It’s more of the same, but still pretty good. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget RATING: 9/10 Pros Excellent case Powerful M6 chip Excellent Liquid Retina display Tons of ports Cons More expensive than before No significant design changes When I reviewed the MacBook Pro M5 Max earlier this year, I predicted that it might soon feel outdated when Apple’s legendary touchscreen MacBook Pros arrive. This is even more true for the new M6 chip-powered MacBook Pro, which was briefly announced last week before the new touchscreen-equipped PROLED XDR MacBook Pros arrived. Those systems are clearly going to get the most attention this holiday season from Apple’s marketing team and deep-pocketed Mac fans, so where does that leave the humble entry-level MacBook Pro? The M6 MacBook Pro has more of the same design we’ve seen for years, with a slightly faster chip. And yet, at $1,999, it’s still a pretty attractive machine for anyone who isn’t crazy enough to spend an extra $900 on an OLED touchscreen and a slightly lighter system. Even the remnants of Apple are still miles ahead of most of the competition. What’s new with the M6 MacBook Pro? Devindra Hardawar for Engadget The biggest 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-a-chip, which is slightly more powerful than last year’s M5 chip and its 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores. The CPU 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 it to be twice as fast in AI tasks compared to the M5 chip, according to Apple. Apple’s own benchmarks suggest modest gains for the M6 chip. The company claims that it is 11.7 times faster in 3D rendering compared to the M1 MacBook Pro, while the M5 chip is 9.2 times faster than the previous system. The M6 is reportedly 3.2 times faster when playing 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 any time soon. As with the Mac mini, you’ll have to upgrade to the M5 Pro or M5 Max chips if you want more power, as they have significantly more CPU and GPU power. Those 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 has a maximum of 32GB of RAM at 170GB/s, while the M5 Pro can accommodate 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 rugged unibody case, and a healthy selection of ports (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 significantly different from the thinner 3-pound 14-inch PROLED MacBook Pro. Although we’ve seen most of this hardware before, I don’t mean to rule it out. There is certainty in battle-tested hardware designs, and for years Apple has taught most PC manufacturers when it comes to overall hardware quality. In use: Faster, but not noticeably Devindra Hardawar for Engadget I’ll say this right up front: the MacBook Pro M6 is another fast and reliable entry in Apple’s lineup. Our review unit, which was equipped with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, handled my daily workflow without any notable hiccups. But that’s been true for all MacBook Pros over the last decade: this one is slightly faster than the previous model. In the Geekbench 6 CPU test, the MacBook Pro M6 scored 4,458 points for single-threaded jobs and 19,077 points for multi-threaded tasks. Last year’s 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro was only slightly slower with 4,310 points single-threaded and 18,003 points multi-threaded. However, the M6’s more powerful graphics capabilities shined in the Geekbench 6 GPU test, with a score of 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 percent faster than the M5 in multithreaded performance. I was already quite impressed with the gaming performance of the M5 MacBook Pro, and the M6 chip took things a little further. Lies of P ran between 90 and 100 fps while playing at the highest resolution (3024 by 1890) with the graphics settings at maximum. That’s a 25fps gain over the M5 system, but it’s not something you’d really notice during gameplay. It’s also worth noting that I didn’t miss the PROLED XDR MacBook Pro’s touchscreen one bit. Apple’s large touchpad is still 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. And most importantly, it is bright enough to use outdoors in direct sunlight. Battery life remains excellent as well. The M6 MacBook Pro lasted nine hours and 35 minutes while running the MacBatteryBenchmark script, which simulates real-world programming workflows. In my testing, the battery hit 50 percent after six hours of continuous work, which involved juggling dozens of browser tabs, editing images, and making video calls. Should you buy the M6 MacBook Pro? Devindra Hardawar for Engadget While it’s a shame that its price has increased from $1,599 to $1,999 in the last year, the 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro is still the cheapest pro-grade laptop that Apple currently sells. Unless you’re willing to gamble on the used or refurbished market (something I wholeheartedly support), this is the MacBook Pro most people should consider. The M6 MacBook Pro 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 that point, you could also spend a little more to get the redesigned $2,899 PROLED MacBook Pro, which also has an M5 Pro chip and a lighter design. Summary Devindra Hardawar for Engadget It’s unclear how long Apple will be juggling multiple MacBook Pro models, but I’ve personally always been a fan of the entry-level 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 plenty of ports. The MacBook Pro M6 doesn’t bring much new, but it’s still one of the best laptops you can buy today.
