M6 MacBook Pro: Six new features coming later this year

Apple has a new M6 MacBook Pro rumored to launch later this year with a total design overhaul. Here are six new features expected with the M6 MacBook Pro.

#1: New design that’s thinner, lighter

The MacBook Pro design was last changed in 2021, but rumors indicate the next design overhaul is coming later this year.

Bloomberg calls it a “total redesign” that’s thinner and lighter than the current model.

No word yet on whether ports will be impacted, but I’d be surprised if Apple pushed the ‘thin, light’ angle too far this time around. All signs indicate it’s learned its lesson after the problematic pre-2021 design. And no doubt the enclosure still need to be thick enough for sufficient cooling under load.

#2: M6, M6 Pro, M6 Max chips

A new family of M6 chips is coming later this year, though it’s unclear if the MacBook Pro will be the first model to feature them or not.

We’re expecting larger-than-usual updates with the M6 generation, as it’s being built on a new 2nm process with other advancements also coming to the iPhone’s A20 Pro chip.

It’s unclear whether the M6 MacBook Pro rollout will happen all at once, or be split over multiple months like the M5 generation was, but rumors point to the former.

#3: Touchscreen, the first in a Mac

The Mac is getting touch support. And the M6 MacBook Pro will be the first model with a touchscreen.

Per Mark Gurman, Apple is adding touch to the Mac as a secondary input method—not a replacement for keyboard and trackpad.

macOS 27 will be optimized to provide more touch-friendly controls that also work well for anyone without a touch screen. And many of the standard touch gestures found in iOS and iPadOS are expected to be supported.

#4: OLED display

Every iPhone now has an OLED display, and the iPad Pro gained a gorgeous tandem OLED in 2024 too. But the Mac has been an outlier—until now.

The M6 MacBook Pro is set to adopt OLED, the first Mac to feature the display technology.

OLED should enable truer blacks, better contrast, and better off-angle viewing. It may also be part of why Apple can make this new MacBook Pro thinner.

#5: Dynamic Island

The 2021 MacBook Pro was the first Mac to gain a notch, and this redesigned M6 MacBook Pro will eliminate it.

Instead of a notch, the new MacBook Pro is expected to have a hole-punch camera cutout and gain a new software feature: the Dynamic Island.

Like on the iPhone, the Dynamic Island will serve both to mask the camera cutout via software, and also provide new utility in macOS.

Expect to see the Dynamic Island used for Live Activities, extending the current menu bar feature.

Wildcard #6: Cellular option possible with C2 modem

Apple has yet to offer a cellular-equipped Mac. But rumors indicate that might be changing soon.

In a late 2024 report on Apple’s in-house cellular modem plans, Mark Gurman wrote:

Apple is investigating the idea of bringing cellular connectivity to the Mac for the first time…But cellular connections are unlikely to come to the Mac before 2026, when Apple is planning a second-generation modem that includes support for faster speeds.

There’s certainly no guarantee that this is the year the Mac gains cellular. But with Apple’s C2 modem coming to iPhone 18 Pro around the same time, the timing could be right.

Which new M6 MacBook Pro features are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.

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