MacBook Pro M6 vs M5: Buy the New Model or the Discount?
Updated
On October 27 Apple replaced the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 with an M6 model at the same prices: $1,999, $2,199 and $2,399 for 16GB, 24GB and 32GB of memory, all with 1TB of storage. The M6 is on preorder for delivery from November 6. Apple no longer sells the M5, but retailers still have stock, so the real question is how large a discount makes the older chip the better buy.
The short answer
At the same price, buy the M6. For a like-for-like 16GB/1TB machine, a new M5 at $1,749 or less is our pick for office, study, coding and photo work. Within $150 of the M6's $1,999, take the M6. Between those prices, decide on how much GPU and on-device AI work you do. These are editorial thresholds, not observed offers.
Same List Price, So Only the Discount Matters
Apple priced each M6 configuration exactly where the matching M5 sat, so there is no list-price reason to buy the older model. An M5 makes sense only when a retailer cuts it enough to pay for the older chip. Compare the same memory and storage: a 16GB M5 is not a bargain against a 24GB M6 until you account for the $200 memory step.
New M6, Apple list
$1,999
16GB memory, 1TB storage, ships November 6.
Example M5 offer
$1,849
$150 off. Too small; the M6 is our default.
Example M5 offer
$1,749
$250 off. Worth it for everyday and office work.
The $1,849 and $1,749 figures are illustrative editorial thresholds, not live prices or guarantees of stock. Apply the same gaps to the 24GB ($2,199) and 32GB ($2,399) models. Taxes and shipping can change the final gap.
Retailers often clear an outgoing model during the late-November sales; Black Friday is November 27 this year. That is a pattern, not a promise, and popular configurations can sell out first. If you need a laptop now, judge today's offer against the thresholds above rather than waiting for a deeper cut that may not come.
What Apple’s M6 Speed Claims Cover
The M6 has a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, two more of each than the M5, plus a Neural Accelerator in every GPU core and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. Apple's comparisons against the M5 MacBook Pro center on graphics and AI. Its announcement does not give a single CPU figure against M5; the closest is an Xcode build, up to 1.3× faster.
Apple's selected M6-versus-M5 maximum claims
M5 is the 100 baseline within each separate workload
Manufacturer claims from Apple's October 27, 2026 announcement, not independent TheresMac benchmarks. Apple's M5 baseline was a 14-inch MacBook Pro with 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 32GB memory and 4TB SSD; a 16GB/1TB pair will not necessarily show the same gaps.
Memory matters more on the M6 than the headline suggests. Apple lists 170GB/s of memory bandwidth for the 24GB and 32GB M6, but 153GB/s for the 16GB model, the same figure as the M5. Large local language models and heavy GPU scenes lean on bandwidth, so if those workloads are why you are upgrading, the 24GB M6 is the configuration where the gains are most likely to show.
For browsing, documents, video calls, photo libraries and most development, an M5 with the same memory is still a fast machine; a 20 to 30 percent gain in specific tasks will not change how those feel day to day. Both chips get Apple Intelligence in macOS 27, so the software features are not a reason to choose one over the other, though feature, language and regional availability can still differ.
What Changed and What Did Not
| Feature | MacBook Pro M6 | MacBook Pro M5 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU / GPU cores | 12 / 12 | 10 / 10 |
| Neural Engine | Dual 16-core | 16-core |
| Memory bandwidth | 153GB/s (16GB), 170GB/s (24GB, 32GB) | 153GB/s |
| Memory / storage | 16GB to 32GB / 1TB standard | 16GB to 32GB / 512GB or 1TB |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Display | 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR, ProMotion | Same |
| Ports | Three Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3 | Same |
| Battery (Apple rating) | Up to 24 hours video streaming | Up to 24 hours video streaming |
| Price | $1,999, $2,199, $2,399 at Apple | Retailer stock only |
Apple specifications for the M6 and M5 14-inch MacBook Pro. Battery ratings are Apple's US test figures; actual life varies with use and configuration.
Outside the chip, the two laptops are the same: the 14.2-inch mini-LED display with ProMotion and up to 1,600 nits peak HDR, the 3.4-pound aluminum body, the ports and the 70W adapter in the box. The M6 adds Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, which help only if your router or accessories support them. If you were hoping for the new OLED screen, that is a different, more expensive laptop: the PROLED MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 with M5 Pro.
Four Checks Before Buying the M5
Match the configuration
Compare 16GB with 16GB and 1TB with 1TB. An older M5 with 512GB of storage is a different, cheaper machine; price it against what the M6 would cost with the same memory.
Confirm it is new
Open-box, renewed and refurbished listings can sit next to new stock. Each is a different promise; read the condition, who inspected it and the warranty.
Read the return window
Holiday return windows can be long or short depending on the retailer. Include any restocking fee in the real price.
Check the offer is live
An old low price on an out-of-stock page is not an offer. Confirm the unit, the price in the cart and the delivery date before deciding.
Which MacBook Pro Should You Buy?
Buy the M6 if the price gap is small, if you render, run local AI models or build large projects, or if you want Wi-Fi 7 in a laptop you will keep for years. Choose 24GB if those workloads are the point, since that is where the M6's extra memory bandwidth starts. Buy a new M5 if a retailer takes $250 or more off a matching configuration and your work is mostly everyday, because the screen, battery, ports and body are the same.
Track M6 MacBook Pro prices and M5 MacBook Pro offers, then check the final price and condition at the retailer. Deciding between a MacBook Pro and an Air instead? Read MacBook Air M5 vs MacBook Pro, or see Should You Buy a Mac Now or Wait? for every model.
Sources: Apple's M6 MacBook Pro announcement and testing notes, Apple's current MacBook Pro specifications and Apple's M5 14-inch MacBook Pro specifications. Prices are Apple US list prices before tax, checked November 1, 2026. Retailer stock, prices and terms change.