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Apple Unveils M6 MacBook Pro and iMac, Betting Big on Faster On-Device AI

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 performance for running artificial intelligence tasks directly on the devices rather than in the cloud, according to Reuters.

The launches land at a moment when every major computer maker is racing to sell machines built for AI work, from local image editing and transcription to the everyday assistants now woven into operating systems. Apple is making the same bet, but with its familiar twist: the most capable AI features, it argues, should run on the machine in front of you.

Illustration of a sleek modern laptop with a glowing AI chip motif above the keyboard

Illustration: Apple's new M6 chip puts the emphasis on running AI tasks directly on the device.

What Happened

Apple announced the two machines on October 27, 2026, Reuters reported. The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, while the iMac starts at $1,499. Customers can pre-order both from Wednesday, October 28, in 35 countries and regions, including the United States, with availability starting Friday, November 6.

For the MacBook Pro, Apple said the M6 delivers up to 30 percent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster AI performance than its M5 predecessor, along with up to 24 hours of battery life, which the company described as the longest ever in a Mac. The laptop carries a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory and 1TB of storage as standard, with configurations up to 32GB of memory and 4TB of storage, according to MacRumors. It is available in Space Black and Silver and adds Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity.

The iMac, meanwhile, makes a bigger leap, because it never received the M5 chip. Apple said the new iMac delivers up to 5 times faster on-device AI performance than the previous M4 model, The Register reported, alongside up to 1.5 times faster performance in productivity apps such as Excel and 2 times faster graphics. The 24-inch machine keeps its 4.5K Retina display and comes in seven colors: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange and silver. An iMac with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU starts at $1,499, while a 12-core version starts at $1,699, according to dpa-AFX.

The launches come a day before Apple hosts a "Pro and tell" event in Los Angeles on October 28, which Bloomberg News has reported is expected to feature Apple's first touch-screen MacBook Pro. Apple has not confirmed that product, and the M6 machines announced on October 27 are not touch-screen models.

Background

Apple's silicon strategy has followed a steady annual rhythm since the company began designing its own Mac chips. Each generation has brought more CPU and GPU cores, more memory bandwidth and, increasingly, a larger share of its marketing devoted to the Neural Engine, the part of the chip that accelerates machine-learning work.

The M6 continues that pattern with a dual 16-core Neural Engine, which Apple said delivers up to 2 times faster AI compute than the previous generation in the iMac, and which Digital Trends reported is claimed to be 1.9 times faster than its M5-powered sibling in the MacBook Pro. The Register, which tested Apple's claims against the company's own figures, noted 1.3 times faster prompt processing and rendering in local AI inference on the MacBook Pro, and 1.2 times faster performance in the Affinity creative suite.

The practical pitch is straightforward. Tasks that once required an internet connection and a remote server, such as transcribing audio, removing objects from photos or summarizing documents, can increasingly run locally. That can mean faster responses, work that continues offline, and less personal data leaving the device, an argument Apple has leaned on heavily as AI features have spread.

Illustration of a colorful modern all-in-one desktop computer on a bright home-office desk

Illustration: the new M6 iMac starts at $1,499 and arrives in seven colors.

Why It Matters

The M6 launch matters for three reasons. First, it sets the baseline for what buyers should expect from a mainstream computer in late 2026: AI acceleration is no longer a premium extra but part of the standard chip. Second, it sharpens the contest between Apple and Windows PC makers, which have spent the past two years promoting their own AI-ready laptops, often with similar claims about on-device processing and battery life.

Third, the timing matters for shoppers. The MacBook Pro and iMac go on sale November 6, just ahead of the holiday shopping season, and their unchanged starting prices, $1,999 and $1,499, mean buyers get the new chip without paying more than they would have for the outgoing models. Education pricing is also unchanged, at $1,899 for the MacBook Pro and $1,449 for the iMac, according to dpa-AFX.

For existing Mac owners, the question is less dramatic. The M6 MacBook Pro replaces an M5 model that is less than a year old in spirit, and the gains, while real on paper, will matter most to people who regularly run AI-heavy creative or coding workloads. For everyone else, the headline upgrades are battery life, connectivity and the doubled base storage, which MacRumors noted is twice the 512GB base that the M5 model once offered before Apple removed that option in March.

What Happens Next

Pre-orders open on October 28, and the first independent reviews should follow within days of the November 6 release, giving buyers a chance to test Apple's performance claims against real workloads. Attention will then turn to the October 28 Los Angeles event, where, according to Bloomberg's reporting, Apple may show a touch-screen MacBook Pro, a product long rumored and long resisted by the company.

Longer term, the M6 sets up the next round of Apple's lineup. Higher-end MacBook Pro models and desktop Macs typically follow the base chip by months, and rivals will answer with their own next-generation AI PCs. What is already clear is the direction of travel: the computer industry now sells AI capability first and raw speed second, and the M6 is Apple's latest argument that the best place to run AI is on the device itself.

Illustration of a person working on a laptop with a shield and neural-network pattern on screen

Illustration: on-device AI keeps more processing on the machine itself rather than sending data to the cloud.

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FAQ

When did Apple announce the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac?

Apple unveiled both machines on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, according to Reuters.

How much do the new models cost?

The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 and the iMac starts at $1,499. Education pricing starts at $1,899 and $1,449 respectively, according to dpa-AFX.

When can buyers get them?

Pre-orders open on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, in 35 countries and regions, with availability starting Friday, November 6.

What is the main improvement in the M6 chip?

Apple emphasizes on-device AI: up to 25 percent faster AI performance than the M5 in the MacBook Pro, and up to 5 times faster on-device AI than the M4 in the iMac, alongside faster graphics and, in the laptop, up to 24 hours of battery life.

Did Apple announce a touch-screen MacBook Pro?

Not on October 27. Bloomberg News has reported that a touch-screen MacBook Pro is expected at Apple's October 28 "Pro and tell" event in Los Angeles, but Apple has not confirmed it.

Sources

  • Reuters, "Apple launches M6 MacBook Pro and iMac, pitches faster on-device AI," October 27, 2026.
  • MacRumors, "M6 14-Inch MacBook Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date Announced," October 27, 2026.
  • The Register, "Apple takes powerful M6 chip to the MacBook Pro, iMac," October 27, 2026.
  • dpa-AFX via TradingView, "Apple Unveils 14-inch MacBook Pro With M6," October 27, 2026.
  • Digital Trends, "Apple's new 14-inch MacBook Pro gets M6 power and up to 24 hours of battery life," October 27, 2026.
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