On the heels of introducing the 8th generation iPad Mini, Apple this week updated the iMac and MacBook Pro, bringing faster chips, improved connectivity, and, for the first time, a touchscreen to the MacBook Pro.
iMac
Featuring up to a 12-core CPU, the new iMac with M6, according to Apple's press release, delivers:
- Up to 2.5x faster performance in apps like Microsoft Excel, compared to iMac with M1, and up to 1.5x faster performance than M4.
- Up to 3.3x faster graphics performance for tasks including photo editing in Affinity, compared to iMac with M1, and up to 2x faster performance than M4.
- Up to 12x faster on-device AI performance for prompt processing in LM Studio, compared to iMac with M1, and up to 5x faster performance than M4.
- Up to 2x higher gaming performance with ray tracing compared to M4.
- Up to 2x faster SSD read and write performance.
With the N1 wireless networking chip, the new iMac supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and up to a 2.5 gigabit Ethernet port, included with the power adapter.
The iMac with M6 is made with 100 percent recycled aluminum in the stand, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin solder in all Apple-designed circuit boards, and is manufactured with 40 percent renewable electricity. It can be pre-ordered from Apple in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver starting today for a starting price of US $1499, and will begin shipping to customers on Friday, November 6.
MacBook Pro
In addition to the iMac, Apple updated the base 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip, N1 wireless networking chip, and up to 170 GBPS of unified memory bandwidth. The MacBook Pro with M6, according to Apple's press release delivers:
- Up to 13x faster time to first token performance for LLM prompt processing compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1, and up to 1.3x faster than the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5.
- Up to 11.7x faster render performance with ray tracing in Blender compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1, and up to 1.3x faster than the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5.
- Up to 3.3x faster image-processing performance in Affinity compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1, and up to 1.2x faster than the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5.
- Up to 2.5x faster project build performance when compiling code in Xcode compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1, and up to 1.3x faster than the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5.
Apple also claims the 12-core GPU paired with the dual 16-core neural engine features up to 30 percent faster graphics performance compared to M5, as well as up to 25 percent faster performance for on-device AI workloads. The new MacBook Pro also features the N1 wireless networking chip, bringing Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.
The MacBook Pro with M6 is made with 45 percent recycled content overall, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery, and 100 percent recycled tantalum in multiple capacitors, and is manufactured with 60 percent renewable electricity across the supply chain. It can be pre-ordered from Apple starting today for a starting price of US $1999, and will begin shipping to customers on Friday, November 6.
Apple has also introduced new high-end 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros, bringing a thinner and lighter design, a redesigned thermal architecture, a new speaker design, hinge improvements, and, for the first time on a Mac, an OLED touchscreen and Dynamic Island. With the Dynamic Island, users will be able to view Live Activities, answer calls, and use Siri and Spotlight. At the time of publication, we do not know how VoiceOver or any other macOS accessibility tool will work with touch controls.
The MacBook Pro with PROOLEDXDR display continues to use the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, but it now features a redesigned thermal architecture that Apple claims better redirects air away from the display, helping to prevent it from getting warm to the touch while maintaining sustained performance.
The MacBook Pro with PROOLEDXDR display is made with 55 percent recycled content overall, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery, and recycled tantalum in multiple capacitors, and is manufactured with 45 percent renewable electricity across the supply chain. It can be pre-ordered from Apple starting today for a starting price of US $2899, and will begin shipping to customers on Friday, November 6.