TL;DR: Apple announced the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 on October 27, 2026. It starts at $1,999 in the US and £1,999 in the UK with 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage, the same price the M5 model had reached. Pre-orders opened October 28, at 10:10 a.m. Pacific (1:10 p.m. Eastern, 5:10 p.m. UK), and it ships Friday, November 6. The changes are inside: a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU (up from 10 and 10), a dual 16-core Neural Engine, and Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The design, display, ports and 24-hour battery claim are unchanged. A new M6 iMac ($1,499 / £1,499) arrives the same day. Our view: if you’re coming from an Intel Mac or M1, it’s a solid buy; if you have an M5, skip it; and if you want an OLED touchscreen, Apple’s new OLED MacBook Pro is now on pre-order from $2,899 (£2,899).
Last updated: October 29, 2026. By Veer. Facts checked against Apple’s MacBook Pro with M6 press release (US) and UK press release, Apple’s iMac with M6 press release, the Apple Store US price list, and reporting by MacRumors, 9to5Mac and TechRadar. Performance figures are Apple’s own claims. This is a researched explainer, not a lab review.
Update (October 29, 2026): Apple announced the OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro on October 28. It uses M5 Pro and M5 Max chips (not M6 Pro/Max), starts at $2,899 (£2,899) for the 14-inch and $3,399 (£3,399) for the 16-inch, and ships November 6, the same day as the M6 model. It’s $400 more than the mini-LED M5 Pro models, which stay on sale, and it doesn’t support Apple Pencil. The M6 MacBook Pro keeps its mini-LED screen and no touch. Full breakdown: OLED MacBook Pro: price, release date, specs and is it worth $400 more? (Source: Apple Newsroom.)
Apple dropped the M6 MacBook Pro with a press release on Tuesday morning, a day before its “Pro and tell” launch in Los Angeles. So the most common searches right now are the obvious ones: “m6 macbook pro price,” “m6 macbook pro release date” and “m6 macbook pro vs m5.” Here are the answers, plus the question nobody can fully answer until tonight: should you wait for the touchscreen model?
How much does the M6 MacBook Pro cost?
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999 in the US and £1,999 in the UK, with 16GB of unified memory and 1TB of storage. Education pricing is $1,899 or £1,899, according to Apple’s US and UK press releases.
That’s not a price rise over the M5 model it replaces, but it’s worth knowing how we got here. MacRumors notes the M5 version launched at $1,599 with 512GB, went to $1,699 in March when Apple dropped the 512GB option, and then to $1,999 in June “amid rising memory and storage costs.” So the entry MacBook Pro is $400 more than it was a year ago, even though Apple calls the M6 “an even more compelling value.”
| M6 MacBook Pro option | US price | UK price |
|---|---|---|
| 14-inch, M6 12-core CPU/12-core GPU, 16GB, 1TB | $1,999 | £1,999 |
| Same, with education pricing | $1,899 | £1,899 |
| Same, with nano-texture display | $2,149 | Not checked |
| Apple Upgrade lease (US only, 36 months) | $38.99/month | Not offered |
| Max configuration | Up to 32GB memory, 4TB storage | Same |
US prices from the Apple Store and Apple’s press release, checked October 28, 2026. UK prices from Apple’s UK press release. Apple Upgrade leases are provided by Klarna and need credit approval; Apple’s example for this model is $38.99 a month over 36 months or $53.99 over 24.
Colors are Space Black and Silver. There’s no 16-inch version with the plain M6 chip; the 16-inch MacBook Pro still starts with the M5 Pro.
When is the M6 MacBook Pro release date?
Pre-orders open Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 10:10 a.m. Pacific Time, and the M6 MacBook Pro arrives in stores and with customers on Friday, November 6. That’s per Apple’s press release and MacRumors.
| Milestone | Date and time |
|---|---|
| Announced | Tuesday, October 27, 2026 (press release) |
| Pre-orders open | Wednesday, October 28: 10:10 a.m. PT / 1:10 p.m. ET / 5:10 p.m. UK |
| First deliveries and in-store | Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| Countries at launch | 35 countries and regions, including the US and UK |
The UK left British Summer Time on October 25, so the UK is eight hours ahead of Pacific this week, not the usual seven. If you’re ordering from the UK, 5:10 p.m. is the time to watch.
