MacBook Pro pre-orders open October 28 at 10:10 a.m. Pacific, alongside the iPad mini with A20 Pro and the iMac with M6, and all three arrive in stores on Friday, November 6. Apple lists education pricing on all three.
Apple announced the iPad mini on October 26, then the iMac with M6 and the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 on October 27. Apple has not announced the touchscreen MacBook Pro models yet.
The Cheapest Nano-Texture iPad Mini Costs $899
The iPad mini starts at $699 for 128GB, up $100 from the previous model’s $599. The nano-texture display is not offered on that tier and only comes on the 256GB and 512GB models, so the cheapest one is $899 and the 512GB version is $1,099.
The 256GB iPad mini keeps the 5-core CPU of the 128GB model, while the 512GB iPad mini moves to a 6-core CPU and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine. Adding cellular costs $150 at every storage tier. Education pricing brings the 128GB model down to $649.
12-Core iMac with M6 Adds Two Ports and Touch ID
The iMac with M6 starts at $1,499 with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, and the 12-core iMac with M6 starts at $1,699. That $1,499 starting price matches what the previous iMac cost after Apple’s June price increase. The $200 step up adds two CPU cores and two GPU cores.
The 12-core iMac with M6 also moves from two Thunderbolt ports to four, and it includes 2.5Gb Ethernet and a Touch ID keyboard. On the 10-core iMac with M6, Ethernet is $30 and the cheapest Touch ID keyboard is $80, so those two options alone cost $110. Education pricing is $1,449 for the 10-core model and $1,599 for the 12-core model.
MacBook Pro Pre-Orders Start at $1,999 with 16GB
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999, the same price the previous model cost after June. Apple’s headline 170GB/s memory bandwidth only applies to the 24GB and 32GB configurations, while the 16GB base model runs at 153GB/s.
The 24GB upgrade costs $200 and 32GB costs $400, while the nano-texture display adds another $150. Education pricing for the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,899.
The OLED touchscreen 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are expected to open for pre-order the same day, but Apple has not confirmed them. The 14-inch model is reportedly priced at $2,899, which would put it $900 above the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6.
Our Take
I would pre-order the 12-core iMac with M6 over the base model, since Ethernet and Touch ID alone cover more than half the price gap. On the MacBook Pro, the $200 for 24GB is the upgrade I would pay for, because it lifts memory bandwidth from 153GB/s to 170GB/s.
The iPad mini is the harder call, since the nano-texture version only starts at 256GB for $899. The iMac, iPad mini and 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 all ship Friday, November 6.
