iMac a good family computer?

For most families, yes, but look at the $1,699 model. The 12-core version has four Thunderbolt 4 ports instead of two, and in a shared family desk the ports matter more than the extra cores.