M6 MacBook Pro's 170GB/s Memory Bandwidth Skips Base 16GB Model

Tuesday October 27, 2026 6:55 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

The just-announced 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip features memory bandwidth of up to 170GB/s, up from 153GB/s in the M5 model, but notably the performance increase doesn't stretch to the base 16GB configuration.

Apple MacBook Pro 14 in with M6 hero scaled
According to Apple's tech specs page, the option for 16GB of unified memory remains limited to 153GB/s. That's identical to the M5 version, while only the new 24GB and 32GB configurations receive the faster 170GB/s memory bandwidth.

For comparison, the high-end MacBook Pro with M5 Pro chip offers 307GB/s memory bandwidth, and the high-end model with the M5 Max features up to 614GB/s memory bandwidth.

Pricing starts at $1,999, with 16GB of unified memory and 1TB of storage as standard. The new 14-inch MacBook Pro is available in Space Black and Silver, with configurations up to 32GB of memory and 4TB of storage. The new MacBook Pro is available to pre-order from Wednesday ahead of a November 6 launch.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro

Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Coming Soon)

Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

RIP, MacBook Ultra

Monday October 19, 2026 9:37 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple today sent out invites for an experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, and the "Pro and tell" tagline on the invitation likely means that the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled OLED displays will stick with MacBook Pro branding instead of the once-rumored "MacBook Ultra" name. The long-rumored "iPhone Ultra" ended up being named iPhone Duo, so speculation that Apple...

• 177 comments

Apple to Launch Touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro and OLED iPad mini on October 27

Thursday October 8, 2026 1:31 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Apple will introduce new OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro models and an OLED iPad mini "on or around" Tuesday, October 27, reports Bloomberg. The launch will also include an M6 14-inch MacBook Pro and an M6 iMac. The October 27 follows Apple's October 13 debut of a new smart home hub, a revamped Apple TV 4K, and a refreshed HomePod mini. Earlier this month, MacRumors reported that Apple would do ...

• 111 comments

Apple Now Inviting Media to October 28 'Launch Experience'

Thursday October 15, 2026 4:13 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

Apple has begun inviting selected members of the media to a product launch experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a post on X, Gurman described the gathering as an "all-day product launch experience" for touchscreen MacBooks, a new iPad mini, and Macs equipped with M6 chips. Gurman previously reported that Apple would introduce the...

• 89 comments

Top Rated Comments

BreuerEditor

42 minutes ago at 07:04 am

I'm genuinely curious if anyone, and I mean anyone, in the general public would even know what memory bandwidth means if they would be able to tell the difference from 153GB/s and 170GB/s for everyday computing. Something tells me that people getting the base model 14" MBP aren't measuring memory bandwidth.

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

dubiousgif

28 minutes ago at 07:18 am

My 6 year old M1 Max is looking at these numbers and wondering where the progress is. 400GB/s in 2021 vs. 170GB/s in 2026. And we're supposed to be impressed? Apple is slowly becoming the new Intel. Can't wait for another groundbreaking 5% improvement next year.

This is the base chip. The M5 Max has up to 614GB/s.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

iMac The Knife

44 minutes ago at 07:02 am

I'm shocked, shocked I tells ya! /s

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Spock

27 minutes ago at 07:18 am

I may be late to the party here but since when was the 14 in Pro 2,000 bucks! Wasn't it 1,499 and the 16 was 1,799. I already forgot my last MBP was in 2020, I forgot how much I paid but either way feels too much

The 16 has never been $1,799, it sat at $2,499 for a few years and now it is $2,699

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)