Apple has updated its MacBook Pro and iMac lineup with the M6 chip, bringing performance improvements to both laptops and desktops. The MacBook Pro gets faster graphics and AI processing, along with a claimed battery life of up to 24 hours. The iMac, meanwhile, gets the same chip upgrade and a handful of connectivity improvements.
The new Macs arrive as Apple prepares for its Pro and Tell event tomorrow, i.e October 28th, where the company’s next big reveal, its OLED MacBook Pro with touchscreen support, is slated to be unveiled.
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MacBook Pro M6 price in India
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at Rs 2,39,900 in India, with an education price of Rs 2,27,900 for students. It comes in Space Black and Silver, with pre-orders opening October 28th and sales beginning November 6th.
The price puts the M6 MacBook Pro in an expensive spot, even by Apple’s standards, considering the Macbook Pro M5 launched at Rs 1,89,900 last October. However, a price hike following the global “RAMageddon” memory shortage pushed the price to Rs 2,39,900 – the same starting price as of the M6 Pro.
Meanwhile, the M5 Pro MacBook Pro launched in March at Rs 2,49,900, just Rs 10,000 more than the starting price of the M6 model. The M5 Max version started at Rs 3,99,900. These aren’t direct alternatives in terms of chip configuration, but the small gap between the M6 and M5 Pro starting prices makes the choice worth considering for people buying a Mac for demanding creative work.
Specifications and upgrades
The M6 has a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU. Apple claims graphics performance is up to 30 percent faster and AI workloads up to 25 percent faster than on the M5 model. Each GPU core now includes a Neural Accelerator, while a 16-core Neural Engine handles AI tasks. The chip also supports memory bandwidth of up to 170GB/s, and the laptop can be configured with up to 32GB of unified memory, starting at 16GB.
The improvements should matter most to people running graphics-heavy applications or local AI tools. The gains are a less compelling reason to upgrade for anyone whose MacBook Pro already handles their daily work without slowing down. Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours, and the laptop supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. It retains the 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, with peak HDR brightness of 1,600 nits and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. A nano-texture finish is available as an option.
Other features include a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View, a six-speaker system with Spatial Audio, HDMI, MagSafe 3, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SDXC card slot and a headphone jack. It supports up to two external displays and can charge to 50 percent in around 30 minutes with a 96W or higher adapter.
The M6 MacBook Pro runs macOS 27 and supports Apple Intelligence features. While the chip upgrade is the main draw, the familiar display and port selection mean this is an incremental update rather than a major redesign.
The M6 should handle most people’s needs, from photo and video editing to coding and AI tools. But if your work involves heavy video rendering or other demanding tasks, the M5 Pro or M5 Max may be worth considering. Both offer more processing power for these workloads, along with faster Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, which the M6 MacBook Pro misses out on with its Thunderbolt 4 ports.
iMac M6
Apple’s 24-inch iMac also gets the M6 chip, with a 4.5K Retina display, a 12MP Center Stage camera and seven colour options: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange and silver. It supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports, with 2.5Gb Ethernet available as an option.
Apple says the new iMac offers up to twice the graphics performance and up to five times faster on-device AI performance than the M4 model. The latter claim could matter to users running compatible AI features locally, although the benefits will depend on the applications they use.
The 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU version starts at Rs 1,74,900, with an education price of Rs 1,68,900. The 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU configuration starts at Rs 1,99,900, or Rs 1,87,900 for education buyers. Both models go up for pre-order on October 28th and will be available from November 6th.
For existing M4 iMac owners, the performance claims alone may not make an upgrade necessary unless their work demands more graphics or AI processing. Those buying their first desktop Mac, however, get Apple’s latest chip in the familiar all-in-one design, without needing to budget for a separate display.
