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M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect
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I think the "thinner" rumor is only water-testing as well. Based on past reactions I don't know why they would entertain it at all. The iPhone is most peoples' computer, and the Macbook Pro is most peoples' desktop. Noone wants compromise on these, just the biggest and baddest. (I say this as a sad iPhone mini owning iPad-using, desktop non-needing 16" Macbook Pro user who has seen the writing on the wall.)
I've got an M3 Pro MBP and also have no intention of replacing it for a few years. The battery life is wonderful - performance is very good, screen is nice. Not sure if it will last as long as my first MBP, which was a 2009 model that was my daily portable for 10 years.
Although I am currently using a 16” M4 Max MacBook Pro, I have fond memories of many Intel powered Apple laptops over the years.Me, reading this on my 2020 intel mbp
In fact I kept my 15” Mid 2015 MacBook Pro Retina that’s currently running Linux 😉
It's a good question. (The question was why after over 30 years as a Windows user I have decided to switch to Mac.) Having gone through some (typical for me) very intense research about MacOS over about the last 3 weeks I'm now wondering why I didn't make this decision earlier.
The answer is that it's more a question of what was stopping me before. I've admired Apple hardware for a long time and the amazing power efficiency for the superb performance it gives really is impressive but I wasn't sure how I'd get on with MacOS given how familiar I was with Windows which as a UI (setting aside reliability) I actually really like.
What pushed me to re-evaluate my thinking was my most recent PC upgrade to a Ryzen AI Max+ 395 based tablet PC which still stutters sometimes on YouTube (which with that much CPU & GPU power and a very solid 500Gbps fibre connection must be down to software issues) and the fans kick on not infrequently when it is basically doing pretty much nothing. That left me thinking that surely I can do better than this.
Having decided I wanted better hardware I then started listing the pros and cons of going to MacOS to see if changing OS really would be such a barrier. I watched quite a few YouTube videos by people who had switched and also dipped extensively into videos by Gary on the Macmostvideo channel to see how various things that I liked about Windows worked under MacOS and with a very few exceptions I came to the conclusion that I'll adapt just fine. Pretty much everything I was thinking of as a con (negative) went away and the few remaining concerns are heavily outweighed by the benefits. For the benefits there are quite a few nice features I discovered from watching all those YouTube videos that I wasn't aware of (e.g. hide my email) plus I've been an iPhone user since 2010, an iPad user since the day the very first model released, an Apple Watch user since the pandemic, Airpod Pro since the 3s released last month, and I plan to get my first HomePod and Apple TV once the new versions are released (hurry up Apple) so it makes so much sense to integrate my desktop PC into the rest of my now very broad Apple ecosystem.
My remaining concerns are...
1 - Microsoft Excel will be on my new MacBook since I have a Microsoft 365 subscription but I have some very big and complicated spreadsheets with hundreds (maybe even thousands) of lines of VBA code in them so I plan to borrow an old MacBook from a friend (who never sells his old stuff so has 10 in his house!) to test that my spreadsheets run OK.
2 - Safari's vertical tab implementation is still I'm afraid way behind that of Microsoft Edge and 90% of my time is in the browser so that will be frustrating but I just have to hope Apple improves things there or I get used to the (in my opinion) inferior Safari UI implementation. At worst I suppose I could use Edge on my Mac but I prefer to use OS-bundled apps wherever possible.
3 - I'd love to use iCloud to have access to my documents everywhere and Apple deserves huge credit for offering the ADP option for iCloud security but unfortunately the technologically illiterate UK government has forced Apple to disable that feature for UK users so I won't be able to (am not willing to) use iCloud for my documents until/unless Apple wins its court case against the UK government. That's not really a negative against Apple since it leaves me no worse off than I am with Windows OneDrive that I also can't/won't use, but it does deprive me of a huge benefit that I was looking forward to getting.
So, that's where I am right now and frankly I'm like a kid before Christmas in terms of excitement about switching. I'm not actually going to switch until April next year though because I go away in a few weeks for about 4.5 months of travelling and that doesn't seem like a good time to disrupt my computing environment so my plan is to get an M5 Pro Macbook Pro pretty much as soon as I get back in late April or early May next year, assuming it is released by then which I think is very likely and it might even have been out for long enough for there to be some discounts on the baseline configuration by then especially if there are rumours that the M6 MacBooks might be released by the end of the year.
P.S. I also have bad eyesight. I don't want to go up to 16" because of portability so another thing I will be looking at next year is using XR glasses as a display option when I am travelling to get a 32" physical monitor experience via a virtual screen. I'm not entirely sure if the current generation of technology is quite up to the task yet but in 6 months time things might have evolved and when Apple eventually releases its smart glasses (in 2027?) I suspect those will be a great solution so whatever glasses I get (if any) in 2026 will probably be replaced by Apple Glasses whenever they are released. At home I will use my MacBook entirely in clamshell mode with a 32" physical monitor so no screen size issues for me there.
Want a touchscreen and a 5G modem. Also would like more I/O built-in so I don’t need all those dongles.
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware features.
If you are planning to skip the M5 MacBook Pro, or you're just plain curious about what's coming next, here are the biggest changes rumored to be coming to Apple's premium laptop line and when to expect them – as well as what you'll likely have to pay.
