Apple is updating two more computers to its M6 system-on-chip. The base 14-inch MacBook Pro and the iMac lineup are getting the company's latest processor ahead of tomorrow's "Pro and Tell" event in Los Angeles.
These devices are retaining the same designs that they've had for years. The computers will be available for pre-order on Wednesday at 10:10 a.m. PT (1:10 p.m. ET) and will ship on Nov. 6. The M6 in the MacBook Pro will be configured with 12 CPU cores and 12 GPU cores, alongside dual neural engines for certain on-device AI workloads. On the iMac, there will also be a cut-down option with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU.
The MacBook Pro will be configurable with up to 32GB of RAM and is being updated with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 using Apple's N1 networking chip. The iMac is also getting those networking benefits, as well as a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port. Like previous iMacs, the number of ports you get is tied to the chip, with two Thunderbolt 4 ports with the base chip or four with the option with more cores.
It's no surprise that Apple is pushing both of these as AI-forward machines, both with the new chips and the recently released Siri AI and Apple Intelligence features in macOS 27 Golden Gate.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 will start at $1,999 ($1,899 with education discount), while the iMac will begin at $1,499 ($1,449 with education discount) for the 10-core CPU/GPU configuration and $1,699 ($1,599 with education discount) for the full chip.
Both of these new systems are being announced the day before Apple is expected to release a MacBook with an OLED touchscreen. Yesterday, in a week of announcements, Apple debuted a redesign of the iPad Mini with a thinner body and an OLED display.