Older M5 MacBook Pro sells for $200 less than the new M6 model

Technology outlet Wired says that in the US market, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with Apple's M5 chip is currently a better buy than the M6 version Apple released a month ago. The two laptops share the same specifications apart from the processor, yet the M5 model can be bought at Amazon and Walmart for $200 less.

How the M5 and M6 differ

The reviewer argues that the extra cost of the M6 is hard to justify. The newer chip has two additional CPU and GPU cores, which account for most of its gains, but the article describes it as one of the smaller generational Apple Silicon improvements in the past six years. The main difference is in AI performance, owing to a second 16-core Neural Engine and faster memory bandwidth. The author does not expect the gap to be very noticeable in daily work or content creation. The base 14-inch MacBook Pro is also not a true pro machine in performance terms, because it uses the same M5 chip found in the MacBook Air and iPad Pro. The only other real difference is wireless connectivity, as the M6 model supports Wi-Fi 7.

An alternative: the 15-inch MacBook Air

The outlet also suggests considering the 15-inch MacBook Air with the M5 chip. The key difference from the MacBook Pro is the display: the Pro's mini-LED panel is brighter and more colorful, and delivers impressive HDR. It also has more ports, including HDMI and an SD card slot, plus USB-C ports on both sides of the body so it can be charged from either side.

The 15-inch MacBook Air with 16 GB of memory and 1 TB of storage is currently priced at $1,549. That is its lowest price since June and $150 below Apple's retail price.

Wired concludes that whether buyers choose the thinner MacBook Air or the MacBook Pro with its better screen, both M5 models are good deals right now, while the same cannot be said for the M6 MacBook Pro.