Apple's New M6 MacBook Pro Stays $1,999, but Storage Upgrades Cost More

The 14-inch laptop's 4TB upgrade now adds $1,500, up from $1,200; preorders open Wednesday and the first machines arrive Nov. 6.

The 4-terabyte upgrade on Apple's new 14-inch MacBook Pro costs $300 more than last year's, though the laptop's starting price hasn't budged.

Apple announced the M6 version Tuesday. It starts at $1,999 with 16GB of memory and a 1TB drive, preorders open Wednesday, and the first machines arrive Nov. 6. The Verge reported Tuesday that the base price is the same as last year's M5 model. Going to 2TB now adds $500 and going to 4TB adds $1,500, up from $1,200, and The Verge blamed the current memory shortage for the increase.

Keep that number in mind when reading Apple's own pitch. The company's press release calls the laptop "an even more compelling value" and points students to an education price of $1,899. Through Apple's leasing program it starts at $38.99 a month for 36 months, before taxes and trade-in credit.

Here's what the money buys, according to Apple: an M6 chip with a 12-core CPU, two cores more than the M5, and graphics up to 30 percent faster than the M5. Apple says the battery lasts up to 24 hours, which it calls the longest of any Mac. The Verge noted that the M6 is Apple's first 2-nanometer chip, though it isn't brand-new: it first appeared in the Mac Mini in August.

The other real change is wireless. Until now, The Verge said, Apple's N1 networking chip lived only in the pricier MacBook Pros built around the M5 Pro and M5 Max; this year the base model gets it, and with it Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The ports, the 12-megapixel camera and the display are the same as before.

Buyers who want the bigger laptop got nothing Tuesday. The 16-inch MacBook Pro didn't get an M6 at all and still comes only with the older M5 Pro or M5 Max, Engadget noted.

That gap may be why Wednesday matters. Apple has invited reporters to an in-person "experience" in Los Angeles starting at 10 a.m. Pacific, MacRumors reported. Citing Bloomberg, MacRumors also reported that Apple plans touchscreen MacBook Pros with OLED displays in 14- and 16-inch sizes, thinner and lighter than today's models.

So preorders for the $1,999 laptop open on the same day that, if Bloomberg is right, reporters in L.A. get their hands on the touchscreen version.

Source: The Verge, retrieved October 27, 2026. Other sources: Apple, engadget.com, macrumors.com, macrumors.com (2).