M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Apple this period refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro basal exemplary with its caller M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to travel successful aboriginal 2026. However, these machines volition correspond the last update to the existent design, with Apple reportedly processing a wholly caller mentation of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware features.


If you are readying to skip the M5 ‌MacBook Pro‌, oregon you're conscionable plain funny astir what's coming next, present are the biggest changes rumored to beryllium coming to Apple's premium laptop enactment and erstwhile to expect them – arsenic good arsenic what you'll apt person to pay.



M6 Series Chip

2nm Process

Apple is successful the process of updating the existent MacBook Pro lineup with M5 bid chips, with the basal exemplary already refreshed and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch models expected aboriginal adjacent year. The chips are manufactured with TSMC's third-generation 3nm process, known arsenic N3P, resulting successful emblematic year-over-year show and powerfulness ratio improvements compared to the M4 bid of chips. However, Apple's redesigned MacBook Pro models are expected to boast M6 chips, which could follow a wholly caller packaging process.

According to 1 rumor, Apple's A20 spot successful adjacent year's iPhone 18 models volition power from the erstwhile InFo (Integrated Fan-Out) packaging to WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging. WMCM integrates aggregate chips wrong the aforesaid package, allowing for the improvement of much analyzable chipsets. Components specified arsenic the CPU, GPUs, DRAM, and Neural Engine would truthful beryllium much tightly integrated. While we don't cognize for sure, this could spot Apple make the M6 utilizing the 2nm process portion taking vantage of WMCM packaging to marque adjacent much almighty versions of its customized processor.

OLED Display

Goodbye, mini-LED

Several rumors person indicated that Apple is processing MacBook Pro models with OLED displays. Display expert Ross Young successful September 2024 said that Apple's proviso concatenation is expected to person capable notebook-optimized OLED show accumulation capableness successful 2026 to bring the exertion to MacBook Pro. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman precocious reported that Apple is readying a revamped MacBook Pro with OLED technology, citing radical wrong Apple with cognition of the matter. Compared to existent MacBook Pro models that usage mini-LED screens, the benefits of OLED exertion would see accrued brightness, higher opposition ratio with deeper blacks, improved powerfulness ratio for longer artillery life, and more.

Thinner, Lighter Laptop

Major Redesign

The power to OLED displays could let aboriginal MacBook Pro models to person a thinner design, and rumors suggest that is so what Apple intends. When the M4 iPad Pro was unveiled successful May 2024, Apple touted it arsenic the company's thinnest merchandise ever. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman subsequently called the iPad Pro the "beginning of a caller people of Apple devices." He has since reported that the caller machines, code-named K114 and K116, volition person "thinner and lighter frames." Apple is seemingly focusing connected delivering the thinnest imaginable instrumentality without compromising connected artillery beingness oregon large caller features.

Notably, the MacBook Pro got thicker and heavier with its astir caller redesign successful 2021. A large item was the reintroduction of respective ports that were removed successful erstwhile iterations successful favour of chassis thinness. How Apple volition marque its redesigned MacBook Pro thinner without removing the functionality it reintroduced reasonably precocious is the large question.

Punch-Hole Camera

No More Notch

If you are fed up of the notch intruding connected your Mac display, here's immoderate bully news. Apple plans to region the notch from the redesigned MacBook Pro, according to a roadmap shared by probe steadfast Omdia. The roadmap indicates that redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models volition person a hole-punch camera astatine the apical of the display, alternatively than the notch we've go accustomed to. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has since corroborated the claim, saying that the plan "leaves a show country astir the sensor... akin successful conception to the Dynamic Island connected the iPhone."

Such a determination would reflector Apple's iPhone evolution, since the iPhone's notch became the existent Dynamic Island starting with the iPhone 14 Pro models successful 2022. It's unclear whether the MacBook Pro would see Dynamic Island functionality oregon simply follow the ocular design, but the alteration would astatine slightest code long-standing idiosyncratic complaints astir the notch, which physically ingresses into the macOS paper bar.

5G Modem

Cellular Connectivity

Earlier this year, Apple introduced the C1, its custom-built 5G modem spot which debuted successful the entry-level iPhone 16e. More recently, Apple debuted the ‌iPhone Air‌ equipped with a new C1X chip, which is up to 2x faster than the C1. According to Apple, the C1X is the astir power-efficient modem successful an iPhone. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is considering bringing cellular connectivity to the Mac lineup for the archetypal time. The institution is said to beryllium "investigating" the anticipation of adding a second-generation C2 modem spot to a aboriginal Mac arsenic soon arsenic 2026. The C1 and C1X modem chips are constricted to sub-6GHz 5G speeds, but the second-generation version volition enactment faster mmWave technology, according to Gurman.

Touch Screen Display

On-Cell Touch Technology

Apple's archetypal OLED MacBook Pro volition diagnostic a interaction surface display, according to the latest from Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo. The assertion has since been corroborated by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, noting that the touch-screen MacBook Pro volition clasp a afloat trackpad and keyboard. Additionally, Kuo believes the sheet volition usage on-cell interaction technology. On-cell interaction exertion integrates the interaction sensors straight into the show panel's apical furniture (the "cell") alternatively than requiring a separate, dedicated interaction layer. Kuo says that the displacement "appears to bespeak Apple's semipermanent reflection of iPad idiosyncratic behavior, indicating that successful definite scenarios, interaction controls tin heighten some productivity and the wide idiosyncratic experience."

Reinforced Hinge

Touch Resistance

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has developed a reinforced hinge and surface hardware to forestall the show from bouncing backmost oregon moving erstwhile touched, which the institution has identified arsenic a communal drawback of existing interaction PCs. Details stay scant astir Apple's attack astatine this time, but it could perchance harvester a higher-torque hinge with a reinforced show framework to trim flex, arsenic good arsenic subtle damping features to sorb vibrations from interaction input.

Pricing

Premium Line

Apple's redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are expected to spot a reasonably hefty terms bump, reflecting the outgo of newer, much precocious components. Apple presently sells the higher-end configurations starting astatine $1,999 for the 14-inch exemplary and $2,499 for the 16-inch version, but the adjacent refresh is expected to propulsion those basal prices up by respective 100 dollars, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Release Timing

Predicted Launch Period

Research steadfast Omdia says Apple is "highly likely" to present caller MacBook Pros featuring OLED displays adjacent year, portion Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said the caller OLED machines are being readied for precocious 2026 oregon aboriginal 2027. Apple has yet to update the existent high-end MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and that is expected to hap successful aboriginal 2026. It would beryllium antithetic for Apple to present 2 ‌MacBook Pro‌ refreshes successful the aforesaid year, but determination is precedent for it: Apple updated the MacBook Pro lineup doubly successful 2023, archetypal with M2 Pro/M2 Max chips successful January and past with M3/M3 Pro/M3 Max chips successful precocious October.
This article, "M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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