Apple on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, unveiled a new 14-inch MacBook Pro and a new iMac powered by its latest M6 chip, pitching faster on-device artificial intelligence, a record battery life for a Mac and unchanged starting prices. The Apple M6 MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, while the new iMac starts at $1,499, with pre-orders opening on Wednesday, October 28, and availability from November 6.

Key Points

• Apple launched the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 and a new iMac with M6 on October 27, 2026.
• The MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 ($1,899 for education) and the iMac at $1,499 ($1,449 for education).
• M6 brings a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU, a Dual 16-core Neural Engine and up to 25% faster AI workloads than M5.
• The MacBook Pro offers up to 24 hours of battery life, which Apple says is the longest ever in a Mac.
• Pre-orders open October 28 in 35 countries and regions, including the US, with availability from November 6.

What Happened

Apple announced the two machines on Tuesday morning US time, a day before it hosts a "Pro and tell" event in Los Angeles on October 28. The 14-inch MacBook Pro keeps its Liquid Retina XDR display, aluminium enclosure and full set of professional ports, and the iMac keeps its slim 24-inch design and seven colour options.

The pricing holds the line from the previous generation. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999, or $1,899 with education pricing. The iMac with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU starts at $1,499, or $1,449 for education, while a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU version starts at $1,699, or $1,599 for education. In Canada, the MacBook Pro starts at $2,799 CAD, the same price as the base M5 model it replaces. Customers can pre-order both machines from Wednesday in 35 countries and regions, including the United States, with the first deliveries and in-store availability on Friday, November 6.

The timing matters: November 6 puts both machines on sale in time for the holiday shopping season, in the same week Alphabet reports on October 28 and Apple itself on October 29.

Background/Context

Apple's own silicon programme began with the M1 chip in 2020, when the company started replacing Intel processors in its Macs with chips designed in-house. Each annual step since then has traded on the same promise: more performance per watt, which in practice means a faster machine that also lasts longer away from a charger. The M5 chip arrived in October 2025, so the M6 comes almost exactly a year later, and it is reported to be Apple's first chip built on a 2-nanometre process.

The iMac tells a slightly different story, because it skipped a generation. The previous iMac still ran on the M4 chip, so its jump to M6 is larger than the MacBook Pro's jump from M5: Apple says the new iMac delivers up to five times faster on-device AI performance than the M4 model.

That race is also the backdrop to this earnings week, with Alphabet reporting on October 28 and Apple itself on October 29.

Apple M6 MacBook Pro: What's New

The M6 chip itself is the headline. It pairs a 12-core CPU with a 12-core GPU, two more cores of each than the M5, and every GPU core now carries a Neural Accelerator. Alongside it sits a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, which Apple says is up to 1.9 times faster than the single 16-core unit in the M5. Apple claims up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI workloads than the M5, and up to 1.3 times faster time-to-first-token when an on-device language model starts answering a prompt.

For owners of older machines, Apple's comparison numbers are far bigger. Against the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 from 2020, Apple claims up to 11 times faster graphics and up to 13 times faster AI performance, and Xcode builds up to 2.5 times faster. Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours, which Apple calls the longest ever in a Mac, up to four hours more than an M1 MacBook Pro. Fast charging reaches 50% in 30 minutes with a compatible higher-wattage adapter.

Memory starts at 16GB of unified memory, configurable up to 32GB, with the higher 24GB and 32GB configurations raising memory bandwidth to 170GB/s. The rest of the laptop is familiar: a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, an optional nano-texture finish, a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View, a six-speaker sound system and three studio-quality microphones. Connectivity moves to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 through Apple's N1 wireless chip, and the machine supports up to two external displays. Ports include three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, MagSafe 3, an SDXC card slot and a headphone jack. It ships in space black and silver.

The iMac gets the same silicon story in a desktop form. It keeps its 24-inch 4.5K Retina display and comes in seven colours: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange and silver. It also gains Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and a 2.5Gb Ethernet port that Apple says delivers up to 2.5 times faster wired connectivity than the previous generation. Both machines ship with macOS 27, codenamed Golden Gate, which brings Siri AI and deeper Apple Intelligence integration, including a Siri that can draw on personal context across messages, emails and photos, perform actions across apps, organise Safari tabs and create automations in Shortcuts from a description. Siri AI now speaks French as well as English.

Reactions/Quotes

Apple's hardware chief framed the launch as a performance step rather than a redesign. "With the powerful M6 chip, we're taking performance to the next level, with a boost in CPU speed and graphics and even more powerful capabilities for on-device AI," said Shelly Goldberg, Apple's vice president of Hardware Engineering.

Outside Apple, the early read has been that the chips are the whole update: the chassis, display and ports carry over from the M5 model. Bloomberg News has reported that Apple's October 28 event is expected to feature its first touch-screen MacBook Pro, which would explain why Tuesday's machine is positioned as the value model rather than the flagship. The M5 Pro and M5 Max models remain on sale alongside it.

Apple has not confirmed any touch-screen model, so for now the M6 MacBook Pro is the only new laptop on the table.

Why It Matters

The M6 launch matters for three reasons. First, it shows where Apple thinks the Mac's edge now lies: running AI workloads locally, quickly and privately, while rivals pour money into cloud AI. Second, the 24-hour battery claim, if it holds up in independent testing, makes a full working day away from a charger routine. Third, unchanged pricing matters in a year when component costs and tariffs have pushed many technology prices up.

For existing owners, the upgrade maths splits by generation: M5 owners gain a modest step, while M1 owners, and anyone still on an Intel Mac, face a far larger leap.

What Happens Next

Pre-orders open on Wednesday, October 28, in 35 countries and regions, with availability from Friday, November 6. Apple's "Pro and tell" event takes place in Los Angeles on October 28, and Apple reports quarterly earnings on October 29. Independent reviews are expected before the November 6 launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the new MacBook Pro cost? The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999, or $1,899 with education pricing. The new iMac starts at $1,499, or $1,449 for education.

When can I buy the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac? Pre-orders open on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, in 35 countries and regions, including the US, and both machines go on sale on Friday, November 6.

How much faster is the M6 than the M5? Apple claims up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI workloads than the M5, with a Dual 16-core Neural Engine up to 1.9 times faster than the M5's single Neural Engine.

Does the new MacBook Pro have a touch screen? No. The M6 MacBook Pro announced on October 27 does not have a touch screen. Bloomberg has reported that a touch-screen MacBook Pro may appear at Apple's October 28 event, but Apple has not confirmed it.

What is new in macOS 27? macOS 27, codenamed Golden Gate, brings Siri AI with personal context across apps, improved Spotlight, Photos and Mail search, Shortcuts automations from a description, and adjustable Liquid Glass appearance settings.

Related coverage on US News Pulse: Big Tech earnings test: Alphabet, Amazon and Apple face AI spending verdict; Meta $95 billion AI raise leads a $198 billion day of AI spending; Anthropic IPO filing: Claude maker seeks Nasdaq listing in $2 trillion test.