Apple releases 24-inch iMac with M6 chip and entry-level MacBook Pro, iMac starting at 12,499 yuan

Apple this week is densely rolling out new products, and on the eve of the touchscreen MacBook Pro's debut, it first launched a 24-inch iMac and a 14-inch entry-level MacBook Pro equipped with the M6 chip.

The two new machines will be available for pre-order at 1:10 a.m. on October 29 and will officially ship on November 6. The new iMac starts at 12,499 yuan, and the MacBook Pro starts at 15,999 yuan.

Apple said the M6 chip gives the new iMac five times the performance improvement on artificial intelligence tasks compared with the previous-generation model, while the entry-level MacBook Pro's graphics processing speed is 30% faster than the previous generation.

This launch is the second wave of Apple's new-product offensive this week. On Monday the company had just updated the iPad mini, adding screen upgrades and water-resistance features. As Wall Street CN mentioned, Apple will close out this week's product launches on Wednesday with its first-ever touchscreen MacBook Pro.

According to Bloomberg, the touchscreen Mac will become the company's most expensive laptop, and it has discussed pricing the new 14-inch Mac at $2,899 and the 16-inch model at at least $3,399.

The M6 chip becomes the core upgrade, while the exterior continues the previous generation's design

The new iMac and MacBook Pro are highly similar in appearance to the previous-generation products, with the main changes concentrated in internal hardware. Both models are equipped with the M6 chip—the chip made its debut with the Mac mini in September this year.

In this update, the iMac jumps from the M4 chip to the M6, while the MacBook Pro just got the M5 chip last year, making this iteration cycle relatively shorter.

In terms of connectivity, both new machines support Bluetooth 6 and WiFi 7, and the new MacBook Pro also gets faster charging speeds.

Apple is currently still selling high-end MacBook Pro models equipped with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, whose main processor and graphics core specifications are both higher than the entry-level M6 model released this time.

On Wednesday this week, Apple will release the first MacBook Pro in history equipped with a touchscreen, ending the company's more than two-decade stance of resisting touchscreen laptops.

The new touchscreen MacBook Pro will adopt a thinner and lighter body design, narrower screen bezels, and introduce OLED display technology.

Apple's computer product line replacement roadmap extends to 2028

This round of intensive updates is part of Apple's broader product planning.

According to Bloomberg News, in addition to the touchscreen MacBook Pro, Apple also plans to launch refreshed MacBook Neo and MacBook Air models in the first half of next year.

On the chip roadmap, Apple is expected to release M7, M7 Pro and M7 Max chips in 2027 and launch a redesigned entry-level MacBook Pro; the M7 Ultra chip and the new Mac Studio are scheduled to be launched in 2028.

Apple is continuing to advance the comprehensive renewal of its computer product line to meet growing demand for artificial intelligence applications. The two new products released this time are milestone nodes in this process, not the endpoint. Risk disclosure and disclaimer

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