There’s an expected launch from Apple this week of new gear that will likely herald the company’s additions to the world of touchscreen laptops, but hold tight because before that happens, Apple has other gadgets to talk up.
It started with an iPad Mini, a compact tablet featuring a slew of updates including a faster chip, a better screen, and water resistance. Granted, it also arrived with a much higher cost, but that seems to be the era we’re in where everything costs more. Thanks, AI.
And Apple is at it again before those new high-end laptops are set for announcement, updating some of its other computers, and largely getting gear into line with another update or two.
Next up is the iMac and base-level MacBook Pro, computers that will get Apple’s M6 chip, which was launched earlier in the M6 Mac Mini. Since its launch back in August, the M6 hasn’t found its way into anything, but will do so here, as the iMac gets updated, last refreshed around this time in 2024 (pretty much to the day).
You could almost use the same promo art, and Apple almost seems to have, with virtually nothing having been changed outside of the chip and the internal connections. It means you’ll see the same 24 inch 4.5K Retina screen used on the iMac for the past few years in its almost-picture-frame design and coloured metal casing and stand, but with a new set of internals.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a move to the Apple M6, a piece of hardware made for AI and apps and games alike, offering anywhere between two and three times the performance compared to the M1 Apple iMac launched back in 2021.
There’s also faster Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, covering Bluetooth 6 and Wi-Fi 7, and also faster solid-state drive performance, as well.
It will also cost more, a move largely attributed to the seemingly insatiable and increased demand of hardware needed for AI data centres shared with consumer technology, and so the iMac is now roughly $400 more at the starting point.
While an iMac two years ago with 256GB storage and 16GB RAM would start at $1999, the 2026 edition starts from $2399 for the same memory and storage, but with the M6 chip and all the new bits inside. Australians can expect it in early November, and it won’t be alone.
A base-level 14 inch MacBook Pro will also arrive alongside, offering a MacBook with USB, Thunderbolt, HDMI, and an SD card slot without the Pro and Max-level processors inside.
Consider it the least expensive MacBook Pro without being an SD card slot-less MacBook Air or the-MacBook-that-runs-an-iPhone-processor, but it’s still fairly up there in price, which will now start from a little over $3K, and kind of sets up what we can expect from the pricing on new pro-grade Macs expected this week.
The 2026 base-level 14 inch is basically last year’s M5 edition 14 inch with an M6 chip placed inside. It’s distinct from the M5 Pro 14 inch MacBook Pro we reviewed because while the M6 is the latest generation, it doesn’t quite have the grunt of a Pro or Max chip, or even the offerings from the M5 Ultra in the Mac Studio.
But it is designed for more, with the M6 chip including a 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, dual 16-core Neural Engine for AI, and like its iMac sibling, between two and three times the performance for most apps from the original M1 MacBook Pro released in late 2021, and a staggering amount of difference for AI speed, largely because of the developments in that category, too.
Like the iMac, there’s also WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6, plus a bright screen with an option for Apple’s more matte nano-texture finish, and the ability to charge faster, hitting up to 50 percent from zero in 30 minutes using a high wattage charger.
The price is staggeringly different, though, and definitely evident of the fun and games AI is wreaking with everything.
While last year’s 14 inch MBP with M5 started at $2499 in Australia, the M6 edition skyrockets to a starting price of $3199, some $700 higher. As it is, the $3499 M5 MacBook Pro we reviewed earlier is also more expensive, with a change from earlier this year rising the starting price to $3999, basically forcing you into workstation pricing regardless of how fast a laptop you want.
Granted, you are likely buying a laptop that will last you several years, but with roughly $3K the starting price for the pro-grade MacBook line-up with a minimum of near-$4K the moment you want a more pro-level chip, it does suggest the next MacBook models we’re about to see could be even more expensive.
If that seems impossible, you may want to think again and start saving, possibly to the tune of between $5K and $7K pricing. And with that, we clearly need to say “thanks, AI”.
As for the new 14 inch model, folks looking for that can expect it in Australia from early November, set to land in stores from November 6.
