TechGadgetsAppleThe M6 MacBook Pro is probably the last of its kindThe design is starting to show its age next to the lighter, brighter PROLED model, but the entry-level MacBook Pro is still great.If you buy something from a link, The Verge may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.by Nathan EdwardsNov 5, 2026, 2:00 PM UTCShareGiftIf you buy something from a link, The Verge may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.Pictured: A great screen, best-in-class laptop, fine keyboard, and a very comfortable blanket (sold separately). | Photo: Nathan Edwards / The VergeNathan Edwards is a senior reviews editor who’s been testing tech since 2007. Previously at Wirecutter and Maximum PC.
Current fixations: keyboards, DIY tech, and Linux.On November 6th, Apple will release an all-new MacBook Pro. It’s thinner and lighter and has a beautiful OLED touchscreen. It is very likely what every new MacBook Pro will look like in a couple of years.The M6 MacBook Pro, which is also out on the 6th, is not that laptop. Instead, it’s a straightforward chip bump of Apple’s entry-level MacBook Pro, in basically the same chassis Apple’s been using since 2021.
Everything that was great about the M5 MacBook Pro last year, and the M4 the year before, still applies. The M6 MacBook Pro is still a great all-around computer, and a nice step up from the MacBook Air. Processor, screen, speakers, ports, power, battery life: they’re all a little better than the Air’s. The keyboard and webcam are still solid; the trackpad is still best in class.
Inside the laptop, only the processor — which bumps up from a 10-core M5 to a 12-core M6 — and the N1 networking chip are new.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 — 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.Yes, the OLED model is great. Not that someone who’s 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. The question is: should you wait?8Verge ScoreApple MacBook Pro 14 (2026, M6)$1999$1999The 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$1999 at Apple$1999 at Best Buy$1999 at AmazonHow we rate and review productsThe entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro has only existed in its current form for two years. After the 2023 M3 model finally ditched the touchbar and butterfly keys, the M4 model brought it up to par with the “real” 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’s N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 (and also Thread, for what that’s worth.)Screen: AWebcam: AMic: BKeyboard: BTouchpad: APort selection: BSpeakers: ANumber of ugly stickers to remove: 0The rest of the hardware is the same as it’s been for two years, which is to say it’s still great. The 14.2-inch miniLED display is bright, beautiful, and color-accurate, with 3092 x 1964 resolution and up to 1000 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’s the sort of thing you don’t notice when all your screens are 60Hz, but once you go higher it’s awfully hard to go back.Of course, it’s also hard to go back from an OLED screen, like the one on the other new MacBook Pro, once you’ve used one.
So it’s a good thing I haven’t used that laptop yet.The large haptic trackpad remains the best on any laptop, and the keyboard is… still fine. I have never loved Apple’s laptop keyboards, but the keys are large and well-spaced and tolerable for typing on. I’ve used worse. The speakers, on either side of the keyboard deck, are excellent.
The “studio-quality three-mic array” is genuinely superb, and noise-cancelling is good enough that when I was on a video call using the MacBook’s speakers and mic, my coworker thought I was wearing headphones. That does not happen on my M1 Air.It still comes in silver and space black. It still has 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an SD card slot, and the MagSafe charging port. Again, coming from an Air, that’s 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’ll never be mad at a headphone jack.The webcam is the 12MP Center Stage one Apple’s been using for the past few years, and it’s good enough. If I move around too much during a call it can take a minute to recenter, but the resolution is good.
It’s a huge step up from the one in my M1 MacBook Air.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’t plug it back in until noon the next day. That’s over 12 hours of screen-on use, including about 3 hours of video calls and the usual multitasking.
Hard to complain about that!MagSafe, twin Thunderbolt 4, and headphone jack on the left,SD card slot, Thunderbolt 4, and HDMI on the right. Classic for a reason.The M6 chip found in the MacBook Pro is the same 12-core chip in the M6 Mac Mini and iMac, with 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores. It’s more than enough power for regular use, up to and including photo editing, the occasional video editing, and light gaming.RelatedThe Mac Mini is still mighty, just not as cheapHands-on with Apple’s touchscreen MacBook ProAll 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.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’s a faint white-noisey whoosh, rather than the irritating whine of many laptop fans.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’ve played a lot of Cyberpunk on my desktop, so I’m familiar with the game. With upscaling and fake frames it’s 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’s skin bright green. That was fun.The silver color is a little more forgiving than black.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’m not going to complain too much about the price increase because it’s happening everywhere; that’s just the weather these days.
Can’t do anything about it.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’s getting a lit
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