M6 Series Chip
2nm Process
Apple is in the process of updating the current MacBook Pro lineup with M5 series chips, with the base model already refreshed and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch models expected early next year. The chips are manufactured with TSMC's third-generation 3nm process, known as N3P, resulting in typical year-over-year performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the M4 series of chips. However, Apple's redesigned MacBook Pro models are expected to boast M6 chips, which could adopt a completely new packaging process.
According to one rumor, Apple's A20 chip in next year's iPhone 18 models will switch from the previous InFo (Integrated Fan-Out) packaging to WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging. WMCM integrates multiple chips within the same package, allowing for the development of more complex chipsets. Components such as the CPU, GPUs, DRAM, and Neural Engine would therefore be more tightly integrated. While we don't know for sure, this could see Apple develop the M6 using the 2nm process while taking advantage of WMCM packaging to make even more powerful versions of its custom processor.
OLED Display
Goodbye, mini-LED
Several rumors have indicated that Apple is developing MacBook Pro models with OLED displays. Display analyst Ross Young in September 2024 said that Apple's supply chain is expected to have sufficient notebook-optimized OLED display production capacity in 2026 to bring the technology to MacBook Pro. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple is readying a revamped MacBook Pro with OLED technology, citing people within Apple with knowledge of the matter. Compared to current MacBook Pro models that use mini-LED screens, the benefits of OLED technology would include increased brightness, higher contrast ratio with deeper blacks, improved power efficiency for longer battery life, and more.
Thinner, Lighter Laptop
Major Redesign
The switch to OLED displays could allow future MacBook Pro models to have a thinner design, and rumors suggest that is indeed what Apple intends. When the M4 iPad Pro was unveiled in May 2024, Apple touted it as the company's thinnest product ever. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman subsequently called the iPad Pro the "beginning of a new class of Apple devices." He has since reported that the new machines, code-named K114 and K116, will have "thinner and lighter frames." Apple is apparently focusing on delivering the thinnest possible device without compromising on battery life or major new features.
Notably, the MacBook Pro got thicker and heavier with its most recent redesign in 2021. A major highlight was the reintroduction of several ports that were removed in previous iterations in favor of chassis thinness. How Apple will make its redesigned MacBook Pro thinner without removing the functionality it reintroduced fairly recently is the big question.
Punch-Hole Camera
No More Notch
If you are fed up of the notch intruding on your Mac display, here's some good news. Apple plans to remove the notch from the redesigned MacBook Pro, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap indicates that redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, rather than the notch we've become accustomed to. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has since corroborated the claim, saying that the design "leaves a display area around the sensor... similar in concept to the Dynamic Island on the iPhone."
Such a move would mirror Apple's iPhone evolution, since the iPhone's notch became the current Dynamic Island starting with the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2022. It's unclear whether the MacBook Pro would include Dynamic Island functionality or simply adopt the visual design, but the change would at least address long-standing user complaints about the notch, which physically ingresses into the macOS menu bar.
5G Modem
Cellular Connectivity
Earlier this year, Apple introduced the C1, its custom-built 5G modem chip which debuted in 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 most power-efficient modem in an iPhone. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, App... Click here to read rest of article
Article Link: M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect
Don’t care about extra thinness. Computers have been plenty thin for years, and supper thin makes it more prone to getting bent.
Replaceable/Upgradeable memory, storage and battery would also be an inducement to buy.
I’m using my intel for personal and an m2 pro for work. Let me tell you, side-by-side doing similar tasks, I have no fondness for the intel lol
I was referring to the _past.
However the very moment 13” M1 MacBook Air was introduced years ago I began enjoying all the various benefits of the M series. MacBook Pro models have been my primary laptop of choice for years.
Currently using a 16” M4 Max MacBook Pro, I’m a very satisfied customer.
I had a 2019 one. My on-sale M2 model replaced it. Great machine, and a lot sleeker than the new ones.Me, reading this on my 2020 intel mbp
Mate if they’re releasing early 2027 next year the design has been locked for at least six months.
I agree, the thinness wars have been won all around. I admit my 2012 MBP feels "thick" compared to AS MBP/MBA 13 and the retina MBP '12-'19. Anytime I walk into a store to look at (fondle) new laptops, they feel appropriately thin for mobile work.
That will be an incredible laptop if all those improvements are made. I look forward to upgrading from my intel iMac to one of these future Macbook Pros, though I will need to wait until the M6 Max version so I can get support for more than two external displays.
The MacBook Pro won’t be detachable or nearly as light, making the iPad Pro a better portable device and better for creative work.
not exactly, buying at end of life product 2 months before a fully new release hits really hard especially when the device you bought for full price is probably now 40% discounted 🥴
IMO , there should be at least an Approx. release schedual
My 2009 17” MBP lasted 11 years. Just had to keep using the modified MacOs installers to keep it updated. It was decent for general, everyday tasks except streaming videos in the latter years.
One major problem was that after the factory battery required replacement, third-party batteries kept dying within months of install. Once Apple released the M1s, I made the jump.
I doubt these will last as long but we shall see!