MacBook Pro M6 review: a slight upgrade, but still the most accessible MacBook Pro

When I reviewed the MacBook Pro M5 Max earlier this year, I predicted that it might soon look obsolete when Apple’s legendary touchscreen MacBook Pros arrived. This is even more true for the new MacBook Pro with an M6 chip, which was briefly announced last week before the arrival of the new PROLED XDR MacBook Pros equipped with a touchscreen. These systems are clearly going to get some attention this holiday season from Apple’s marketing team and deep-pocketed Macs, so where does that leave the modest entry-level MacBook Pro?

The M6 ​​MacBook Pro is closer to the same design we’ve seen for years, with a slightly faster chip. And yet, at $1,999, it’s still a pretty compelling machine for anyone who isn’t crazy enough to spend $900 more for an OLED touchscreen and a slightly lighter system. Even Apple’s holdovers are still miles ahead of most competitors.

The main selling point of this MacBook Pro is Apple’s new M6 chip, which we’ve already seen in the recent Mac mini. It’s a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU system-on-chip, slightly more powerful than last year’s M5 chip and its 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores. The processor is made up of two super cores for single-threaded work, four performance cores for more intensive multi-threaded tasks, and six efficiency cores for background tasks. The M6 ​​chip also features dual 16-core neural engines for the first time, helping to make it twice as fast in AI tasks compared to the M5 chip, according to Apple.

Apple’s own benchmarks suggest otherwise modest gains for the M6 ​​chip. The company claims it’s 11.7 times faster at 3D rendering compared to the M1 MacBook Pro, while the M5 chip is 9.2 times faster than that older system. The M6 ​​would be 3.2 times faster when gaming Cyberpunk 2077 compared to the M1 system, while the M5 was 2.5 times faster. Basically, you don’t need to throw away your M5 MacBook Pro anytime soon.

Just like with the Mac mini, you’ll need to upgrade to the M5 Pro or M5 Max chips if you want more power, as these have significantly more CPU and GPU power. These are the current high-end options, as Apple has yet to release faster M6 Pro or Max chips. You also get faster RAM performance when upgrading to the M5 Pro or Max. The M6 ​​maxes out at 32GB of RAM at 170GB/s, while the M5 Pro can pack 64GB at 307GB/s.

Beyond the new M6 chip, the 14-inch MacBook Pro has the same hardware as previous systems. There’s the MiniLED Liquid Retina display with a 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate, a sturdy unibody body, and a healthy port selection (three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a MagSafe charging connection, HDMI, headphone jack, and an SD card slot). At 3.4 pounds, it’s not much different from the 3-pound thinner 14-inch MacBook Pro PROLED.

Although we’ve seen most of this material before, I don’t want to dismiss it. There is certainty in battle-tested hardware designs, and for years Apple has schooled most PC makers in overall hardware quality.

I’ll say it up front: the MacBook Pro M6 is yet another fast and reliable entry into Apple’s lineup. Our review unit, equipped with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, kept up with my daily workflow without any noticeable issues. But that’s been the case with every MacBook Pro over the past decade: this one is just a bit faster than the previous model.

In the Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark, the MacBook Pro M6 scored 4,458 points for single-threaded work and 19,077 points for multi-threaded tasks. Last year’s M5 14-inch MacBook Pro was only a little slower with 4,310 single-threaded points and 18,003 multi-threaded points. The M6’s more powerful graphics capabilities, however, shined in the Geekbench 6 GPU test, scoring 64,115 points compared to the M5 system’s 48,840 points. I saw similarly better gains in Cinebench R24, where the M6 ​​MacBook Pro was about 30% faster than the M5 in multithreaded performance.

I was already pretty impressed with the M5 MacBook Pro’s gaming performance, and the M6 ​​chip just took things a step further. Lies of P ran between 90 and 100 fps while playing at the highest resolution (3024 x 1890) with graphics settings pushed to the maximum. That’s a 25fps gain over the M5 system, but it’s not something I’d actually notice while gaming.

It’s also worth noting that I didn’t miss the touchscreen on the PROLED XDR MacBook Pro at all. Apple’s large touchpad remains much easier to reach for scrolling through web pages and documents. The MacBook Pro M6’s MiniLED display isn’t as bright as the PROLED system, but it still looks great when viewing photos and videos. Best of all, it’s bright enough to be used outdoors in direct sunlight.

Battery life also remains excellent. The M6 ​​MacBook Pro lasted nine hours and 35 minutes running the MacBatteryBenchmark script, which simulates real-world programming workflows. In my testing, the battery reached 50% after six hours of continuous work, which involved juggling dozens of browser tabs, editing images, and making video calls.

While it’s a shame that its price dropped from $1,599 to $1,999 last year, the 14-inch MacBook Pro M6 remains the cheapest pro-grade laptop Apple currently sells. Unless you’re willing to gamble on the used or refurbished market (which I wholeheartedly support), it’s the MacBook Pro that most people should consider. The MacBook Pro M6 is fast enough to handle content creation, gaming, and demanding tasks that would make the MacBook Air sweat.

Your decision-making becomes more complicated if you’re considering upgrading to the M5 Pro chip, which costs $2,499. At this point, you might as well spend a little more to get the redesigned $2,899 PROLED MacBook Pro, which also has an M5 Pro chip and a lighter design.

It’s unclear how long Apple will juggle multiple MacBook Pro models, but personally, I’ve always been a fan of the base 14-inch MacBook Pro. It’s always been fast enough for most people, and it’s a significant jump over the MacBook Air thanks to its fast ProMotion MiniLED display, active cooling, and multitude of ports. The MacBook Pro M6 doesn’t bring much new, but it’s still one of the best laptops you can buy today.