Short: Apple’s slow decline in new product releases continues Tuesday with the launch of an updated MacBook Pro with the company’s new M6 processor. The chip consists of a 12-core CPU, a 12-core GPU with neural accelerators in each core, a dual 16-core Neural Engine for AI workloads, and unified memory for faster overall performance.
The M6 has two additional CPU and GPU cores compared to the previous M5. According to Apple, the GPU delivers up to 30% faster graphics performance and 25% faster AI performance on the device.
The dual 16-core Neural Engine is said to be 1.9 times faster than that of the M5. Maximum memory bandwidth is 170 GB/s, up from 153 GB/s. However, you’ll need a model with 24GB or 32GB of RAM to take advantage of the extra bandwidth (the base model only includes 16GB of storage).
Battery life is estimated to be up to 24 hours overall, with Apple saying about four hours more for those with an M1 chip and a whopping 14 hours more for “Intel-based upgraders.” Wireless connectivity has been upgraded from Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 to Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth 6.
Much of the rest of the laptop remains unchanged from the base M5 model, including the 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate, 1TB of base local storage, a six-speaker sound system with support for Spatial Audio, and a 12MP Center Stage front camera. The port selection is also the same, with three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, an HDMI port and an SDXC slot.
Even the dimensions and weight are identical to the previous model, measuring 0.61 inches (H), 12.31 inches (W), and 8.71 inches (D) and tipping the scales at 3.4 pounds.
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 is available for pre-order starting tomorrow (October 28) starting at $1,999 in black or silver. As with other recent Apple devices, there is the option to upgrade to a nano-texture display that reduces glare for an additional cost. Look out for delivery on November 6th.
