The MacBook Pro now comes with the M6 chip and N1 chip for better performance and connectivity

Apple has just updated its entry-level MacBook Pro. This is a spec-bump update, so don’t expect huge changes. The big news is that it’s now powered by the newer and faster M6 chip, and that it now has the N1 chip for better connectivity.

To recap, the M6 chip made its debut a few months ago in the Mac mini. It’s the first Mac chip to be built on a 2nm process, and that confers performance and efficiency improvements.

In the MacBook Pro, the M6 chip features 12 CPU cores and 12 GPU cores. It also has dual 16-core Neural Engines. It comes with 16GB of memory as standard, but as always, users with higher requirements and/or deeper pockets can spec their machines with 24GB or 32GB of memory. 1TB of storage is now standard, and the maximum you can go up to is 4TB.

With the N1 chip, the entry-level MacBook Pro now supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The N1 chip was previously only found on MacBook Pros with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The new MacBook Pro also has slightly better external display support. It can now drive two 4K displays at up to 165Hz (up from 144Hz).

Elsewhere, it remains the same, and that means it has three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, a full-size HDMI port, an SDXC card reader, and a MagSafe 3 port. The display is also unchanged. It’s a 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with a resolution of 3024 x 1964 pixels. You can also spec your unit with a display that has a matte nano-texture finish, though that will cost you an extra S$225.

Sadly, because of the ongoing global memory crisis, prices have gone up. This MacBook Pro now starts at S$2,699. If it’s any consolation, it now comes with 1TB of storage as standard – the 512GB model is no more. That said, it’s worth remembering that the 1TB version of the M5 entry-level MacBook Pro was S$2,499. 

Availability and pricing

The new M6 MacBook Pro will be available for pre-order starting 29 October, and it will be available in stores on 6 November. Prices start at S$2,699.

You can pre-order the new M6 MacBook Pro on the Apple Online Store, and they should be available on Apple’s official storefronts on Lazada and Shopee soon.