Apple today introduced new Macs and features, including the M6 MacBook Pro, M6 iMac and new AI features in Creative Studio. While I expect Apple to unveil these new devices tomorrow during its Pro and Tell event, the company likes to surprise.
Starting with the 14-inch MacBook Pro, the laptop M6 processor has a fast and responsive 12-core CPU. And matching the CPU is the 12-core GPU, which delivers up to 30 percent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster AI workloads compared to the M5.
The laptop also has neural accelerators in the GPU and a dual 16-core Neural Engine, which makes it powerful for AI workloads, so you can take better advantage of Siri AI and Apple Intelligence. It also has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and a 24-hour battery life. The 14-inch panel is a Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness and a nano-texture option, a 12MP center stage camera, and a six-speaker sound system.
The MacBook Pro with M6 will be available for pre-order on October 28 and will officially arrive on November 6. The MacBook Pro starts at $2,799; this is a $700 increase from last year’s model’s starting price. (However, it’s worth noting that Apple has raised the MacBook Pro’s base price several times since launch, with the most recent bringing the cost from $2,399 to $2,799 in June.)
Apple also still offers the MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips starting at $3,499 and $5,799, respectively.
M6 iMac
The M6 iMac has up to a 12-core CPU and up to a 12-core GPU with neural accelerators in each core, delivering more than 2x faster graphics for intensive tasks like photo editing and gaming than the M4.
The iMac has a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, and users can use Visual Intelligence with a special keyboard shortcut to ask about things on their screen. The iMac has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, with a 2.5GB Ethernet that offers up to 2.5 times faster wired connection than the M5. It has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, and users can connect up to two 6K external displays. It also has a 12MP center stage camera and Dolby Atmos.
The M6 iMac comes in seven colors: Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green and Silver. The iMac has a colorful keyboard with Touch ID and a mouse with USB-C.
The M6 iMac is available for pre-order tomorrow and will officially arrive on November 6. The iMac starts at $2,099, which is a $400 increase over the M4 iMac.
Apple Creator Studio
Now Final Cut Pro for Mac includes MotionVFX, an expanded collection of visual effects, plug-ins, transitions and motion graphics tools. The Content Hub in Final Cut Pro also now includes video assets. For music in Logic Pro, there’s a new enhanced Stem Splitter that splits drums (in beta), and a redesigned browser includes all sounds with music understanding and even a splice library.
Pixelmator Pro now includes Generative Fill, which lets people select an area in an image and describe the change they want. And now Keynote, Pages and Numbers include an intelligent assistant that understands the document context, can help design, animate and refine, and more in the different apps.
Apple Creator Studio updates will be available this November in the App Store for free to existing subscribers. New subscribers can pay either $17.99 monthly or $179 per year, and get a free one-month trial of Apple Creator Studio with the purchase of a new Mac or iPad.
Yesterday, Apple unveiled the new OLED iPad mini, and tomorrow the company is rumored to show a touchscreen MacBook Pro.