Apple has announced updates for the entry-level iMac and 14-inch MacBook Pro. Both machines receive the M6 chip, introduced in the Mac mini several weeks ago.
The M6 is split into two variants for the iMac. Choosing the “M6 chip with two Thunderbolt ports” option gets you a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, while choosing “M6 chip with four Thunderbolt ports” gets you 12 cores for each instead. The dual-port variant maxes out at 24GB RAM and 1TB storage, while the quad-port variant maxes out at 32GB RAM and 2TB storage.
There is only one M6 chip option for the MacBook Pro: the one with the 12-core GPU and CPU. It is limited to 32 GB of RAM, but can reach 4 TB of storage.
This is a more substantial update for the iMac, since its previous update introduced the M4. Apple skipped the M5 and went straight to the M6 here. In terms of performance gains from the M4 to the M6, Apple said that with the Mac mini, users can expect up to 40% faster CPU performance, up to twice the graphics performance, and nearly five times faster on-device AI. All of this is largely in line with what we saw when we tested the M6 Mac mini last month, and users of the new iMac should expect similar numbers.
Gn tech
