Apple unveiled M6 versions of the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the iMac on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, pitching both machines on faster AI that runs directly on the device. Why it matters: Apple is making on-device AI performance — not just raw speed — the headline reason to upgrade a Mac.
October 27, 2026
What happened
Apple announced a refreshed 14-inch MacBook Pro and a new iMac, both powered by its M6 chip. The MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 and the iMac starts at $1,499. Customers can pre-order both from Wednesday, October 28 in 35 countries and regions, including the US, with availability starting November 6.
The launches land a day before Apple hosts its “Pro and tell” event in Los Angeles on October 28, which Bloomberg News has reported is expected to feature Apple’s first touch-screen MacBook Pro.
The details
In the MacBook Pro, the M6 pairs a 12-core CPU with a 12-core GPU, up from the M5’s 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. Apple said the laptop delivers up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI performance than its M5 predecessor, along with up to 24 hours of battery life — the longest ever in a Mac, according to Apple.
The AI hardware is the bigger change under the hood. The Neural Engine doubles to a dual 16-core design, and the GPU gains Neural Accelerators aimed at running large language models locally. Memory bandwidth rises to up to 170GB/s on the 24GB and 32GB configurations; the base 16GB model stays at 153GB/s. The laptop also adds Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 and starts with 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage, configurable up to 32GB and 4TB.
The iMac makes the larger jump, skipping the M5 generation entirely. Apple said the new iMac delivers up to 5x faster on-device AI performance than the previous M4 model. The base $1,499 iMac uses a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU version of the M6, while the $1,699 four-port model gets the same 12-core chip as the MacBook Pro.
Why it matters
Apple’s pitch is consistent: AI work should happen on the machine in front of you, privately, without a round trip to a data center. A doubled Neural Engine and GPU accelerators are built for exactly that — local models, dictation, photo tools, and the Siri AI and Apple Intelligence features in macOS 27. The honest caveat is that every performance figure here is Apple’s own claim, made at launch; independent benchmarks will show how much of the 25% AI gain survives contact with real workloads. If you run local models or AI-heavy creative apps on a Mac, this is the generation to watch — everything AI, tested, once reviewers get their hands on it.
Frequently asked questions
How much do the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac cost?
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999. The iMac starts at $1,499, with the four-port 12-core version starting at $1,699.
When can you buy the M6 Macs?
Pre-orders open Wednesday, October 28 in 35 countries and regions including the US, and both machines become available on November 6.
How much faster is the M6 for AI?
Apple claims up to 25% faster AI performance on the MacBook Pro versus the M5 model, and up to 5x faster on-device AI on the iMac versus the M4 model. These are Apple’s launch figures, not independent test results.
Sources: Reuters, MacRumors, Thurrott, Pocket-lint