There are just two things complicating what would otherwise be the easiest MacBook review of the year. The first is the starting price: $1,999 with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage \u2014 the same price as the base M5 MacBook Pro since September, but up $200 since its launch a year ago. The other is the actually new MacBook Pro: the one with the OLED touchscreen<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yes, the OLED model is great. Not that someone who\u2019s considering the base MacBook Pro should spend $900 more to get that screen today. But that design is likely to come to the entry MacBook Pro next year<\/a>. The question is: Should you wait?<\/p>\n $1999<\/p>\n The GoodHardware still excellent all around12-core CPU and GPU in base modelGreat battery lifeThe BadMore expensive, like everything elseUpgrading RAM puts you close to M5 Pro modelLikely the last pre-redesign MacBook Pro<\/p>\n The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro has only existed in its current form for two years. After the 2023 M3 model finally ditched the Touch Bar and butterfly keys<\/a>, the M4 model<\/a> brought it up to par with the \u201creal\u201d Pros, most notably by adding a third Thunderbolt port and bumping the minimum RAM from an embarrassing 8GB to a decent 16GB. The M5 version had a faster chip and double the storage speed, and that was enough to keep it among our favorite laptops. The M6 is yet another chip bump, and it adds Apple\u2019s N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 (and also Thread, for what that\u2019s worth.)<\/p>\n Screen: AWebcam: AMic: BKeyboard: BTouchpad: APort selection: BSpeakers: ANumber of ugly stickers to remove: 0<\/p>\n The rest of the hardware is the same as it\u2019s been for two years, which is to say it\u2019s still great. The 14.2-inch miniLED display is bright, beautiful, and color-accurate, with 3092 x 1964 resolution and up to 1,000 nits of brightness in standard mode. The 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (which Apple calls ProMotion) really makes a difference in gaming or even just moving the cursor around. It\u2019s the sort of thing you don\u2019t notice when all your screens are 60Hz, but once you go higher, it\u2019s awfully hard to go back<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of course, it\u2019s also hard to go back from an OLED screen, like the one on the other new MacBook Pro, once you\u2019ve used one. So it\u2019s a good thing I haven\u2019t used that laptop yet.<\/p>\n The large haptic trackpad remains the best on any laptop, and the keyboard is\u2026 still fine. I have never loved Apple\u2019s laptop keyboards, but the keys are large and well-spaced and tolerable for typing on. I\u2019ve used worse<\/a>. The speakers, on either side of the keyboard deck, are excellent. The \u201cstudio-quality three-mic array\u201d is genuinely superb, and noise-canceling is good enough that when I was on a video call using the MacBook\u2019s speakers and mic, my coworker thought I was wearing headphones. That does not happen on my M1 Air.<\/p>\n Our review unit is silver, which is the only way to tell it apart from the space black models we tested in 2025 and 2024.<\/p>\n It still comes in silver and space black. It still has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an SD card slot, and the MagSafe charging port. Again, coming from an Air, that\u2019s just nice. I love not having to find a card reader to import photos. I love having ports on the right side of the laptop. And I\u2019ll never be mad at a headphone jack.<\/p>\n The webcam is the 12MP Center Stage one Apple\u2019s been using for the past few years, and it\u2019s good enough. If I move around too much during a call, it can take a minute to recenter, but the resolution is good. It\u2019s a huge step up from the one in my M1 MacBook Air.<\/p>\n Battery life is still exceptional. The first day I had the MacBook Pro, I kept it plugged in because I was setting it up and running benchmarks. The second day, I unplugged it at 9:30AM and didn\u2019t plug it back in until noon the next day. That\u2019s over 12 hours of screen-on use, including about three hours of video calls and the usual multitasking. Hard to complain about that!<\/p>\n MagSafe, twin Thunderbolt 4, and headphone jack on the left,<\/p>\n SD card slot, Thunderbolt 4, and HDMI on the right. Classic for a reason.<\/p>\n The M6 chip found in the MacBook Pro is the same 12-core chip in the M6 Mac Mini<\/a> and iMac<\/a>, with two super cores, four performance cores, and six efficiency cores. It\u2019s more than enough power for regular use, up to and including photo editing, the occasional video editing, and light gaming.<\/p>\n All three M6 machines had very similar performance in nearly all our benchmarks. The exceptions were Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and DaVinci Resolve benchmarks, where the 24GB of memory in our Mini review unit gave it a 5 to 10 percent edge over the iMac and this MacBook Pro, both of which have 16GB of memory.<\/p>\n Apple Silicon remains capable as hell. The MacBook Pro handled everything I threw at it, and I rarely heard the fan except during video-rendering benchmarks and while playing Cyberpunk 2077. Even then, it\u2019s a faint white noise-y whoosh rather than the irritating whine of many laptop fans.