Apple Unveils Touchscreen MacBook Pro and M6 Chip Devices
The new 14-inch laptop starts at $2,899, while updated iPads, iMacs, and productivity apps launch alongside the hardware refresh.
By Neha Kapoor ·
Apple ended its week of product announcements on Wednesday with the debut of the first MacBook Pro featuring a touchscreen, a hardware shift that places a finger-driven interface at the center of its professional laptop line. The company’s CEO, John Ternus, presented the device, which allows users to scroll, swipe, and pinch directly on the screen. Apple stated that the touch sensor is built directly into the display panel rather than layered on top, a design choice intended to reduce latency.
The new laptop features a tandem OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 2,000 nits of brightness. The 14-inch model weighs three pounds, making it lighter than previous generations, and it reintroduces the illuminated Apple logo on the lid. This device is the first in the MacBook Pro lineup to include a Dynamic Island, a feature Apple says will display real-time updates, search for files, and facilitate Siri AI interactions. Pricing begins at $2,899 for the 14-inch model equipped with the M5 Pro chip and 16GB of memory. The 16-inch version starts at $3,399, and configurations with the M5 Max chip are also available.
In addition to the flagship laptop, Apple released an iPad Mini with an 8.5-inch OLED display. The device is 5.4mm thick, with bezels that are 24 percent slimmer than the previous generation. It includes an Acoustic Display, which pairs woofers with the screen to enhance bass and volume. The iPad Mini is powered by the A20 Pro chip and features a 12-megapixel camera in landscape orientation, along with an IP67 rating for water and dust protection. It starts at $699 for the 128GB Wi-Fi model.
The standard 14-inch MacBook Pro received an upgrade to the new M6 chip, replacing the previous generation hardware. This model also integrates Apple’s N1 networking chip, which supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The laptop includes three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, MagSafe 3, HDMI, and an SDXC memory card slot. Preorders for the M6 MacBook Pro begin today at a starting price of $1,999, which includes a 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of storage.
Apple’s iMac lineup also adopted the M6 chip, with the company claiming the new processor delivers up to five times faster on-device AI performance compared to the M4-powered model. The M6 iMac retains the same design and color variations as its predecessor and offers up to four Thunderbolt ports. It is available for preorder today, starting at $1,499 for the configuration with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB of memory, and 256GB of storage.
Software updates accompany the hardware releases, with AI chatbots added to Keynote, Numbers, and Pages. These chatbots utilize models from Apple and OpenAI to understand document context. In Keynote, the assistant can design and animate slides, while in Pages, it can create and restructure drafts. In Numbers, it calculates and visualizes data. Apple also introduced an AI-powered fill feature to Pixelmator Pro, a new AI assistant in Logic Pro, and direct access to MotionVFX in Final Cut Pro.
All new hardware, including the touchscreen MacBook Pro, iPad Mini, M6 MacBook Pro, and M6 iMac, is available for preorder starting today. Devices will begin shipping to customers on November 6.
Source: The Verge
