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New MacBook Pro and Refreshed iMacs Likely Coming in October

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Apple is likely to unveil a new M6 MacBook Pro and refreshed iMacs in October, based on its typical release schedule, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

imac-pink.jpeg

Writing in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman reiterated his belief that Apple is readying the launch of a refreshed base-model MacBook Pro with a 14-inch display powered by an M6 chip.

The base model is expected ahead of new high-end MacBook Pro models with OLED displays and M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which could arrive between the end of this year and early 2027. Gurman reported last month that Apple was testing the laptops with macOS 27.1, which is scheduled for release to consumers at the end of October.

As for iMacs, the new version is likely to be an updated 24-inch model with an M5 chip or M6 chip, replacing the existing M4 model. No major design changes are expected, with Apple also reportedly developing a 24-inch iMac with an OLED display, though that won't arrive for several years.

Article Link: New MacBook Pro and Refreshed iMacs Likely Coming in October
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/10/new-macbook-pro-refreshed-imacs-october/
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I'd appreciate some input from you experts. My 2017 MacBook Pro (2.9GHz) is struggling with battery life, and a replacement battery alone costs £279.

I've been borrowing a MacBook Air M5 recently and really like it. However, I keep seeing discussions about MacBook Pro updates and I'm uncertain which direction to go. For context, I find the Pro models too heavy for my needs.

My usage is fairly straightforward: browsing, Xcode/development work, and using Claude for coding. I have an opportunity to purchase new Macbook Air at a good price while travelling to the US this week, so I need to make a decision soon. I'm aware that timing purchases around rumours is a bit of a rabbit hole, but I'm genuinely unsure whether the M5 Air is sufficient for my workflow or if I should stretch to a Pro/ wait for an Air M6. I am not the greatest with understanding the technical changes between processors / impact on my workflow (I fall for the marketing) so would appreciate any guidance!
 
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Wish they would move to an optional hybrid model for MacBook Pros for storage and memory...sure it's great to have 2TB of crazy fast storage and 48gb of crazy fast ram...but I think most users would be quite happy with 512GB of crazy fast storage and another 4TB of medium speed storage....and 16gb of crazy fast ram, and then another 128GB of medium fast ram...especially given the costs and market limitations for the next few years...

This will likely be the first round of hardware upgrades where I will be cutting back on RAM and Disk Space compared to the Intel Mac I have, which had 64gb and 2tb...

Famously the Fusion Drive back in the day managed this tradeoff well...with the system being quite good at moving low use files to the slower medium...

Most storage is photos, music, documents, code repo's, and now I guess the occasional LLM...most of it is just sitting unused for months on end...why am I paying through the nose for a few milliseconds of performance that isn't needed...
 
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DHagan4755 said:
You’re right. But it’s sort of a conundrum. Who’s buying these? And would a larger model sell better to justify making it? Apple probably has a lot of data on this. I like the iMac but I’d rather have a Mac mini instead.
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I’m very happy with my M1 iMac and would definitely buy a larger version, it’s my only complaint about the current one. I definitely prefer it to a Mac mini, I don’t want a plasticky cheap monitor, cables everywhere etc, and buying a Mac mini as well as an Apple monitor as well as keyboard, mouse etc would be insanely more expensive than an iMac with the same performance. I would argue the only things iMac misses are options with a larger monitor and a pro M chip.
 
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GeorgeBell said:
Wish they would move to an optional hybrid model for MacBook Pros for storage and memory...sure it's great to have 2TB of crazy fast storage and 48gb of crazy fast ram...but I think most users would be quite happy with 512GB of crazy fast storage and another 4TB of medium speed storage....and 16gb of crazy fast ram, and then another 128GB of medium fast ram...especially given the costs and market limitations for the next few years...

This will likely be the first round of hardware upgrades where I will be cutting back on RAM and Disk Space compared to the Intel Mac I have, which had 64gb and 2tb...

Famously the Fusion Drive back in the day managed this tradeoff well...with the system being quite good at moving low use files to the slower medium...

Most storage is photos, music, documents, code repo's, and now I guess the occasional LLM...most of it is just sitting unused for months on end...why am I paying through the nose for a few milliseconds of performance that isn't needed...
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The “slow RAM” option is already there by macOS using swap.

For “slow storage”, you can use a USB or NAS hard drive (though they have supply issues as well), or something like Dropbox with Cryptomator (for privacy).
 
