The new MacBook Pro M6 has all the updates we’ve come to expect from yearly iterations. That raises the question: is it a meaningful upgrade over the MacBook Pro M5? To answer that, I’ll outline all the upgrades and what has stayed the same to help you decide whether you need to upgrade.

Here are the biggest upgrades between the MacBook Pro M6 and the MacBook Pro M5 that you need to know.

MacBook Pro M6 vs MacBook Pro M5: What’s different?

Price

The first big difference between the new MacBook Pro and the previous model is the starting price. As I said in the intro, this new MacBook Pro is significantly more expensive.

Whereas the M5 MacBook Pro originally cost $1,599, the new model starts at $1,999. While that’s actually the current price of the M5 MacBook Pro, thanks to RAMageddon, that’s a small consolation. And of course, choosing more storage and RAM will bump up the price even further.

Apple M6 chip

Next up is the inclusion of an Apple M6. Like the A20 Pro chip in the iPhone Duo, this new processor is based on TSMC’s 2-nanometer architecture that’s meant to deliver notable power and efficiency gains over M5. Based on our testing of both chips, said gains should be around 10-15%.

Compared to the M5 chip's 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, the M6 upgrades both by adding two extra cores each. It also incorporates a Dual 16-core Neural Engine designed for machine learning and AI tasks.

Apple says that the 12-core GPU delivers up to 25 percent faster AI performance and up to 30 percent faster graphics processing than the M5.

Furthermore, the Neural Engine is enhanced by dedicated Neural Accelerators built into each GPU core, giving the M6 MacBook Pro a substantial edge when running AI-driven creative software.

While we need to bring the MacBook Pro M6 into our lab to see what it can do, we have a sense of what to expect from our testing of the new Mac mini M6. As you can see above, there are noticeable performance gains, though nothing earth-shattering. That said, you’ll certainly feel the difference if you’re still using an M1 or M2 MacBook Pro.

Connectivity and battery life

Connectivity also gets a nice upgrade on the MacBook Pro M6, as this model features Apple's N1 chip, which supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

This delivers higher throughput and lower networking latency than the previous model’s Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. On top of that, Bluetooth 6 offers better power efficiency and enhanced location tracking for wireless peripherals, such as headphones and game controllers.

Speaking of power efficiency, Apple claims the M6 MacBook Pro delivers up to 24 hours of battery life. We’ll need to run our battery test to confirm, but given that the M5 MacBook Pro lasted 18 hours, 24 hours might not be too far off.

MacBook Pro M6 vs MacBook Pro M5: What’s the same?

Design

Apple’s MacBook Pro line has featured the same design since late 2021 and things haven’t changed with the M6 model. That means we get another sturdy yet light slab of machined aluminum that’s easy to travel with and use.

The MacBook Pro M6 has the same dimensions (12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches) and weight (3.4 pounds), along with identical color choices in Space Black and Silver. The port selection remains unchanged as well, offering an SDXC card slot, three Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports, an HDMI port, MagSafe 3 charging, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Display

Apple has kept the 14.2-inch Mini-LED display running at 120Hz ProMotion for the M6 MacBook Pro refresh. We still have the notch cutout at the top, and no Dynamic Island-like functionality. If rumors are true, that's an upgrade reserved for the still-unannounced MacBook Pro OLED.

Since the display isn’t different, our benchmarks for the MacBook Pro M5 should be virtually identical on the new model. That means you’ll get excellent color representation (sRGB and DCI-P3) and color accuracy (Delta-E). Even without an OLED, the M6 MacBook Pro’s mini-LED panel should be a feast for the eyes.

Other features

Here is a brief rundown of everything else that’s the same on the new MacBook Pro M6.

• 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View: Desk View can be hit or miss, but the webcam itself should deliver the same sharp and colorful photo and video quality as previous MacBook Pro models.
• Sound system: As before, the MacBook Pro M6 has a six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio and force-cancelling woofers. That means you’ll get exceptional audio quality for a laptop. There’s also a three-mic array that should also do a good job of capturing your voice during video calls and recordings.
• Media engine: The MacBook Pro M6 supports H.264/HEVC/ProRes/ProRes RAW + AV1 decode.

