Oct 27, 2026 

Article

Apple didn't wait for its Los Angeles stage. On Tuesday, October 27, a day before its "Pro and Tell" event, it announced a new 14-inch MacBook Pro and iMac built around the M6 chip. Nearly the whole pitch was about running AI on your own machine instead of someone else's servers.

What Apple announced

• 14-inch MacBook Pro from $1,999, with 16GB of unified memory and 1TB of storage at the base, configurable up to 32GB and 4TB.
• iMac from $1,499 with a 10-core CPU and GPU, and from $1,699 with a 12-core CPU and GPU. It starts at 16GB and 256GB, and only the four-port model goes up to 32GB and 2TB.
• Timing: pre-orders open October 28 in 35 countries and regions, including the U.S., with availability from November 6.
• Price: unchanged from the previous generation.

The M6 is Apple's first 2-nanometer chip, with a 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. It's the same chip that debuted in the latest Mac mini. Apple also lists memory bandwidth of up to 170GB/s, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

What the performance claims mean

Apple says the MacBook Pro delivers up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI performance than its M5 predecessor, plus up to 24 hours of battery life, the longest of any Mac. It says the new iMac runs on-device AI up to five times faster than the M4 model it replaces.

Two words carry those sentences: "up to." These are Apple's own measurements, run under conditions Apple chose. Independent reviews usually land around launch day, and that's when you'll learn how much of the gain shows up in the apps you actually use.

Watch the comparison points too. The iMac's "five times" is measured against an M4, a jump of two chip generations. The MacBook Pro's 25% is a single-generation jump from M5. They're different yardsticks, so don't stack them.

Why on-device AI matters

Running models locally has three real advantages. Your data stays on the machine. There's no per-token bill. And it works on a plane. For creators, Apple also announced new AI features for its Creator Studio subscription, which bundles Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro with Keynote, Pages and Numbers.

The constraint is memory. Local language models live in RAM, and both new machines top out at 32GB. That's plenty for smaller models, transcription and AI-assisted editing, but tight for running larger open-weight models comfortably. Apple continues to sell MacBook Pros with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips for people who need more headroom.

Wait or buy?

Bloomberg reports Apple is expected to show its first touchscreen MacBook Pro on Wednesday. If you've been holding out for a redesign, waiting 24 hours costs you nothing. If you need a dependable machine now for editing, writing and light local AI, the M6 models are a straightforward upgrade at the same price as before.

Takeaways

1. Buy for your heaviest real workload, not the keynote chart. For local AI, memory matters more than chip generation.
2. Check education pricing if it applies. It starts at $1,449 for the iMac and $1,899 for the MacBook Pro.
3. Wait for independent benchmarks if AI speed is the main reason you're buying.
4. Hold any purchase until after Wednesday's event if a touchscreen MacBook Pro would change your choice.