<\/p>\n Cyberpunk has recently been updated for Mac, with better MetalFX support and frame interpolation. Gaming on a MacBook keyboard is not really my idea of a good time, but I\u2019ve played a lot of Cyberpunk on my desktop, so I\u2019m familiar with the game. With upscaling and fake frames it\u2019s tolerable on the MacBook in a pinch, but the game really wants more powerful hardware. I also ran into a few graphical glitches, including one that turned everyone\u2019s skin bright green. That was fun.<\/p>\n The silver color is a little more forgiving than black.<\/p>\n Last year, we said the base M5 MacBook Pro, with 16GB memory and 512GB storage, was enough for most people. But that laptop cost $1,599 at the time; the M6 MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 with 16GB of unified memory and 1TB of storage. I\u2019m not going to complain too much about the price increase because it\u2019s happening everywhere; that\u2019s just the weather these days. Can\u2019t do anything about it.<\/p>\n It does put the base model MacBook Pro in a tight spot, however. MacBooks last a long time. Apple Silicon in particular holds up very well; every time we review a MacBook, we hear from people who are still perfectly happy with their M1 Pros or M1 MacBook Airs. My work machine is an M1 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM. It\u2019s getting a little long in the tooth \u2014 especially compared with the M6 I\u2019m typing this on \u2014 but it\u2019s hanging in there.<\/p>\n Apple Silicon ages so gracefully that if you\u2019re considering this particular MacBook Pro, you\u2019re probably either coming from a very old Intel MacBook, or you\u2019ve outgrown an older Air and you want more ports, a bigger screen, and better everything (or you\u2019re switching over from Windows). If you\u2019re considering spending upward of $2,000 on a new computer, you\u2019re probably going to keep it for a while. And if that\u2019s the case, you should get more than 16GB of memory. You\u2019ll feel the lack of RAM before you feel the processor age.<\/p>\n Now, if you\u2019re running local AI models, doing high-res video encoding or 3D rendering, you should go straight for an M5 Pro or Max model with as much RAM as you can afford. You also don\u2019t need me to tell you that. But if you\u2019re considering the M6 MacBook Pro \u2014 this laptop \u2014 you should still get more RAM. Even if you don\u2019t need it today, in five years you\u2019ll wish you had it.<\/p>\n But jumping from 16GB to 24GB of RAM without upgrading the storage or the screen puts you at $2,199; going to 36GB costs $2,399. And here\u2019s where you hit the upsell. That\u2019s only $100 less than the M5 Pro model with 24GB of RAM and a more powerful CPU and GPU. And at that point, you\u2019re only $400 away from the one with the OLED.<\/p>\n Is this the last we\u2019ll see of the mirror logo? <\/p>\n The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, but the best time to buy a laptop is next year.<\/p>\n The M6 MacBook Pro is a fantastic laptop at a good price \u2014 RAM and storage shortage taken into account. But it\u2019s also likely the last of its kind, and if you\u2019re considering buying one but it\u2019s not an emergency, you might be exactly the person who should wait for next year.<\/p>\n Mark Gurman reports that next year\u2019s entry M7 MacBook Pro will use the redesigned hardware<\/a> of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. That chassis is a little bit thinner but nearly half a pound lighter, which makes a difference when you\u2019re carrying around all the time. As my colleague David Pierce points out, the touchscreen part is whatever, but the OLED screen really is good. If you\u2019re considering the M5 Pro or Max model, it\u2019s worth spending extra for the redesigned model.<\/p>\n If you buy the M6 MacBook Pro today, you\u2019re still getting a great all-rounder laptop that\u2019ll last you the better part of a decade. Everything about it is good to great. You can\u2019t go wrong. But if your current laptop still works and you think you\u2019ll want the thinner, lighter OLED model, you might consider holding out just a little longer. Apple has shown us it can make an even better MacBook Pro; I can\u2019t wait to see what next year\u2019s looks like.<\/p>\n Photography by Nathan Edwards \/ The Verge<\/p>\n Apple MacBook Pro 14 M6 specs (as reviewed)<\/p>\n Display: 14.2-inch (3024 x 1964) 120Hz Mini-LEDProcessor: Apple M6 (12 CPU cores, 12 GPU cores)Memory: 16GB unified memoryStorage: 1TB SSDWebcam: 12-megapixel Center Stage camera with Desk ViewConnectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6Ports: 3x USB-C \/ Thunderbolt 4, SDXC card slot, HDMI 2.1, headphone \/ mic comboWeight: 3.4 poundsDimensions: 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inchesBattery: 72.4WhPrice: $1,999Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Nathan EdwardsClose Nathan Edwards<\/p>\n Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All by Nathan Edwards<\/a><\/p>\n AppleClose<\/p>\n Apple<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Apple<\/a><\/p>\n GadgetsClose<\/p>\n Gadgets<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Gadgets<\/a><\/p>\n Laptop ReviewsClose<\/p>\n Laptop Reviews<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Laptop Reviews<\/a><\/p>\n LaptopsClose<\/p>\n Laptops<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Laptops<\/a><\/p>\n macOSClose<\/p>\n macOS<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All macOS<\/a><\/p>\n ReviewsClose<\/p>\n Reviews<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/M6_MacbookPro_hero1.jpg\"\/)
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