MacBook Pro M6 vs MacBook Pro M5: Outlook

As expected, the 14-inch MacBook Pro M6 is largely a modest refresh of previous models. But while there are no revolutionary upgrades, the M6 chip should provide meaningful performance and efficiency boosts. This is especially true for anyone still using an older M-series MacBook Pro or an even more ancient Intel model.

If you fall into the latter camp, then the MacBook Pro M6 is worth considering, even if it costs much more than before. However, anyone still using an M5- or even M4-powered MacBook Pro might want to reconsider, as those machines are still plenty powerful.

The MacBook Pro M6 arrives on November 6, so stay tuned for our full review where we’ll put Apple’s new flagship laptop through its paces.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple event LIVE: MacBook Pro M6 and iMac M6 just announced ahead of 'Pro and Tell'
• Apple unveils new iMac with M6 — here are all the upgrades
• Apple iPhone Duo 2 with Face ID is reportedly being tested even before the first foldable hits shelves

According to Apple, the M6 MacBook Pro's 12-core GPU delivers up to 30 percent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster AI workloads compared to the M5 chip. Meanwhile, graphics performance is up to 11x faster and AI performance is up to 13x faster compared to the capabilities of the M1 chip.

Apple's new 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro starts at $1,999. Pre-orders start at 10:10 a.m. PT on October 28. Pre-order now and you're set to get your new MacBook on November 6.

As well as the M6 chip, the MacBook Pro M6 features a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina display (you can opt for a Nano-Texture coating to reduce glare for an extra $150.) The base model comes with 16GB unified memory and 1TB storage. You also get a 70W power adaptor in the box.

In terms of ports, there are three Thunderbolt 4s on board, as well as a MagSafe 3 port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, HDMI port and SDXC card slot. The M6 MacBook Pro also gets Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support, and the option for two external displays.

There's already a lot to be impressed with about the MacBook Pro M6. We put the Mac mini M6 up against the MacBook Pro M5 Pro and MacBook Pro M5 Max in single-core Geekbench 6.7 tests, where the M6 chip came out on top. The new chip didn't take first place in the multi-core tests, but these improvements are still good to see.

As part of Apple's "Pro and tell" announcements this week, we now have a brand new MacBook Pro to compliment the iMac and yesterday's iPad mini 8 reveal. If the rumors are true, then we may be in line for one more MacBook-related reveal this week: the highly-anticipated touchscreen MacBook Pro OLED.

But let's return to this device which, sadly, doesn't come with a touchscreen or much in the way of a new design. Reportedly, Apple is saving its MacBook Pro redesign for the M7 version of the machine next year. But then again, criticizing the MacBook Pro for its design seems churlish — the thin and light aluminum unibody enclosure conceals a vast amount of power and is just as good to look at now as it's always been.

As with the new iMac, the M6 MacBook Pro will ship with macOS 27 Golden Gate, which includes the next version of Apple Intelligence and Siri AI.

Here's everything we know about the new M6 MacBook Pro.

M6 MacBook Pro: Price and release date

The new M6 MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 or $38.99 per month for 12 months. That gets you the default configuration of an M6 chip, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

In the U.K., the pricing starts at £1,999 and pre-orders in both regions begin on Wednesday, October 28. Shipping will begin on November 6.

In line with just about every other consumer electronics release this year, that's a price increase over the $1,599 starting cost of last year's 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro. Of course, since then Apple put the pricing up by $300 in June which makes this technically not a price hike... but still — it's a higher cost in my book thanks to ongoing component and memory shortages driven by AI demand.

M6 MacBook Pro: Performance

The biggest single reason for picking up the M6 MacBook Pro is in the name: Apple's M6 chip follows the A20 Pro inside the iPhone Duo and moves to a 2-nanometer architecture that'll deliver a notable power and efficiency gain over previous models.