What’s new in the M6 MacBook Pro? (M5 vs M6)
Only two things changed: the chip and the wireless. The case, the 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, the ports, the camera and speakers, the 16GB starting memory and the 24-hour battery claim all carry over from the M5 model, according to MacRumors and 9to5Mac.
| Spec | MacBook Pro M5 (2025) | MacBook Pro M6 (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Chip process | TSMC 3nm (N3P) | TSMC 2nm (N2), Apple’s first 2nm chip |
| CPU | 10-core (4 super + 6 efficiency) | 12-core (2 super + 4 performance + 6 efficiency) |
| GPU | 10-core, Neural Accelerator in each core | 12-core, Neural Accelerator in each core |
| Neural Engine | 16-core | Dual 16-core (32 cores total) |
| Memory bandwidth | 153GB/s | 153GB/s (16GB) or 170GB/s (24GB/32GB) |
| Memory options | 16GB, 24GB, 32GB | 16GB, 24GB, 32GB |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 (Broadcom) | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread (Apple N1 chip) |
| External displays | Two 4K at up to 144Hz | Two 4K at up to 165Hz |
| Battery (Apple claim) | Up to 24 hours | Up to 24 hours |
| Starting price | $1,999 (since June 2026) | $1,999 |
Sources: MacRumors M5 vs M6 guide and 9to5Mac, both October 27, 2026.
How much faster is the M6 than the M5?
Apple says the M6 MacBook Pro has up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI workloads than the M5 model. Its other comparisons, from Apple’s own testing in September and October 2026 against an M5 with 32GB and 4TB:
- Up to 1.3x faster time to first token when processing prompts in a local LLM
- Up to 1.3x faster ray-traced rendering in Blender
- Up to 1.3x faster code builds in Xcode
- Up to 1.2x faster image processing in Affinity
- Neural Engine up to 1.9x faster
These are vendor figures. Independent benchmarks will land once review units reach the press, likely around the November 6 release. A 20% to 30% jump in one year is normal for Apple silicon. It won’t change how the laptop feels for email, browsing and office work.
Versus an M1 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple claims up to 11x faster graphics, up to 13x faster LLM prompt processing and up to four more hours of battery life. That’s the comparison Apple is really selling on.
Is 16GB enough on the M6 MacBook Pro?
For general work and light creative work, yes. For local AI models, heavy video or big code projects, get 24GB or 32GB. The M6 tops out at 32GB, the same as the M5. If you need more than that, you’re in M5 Pro territory, which starts at $2,499 for the 14-inch. We cover the trade-offs in Is 16GB RAM Enough in 2026?
Also note that the higher 170GB/s memory bandwidth only applies to the 24GB and 32GB versions. The 16GB base model stays at 153GB/s, the same as the M5.
What about the M6 iMac?
Apple also announced a 24-inch iMac with M6, starting at $1,499 (£1,499) with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, or $1,699 (£1,699) for the 12-core version. It has the same pre-order date (October 28) and release date (November 6), per Apple’s iMac press release.
| M6 iMac | 10-core model | 12-core model |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $1,499 ($1,449 education) | $1,699 ($1,599 education) |
| UK price | £1,499 | £1,699 |
| Memory / storage | 16GB / 256GB | 16GB / 256GB |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 | Four Thunderbolt 4, 2.5Gb Ethernet available |
| Display | 24-inch 4.5K Retina | 24-inch 4.5K Retina |
UK prices from TechRadar and Apple’s UK store. Specs from Apple and MacRumors.
It’s the first iMac update in two years, in the same seven colors as the M4 model, with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Apple claims up to 5x faster on-device AI than the M4 iMac. The catch is the 256GB of base storage, which is tight for a $1,499 desktop in 2026. If you’re buying one, budget for more storage or an external SSD.
Should you wait for the OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro?
Update (October 29): the wait is over. Apple announced the OLED MacBook Pro on October 28 from $2,899 (£2,899); see our OLED MacBook Pro guide. The pre-launch section below is kept for reference. Before launch: if you wanted a MacBook Pro above the base model, we suggested waiting for Apple’s announcements. Apple has invited press to a “Pro and tell” launch in Los Angeles on October 28, starting at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. UK). MacRumors and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman expect the first MacBook Pro models with OLED touchscreens.