DHagan4755 said:
You’re right. But it’s sort of a conundrum. Who’s buying these? And would a larger model sell better to justify making it? Apple probably has a lot of data on this. I like the iMac but I’d rather have a Mac mini instead.
Click to expand...
The 24" machine is such an oddity. Where else is that 4.5K panel used. Apple doesn't even offer a 24" monitor, their base is 27". I can sort of see their original thinking, merge the 21.5" and 27" devices into one because there wasn't enough volume to justify two devices. I just think they made the wrong decision.
 
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PS65 said:
I'd appreciate some input from you experts. My 2017 MacBook Pro (2.9GHz) is struggling with battery life, and a replacement battery alone costs
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I can comment on this as I’ve used both MacBook Pro and MacBook Air and have decided the MacBook Air is better suited to my needs. The most computingpower I need is to do Photoshop editing and the MacBook Air is perfect for that and everything else. I honestly can’t tell the difference in performance between the pro and the air.

I owned two MacBook Pro‘s and then subsequently purchased three more MacBook Air’s two which I still use.

Oh, and one more thing, I was able to change the battery in both my MacBook Pro and my MacBook air
 
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DHagan4755 said:
You’re right. But it’s sort of a conundrum. Who’s buying these? And would a larger model sell better to justify making it? Apple probably has a lot of data on this. I like the iMac but I’d rather have a Mac mini instead.
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Exactly. I’d rather get a Mac mini and a 32-inch display, plus a 4K external webcam and a 2.1 external speaker system.
 
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If the M6 is the modest, efficiency focused update that we expect, then it makes total sense to use it on the iMac, given the thermal constraints and the target user of such device. Leaving the much more powerful and potentially hot M7 for better cooled devices such as the Mac Studio and the next MacBook Pro.

This is pure speculation based on the M6 being the first 2nm Apple Silicon with no Pro or Max variants. Of course the MacBook Air is also a device that benefits from a cooler chip, that’s why the M6 MBA is so interesting… not sure if Apple will put the M7 in the current MBA design, maybe they redesign it with an OLED display and a vapor chamber, to keep it a fan less laptop but with better thermal management.

Why I consider the iMac a thermally constrained device? I know the current iMac has a couple of mini-fans, but it also is extremely thin and has a big display sitting on top of the logic board, so I suspect dissipation is not that good. The iMac has skipped some Apple chips, such as the hot M5, so that also makes me think they have been waiting for the cooler M6 chip.

But of course, the most important factor here is the sales number, and I think the iMac is a low sales device (correct me if I’m wrong). At least compared to laptops.

Now that we talk about the M6… it is expected to come with a substantially higher memory bandwidth, up from 153GB/s to roughly 200GB/s. Do you think the M6 will be the first to mount LPDDR6 RAM?
 
ducknalddon said:
The 24" machine is such an oddity. Where else is that 4.5K panel used. Apple doesn't even offer a 24" monitor, their base is 27". I can sort of see their original thinking, merge the 21.5" and 27" devices into one because there wasn't enough volume to justify two devices. I just think they made the wrong decision.
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Yeah, exactly, I see this as a very Tim Cook decision to optimize benefits, and the reason we’re still seeing the same design after 6 years. They probably have stockpiled an incredible amount of those displays and until they get enough profit they won’t redesign it with a much needed 27” model.

27” has been the standard size for quite a few years already.
 
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The iMac exists for the 'take it out of the box, plug it in and it works...plus I can get it in pink!' market which is perhaps bigger than you think - for example my aunt initially didn't want a laptop because the 'screen is too small' not knowing about the fact it can be connected up to a monitor until I helped her ('ooh that's clever!')
 
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GeorgeBell said:
Wish they would move to an optional hybrid model for MacBook Pros for storage and memory...sure it's great to have 2TB of crazy fast storage and 48gb of crazy fast ram...but I think most users would be quite happy with 512GB of crazy fast storage and another 4TB of medium speed storage....and 16gb of crazy fast ram, and then another 128GB of medium fast ram...especially given the costs and market limitations for the next few years...
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So “most users” means you?
 
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casjohnr said:
The iMac exists for the 'take it out of the box, plug it in and it works...plus I can get it in pink!' market which is perhaps bigger than you think…
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You guys are all so close to actually getting it.

The market for complex modular computing is tiny and shrinking further every day. The market for “just works and comes in pink” is massive and growing every day.

You guys aren’t getting the products you want because you don’t have anywhere near the buying power to make them happen.
 
Vincent Hanna said:
You guys are all so close to actually getting it.

The market for complex modular computing is tiny and shrinking further every day. The market for “just works and comes in pink” is massive and growing every day.

You guys aren’t getting the products you want because you don’t have anywhere near the buying power to make them happen.
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The desktop market is shrinking though, plus people who love modularity still have the Mac mini.
 
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