Apple has a new M6 MacBook Pro launching later this month with a 14-inch screen and the current industrial design. And with its M6 chip, there are three upgrades we can expect from the new MacBook Pro.
#1: Dual 16-core Neural Engine
If AI is in any way significant to your workflows—and with macOS 27’s AI features, it will be for more users—then the M6 MacBook Pro could be a big upgrade.
That’s because the M6 chip includes a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, up from the standard 16-core version available in M5 and prior. Per Apple:
M6 also introduces a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, providing up to 2x the peak compute over previous generations to make on-device AI workflows run even faster. System frameworks can automatically utilize both engines simultaneously, enabling applications to see faster model execution.
#2: 12-core CPU and GPU with powerful new cores
The base M6 chip offers a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU. Both are solid upgrades over the M5, which was limited to 10 cores each.
M6’s CPU cores are especially interesting, as Apple is bringing three distinct core types to its base chip for the first time. It has 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores. Here’s what Apple says about each core:
- Super cores: “blaze through single-threaded workloads”
- Performance cores: “use less power and join the super cores to run demanding multithreaded workloads”
- Efficiency cores: “handle everyday background tasks”
Previously only M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra provided super cores and performance cores in a single chip. But now these Pro-level capabilities are available for standard M6 users.
#3: Major efficiency gains to likely improve battery life
M6 is the first Apple chip built on a new 2nm process. And the company says that brings the benefit of “a major leap in performance and power efficiency.”
Currently the only product with an M6 is the new Mac mini, which doesn’t run on a battery.
But in the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and other upcoming M6 products, the new chip’s “major leap” in power efficiency is likely to enable longer battery life.
Apple could always opt to shrink the physical battery to offer comparable performance as before, but here’s hoping it uses M6’s improved efficiency to deliver better battery life instead.
What other new features do you want to see in the M6 MacBook Pro? Let us know in the comments.
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