Here’s what’s reported, and what isn’t confirmed. All of this is rumor until Apple publishes it:
| Rumored for October 28 | Status as of this morning |
|---|---|
| 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreens | Expected (Bloomberg, MacRumors) |
| Dynamic Island instead of the notch, sturdier hinge | Reported, not confirmed |
| M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, not M6 Pro/Max | Reported; MacRumors says Apple is skipping M6 Pro and Max |
| Price | Unknown before launch; confirmed October 28 at $2,899 (14-inch) and $3,399 (16-inch) |
| Name | “Pro and tell” points to MacBook Pro, not “MacBook Ultra” |
Sources: MacRumors (October 19) and MacRumors (October 27). We’ll update this post when Apple announces.
Our take on who should buy what:
- Buy the M6 MacBook Pro now if you’re on an Intel Mac or an M1/M2, want a fan-cooled MacBook with HDMI and an SD slot, and don’t need more than 32GB. The OLED models are expected to cost a lot more, so they aren’t really competing for the same buyer.
- Wait a day if you were considering an M5 Pro or M5 Max MacBook Pro. Tonight’s models are reported to use those same chips, with a better screen and touch. Today’s M5 Pro/Max models may also get cheaper at retailers once they’re no longer the newest.
- Skip the M6 if you have an M5 MacBook Pro. MacRumors’ verdict is that there’s “very little reason to upgrade.”
- Look at a discounted M5 if you can find one. At a big enough discount, the M5 is the better value, since the everyday experience is nearly identical. With Black Friday on November 27, retailer deals on the M5 are likely.
If you’re coming from Windows, the M6 runs macOS 27 Golden Gate. Our Is macOS Golden Gate stable? guide covers the known bugs, and macOS 27.2 shipped on October 26. And if your old PC is the reason you’re shopping, check our Windows end-of-support calendar to see how long it will still get security updates.
How to pre-order the M6 MacBook Pro
- Go to apple.com/shop (or the Apple Store app) after 10:10 a.m. PT / 5:10 p.m. UK on October 28.
- Pick Space Black or Silver, then choose memory (16GB, 24GB or 32GB) and storage (1TB up to 4TB). Add the nano-texture display for $150 if you work near windows.
- Choose a power adapter. Apple says it charges to 50% in 30 minutes with a higher-wattage adapter such as the 96W.
- In the US, students and teachers can use education pricing ($1,899). Trade-in credit is available in both the US and UK.
- Pick delivery or in-store pickup on November 6. Custom configurations may ship later.
Retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy in the US and John Lewis in the UK usually list new Macs at Apple’s price at first. Discounts tend to arrive in the weeks after launch.
FAQ
How much is the M6 MacBook Pro?
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999 in the US and £1,999 in the UK with 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage. Education pricing is $1,899 or £1,899. A nano-texture display adds $150 in the US.
When does the M6 MacBook Pro come out?
Pre-orders open October 28, 2026, at 10:10 a.m. Pacific (5:10 p.m. UK). The M6 MacBook Pro arrives with customers and in stores on Friday, November 6, 2026, in 35 countries and regions including the US and UK.
What’s the difference between the M5 and M6 MacBook Pro?
The M6 model has a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU (up from 10 and 10), a dual 16-core Neural Engine, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread via Apple’s N1 chip, and support for two 4K displays at 165Hz. The design, display, ports, memory options and battery claim are the same. Apple says graphics are up to 30% faster.
Is the M6 MacBook Pro worth upgrading from M5?
For most people, no. The everyday experience is nearly identical. The M6 makes sense for people replacing an Intel Mac or an M1/M2 machine, or for buyers choosing between an M5 and M6 at the same price.
Is there a 16-inch M6 MacBook Pro?
No. The plain M6 chip is only offered in the 14-inch MacBook Pro. The 16-inch model starts with the M5 Pro at $2,999. Reports say Apple is skipping M6 Pro and M6 Max chips.
Does the M6 MacBook Pro have a touchscreen or OLED?
No. It keeps the mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness. Apple announced separate OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips on October 28, 2026, starting at $2,899 (£2,899) and shipping November 6.
How much is the M6 iMac?
The 24-inch iMac with M6 starts at $1,499 (£1,499) with a 10-core CPU and GPU, and $1,699 (£1,699) for the 12-core model. Both have 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage and ship November 6.
Sources: Apple Newsroom (MacBook Pro with M6, UK, iMac with M6), Apple Store US, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, TechRadar. All checked October 28, 2026.
