Apple now sells three kinds of MacBook Pro and a new iMac, and all of the new models arrive on Friday 6 November. In one week it announced a 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6, a 24-inch iMac with M6 and, at its Pro and tell event on 28 October, a MacBook Pro with an OLED touch screen. The existing MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max stays on sale alongside them.
That makes the choice less obvious than usual, because the newest chip (M6) is in the cheapest MacBook Pro, while the most expensive one uses the older M5 Pro and M5 Max. This guide sets out what each model is for, what it costs in the UK, Europe and the US, and which one we would pick for different kinds of work. It is based on Apple’s press releases and online store; independent reviews have not been published yet.
The short answer
- Most people who want a Pro laptop: the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6, from £1,999. It has the newest chip, the longest battery life Apple quotes and 1TB of storage as standard.
- Heavy video, 3D or AI work: a MacBook Pro with M5 Pro or M5 Max. You get more CPU and GPU cores, more memory, Thunderbolt 5 and support for three or four external displays.
- You want touch, OLED or the lightest Pro: the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, from £2,899. It uses the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the standard model for about £400 more.
- A desk Mac for home or a family: the iMac with M6, from £1,499 with a 4.5K display, keyboard and mouse included.
MacBook Pro with M6: the sensible choice
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 is the entry point to the range, and for many buyers it is the one to get. M6 has a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, and Apple claims up to 30 per cent faster graphics and up to 25 per cent faster AI workloads than the M5 model it replaces. Apple’s specifications quote up to 24 hours of video streaming, matching the best in the range, and at 1.55kg it is the lightest standard 14-inch model.
The UK base model has 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage for £1,999, according to Apple’s UK store, and memory goes up to 32GB. It has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, an SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 and a headphone jack, and it drives up to two external displays. The display is the familiar mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR panel with a notch, at up to 1,600 nits for HDR.
Choose something else if you need more than 32GB of memory, more than two external displays or Thunderbolt 5 for fast external storage.
MacBook Pro with M5 Pro or M5 Max: still the workhorse
The standard MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max has not been replaced. Apple still lists it in its store with the Liquid Retina XDR display, in 14- and 16-inch sizes. The 14-inch M5 Pro model has a 15-core CPU, a 16-core GPU, 24GB of memory and 1TB of storage for £2,499; the 16-inch M5 Pro has an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU for £2,999. M5 Max models start at £4,099 with 36GB of memory and 2TB of storage.
These are the models for long renders, large photo libraries, 3D work and running bigger AI models on the device. They have Thunderbolt 5 ports, and Apple’s specifications list support for up to three external displays with M5 Pro and four with M5 Max. The trade-off is battery life: Apple quotes up to 22 hours of video streaming for the 14-inch M5 Pro and 20 hours for the 14-inch M5 Max, against 24 hours for M6.
MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR: for touch and the best screen
The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display uses the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, so you are not paying for more speed. You are paying for a tandem OLED screen that reaches up to 2,000 nits, the first touch screen on a Mac, the Dynamic Island in place of the notch and a thinner, lighter design. Apple says the 14-inch model weighs 3 pounds (about 1.36kg), against 1.60kg for the standard 14-inch with M5 Pro, according to its press release.
In the UK the PROLED models cost £400 more than the matching standard models: £2,899 against £2,499 for the 14-inch M5 Pro, and £3,399 against £2,999 for the 16-inch, according to Apple’s UK store. If you edit HDR video or photos, work in Adobe RGB or simply want touch on a Mac, that premium may be worth it. If not, the standard model gives you the same performance for less. Note that many third-party apps Apple named for touch support are only due later this year.
iMac with M6: the all-in-one
The iMac with M6 keeps its 24-inch 4.5K display and seven colours, and gains Wi-Fi 7, faster storage and an optional 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port. It starts at £1,499 with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage, or £1,699 for the 12-core model, according to Apple’s UK store.
The 256GB base storage is the one thing we would think twice about if you keep a large photo library on the Mac. For a family computer, homework or office work, it is the cheapest of this week’s M6 Macs and comes with a colour-matched keyboard and mouse.
Prices in the UK, Europe and the US
| Model (starting price) | UK | Germany | Ireland | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iMac 24-inch, M6 | £1,499 | €1,799 | €1,829 | $1,499 |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch, M6 | £1,999 | €2,299 | €2,349 | $1,999 |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch, M5 Pro | £2,499 | €2,899 | €2,999 | $2,499 |
| MacBook Pro 16-inch, M5 Pro | £2,999 | €3,399 | €3,499 | $2,999 |
| MacBook Pro PROLED XDR 14-inch, M5 Pro | £2,899 | €3,299 | €3,399 | $2,899 |
| MacBook Pro PROLED XDR 16-inch, M5 Pro | £3,399 | €3,899 | €3,999 | $3,399 |
UK and EU prices include VAT; US prices are before sales tax. Prices come from Apple’s UK, German, Irish and US stores and newsrooms on 29 October. Education pricing is lower: from £1,449 for the iMac, £1,899 for the M6 MacBook Pro and £2,749 for the PROLED model in the UK.
Budget for a charger in the UK and EU. Apple’s UK store says the MacBook Pro models do not include a power adapter, and its specifications list no adapter in the box for the M6 model in the UK, Ireland, Germany and France. In the US, Canada, Australia and Japan, the M6 model comes with a 70W adapter. Apple recommends at least 60W for M6 and 70W or more for M5 Pro and M5 Max (94W for some 16-inch configurations), and fast charging needs 96W or more on the 14-inch models and 140W on the 16-inch. The PROLED model’s specifications also list no adapter in the box in the UK, Ireland, Germany and France.
When they arrive
Pre-orders for all three new models opened on 28 October, in 35 countries and regions for the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac and in 30 for the PROLED model. Deliveries and in-store availability start on Friday 6 November. The new iPad mini with OLED and A20 Pro arrives the same day. Reviews usually appear a few days before launch; we will update this guide when they do.
Siri AI comes with macOS 27.2 on all of these Macs, in beta, in English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. Unlike on iPhone and iPad, Apple makes Siri AI available on the Mac in the EU.