We've seen the M6 chip only in one Mac product so far; the latest Mac mini and in our review we noted its performance "really shone" and "didn't miss a beat" even when we put it under extreme multitasking.

Here's a breakdown of how the chip inside the Mac mini held up against the same benchmarking tests as the M5 and M5 Pro chips inside last year's MacBook Pro.

Specific performance will, of course, be slightly different for this machine but the above results should give you an indication of how much more powerful it's likely to be over last year's MacBook Pro. It likely won't be enough to convince M5 owners to jump, but anyone still using an M1 or M2 MacBook Pro will find the M6 is the upgrade they've been waiting for.

The M5 chip consisted of a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU while the M6 improves that by two additional cores in both the CPU and the GPU. In addition, it's got a Dual 16-core Neural Engine for AI and machine learning that could take the fight to Nvidia's RTX Spark machines that are specifically targeting on-device AI workloads.

Apple says the 12-core GPU delivers up to 30 percent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster AI workloads when compared to M5.

The Neural Engine is also supported by Neural Accelerators in each GPU core that should mean the M6 MacBook Pro is streets ahead when it comes to using AI-powered creative tools.

M6 MacBook Pro: Design

We could have seen this one coming a mile away, but Apple hasn't changed up the outward design of the MacBook Pro for the 2026 iteration. In fact, it's largely the same as the design we've had since 2021: a solid slab of machined aluminium that's both sturdy and light given the amount of power under the hood.

The M6 MacBook Pro retains the same 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inch dimensions and 3.4 pound weight as the previous generation and the color options remain a choice between Silver and Space Black.

Apple has kept the 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display running at 120Hz ProMotion for the M6 MacBook Pro refresh. We still have the notch cutout at the top, squashing the rumor Apple would switch it up for an iPhone-style Dynamic Island this time around. And, as mentioned up top, there's no touchscreen here for interacting with macOS 27 Golden Gate.

When it comes to ports, the M6 MacBook Pro keeps the current physical I/O layout: you get three Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports, an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and MagSafe 3 charging.

M6 MacBook Pro: Networking and battery life

Alongside the performance from the new M6 chip, the MacBook Pro also benefits from receiving Apple's N1 chip and a boost to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

The current model still uses Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 so the M6 refresh will give users lower networking latency and higher throughput. Bluetooth 6 leads to better distance tracking and more power efficiency for wireless accessories like game controllers or a pair of headphones.

Apple says the M6 MacBook Pro's battery life gets up to 14 additional hours for Intel-based upgraders and up to four more hours for users coming from M1, delivering up to 24 hours overall, so users can get more done on a single charge.

M6 MacBook Pro: Outlook

The MacBook Pro refresh is pretty customary once October rolls around and Apple has delivered more or less what we expected here: no big design changes but whole host of extra power and battery life efficiency.

We'll reserve judgement until we've got the new M6 MacBook Pro into the Tom's Guide lab for benchmarking but it's safe to say the new chip is going to deliver in some pretty clear-cut ways.

Anyone upgrading from an M1, M2 or older Intel MacBook Pro will see a dramatic leap in performance and read/write speeds. Creative professionals and anyone working with local AI will benefit from the additional power of Apple's new chip.

However, for those already using an M4 or M5 machine, there may be less of a reason to upgrade. Especially since the potential reveal of a MacBook Pro OLED tomorrow could easily eclipse today's news for many MacBook fans.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple iPhone Duo 2 with Face ID is reportedly being tested even before the first foldable hits shelves
• I put the iPhone Duo vs. Galaxy Fold 8 through a 10-round photo face-off — and there's a clear winner
• 'Polished but rough': The common flaws in the iPhone Duo found by nine different reviewers

Forget iPhone Duo and HomeView. This is probably the biggest week of Apple announcements of 2026, as the Cupertino crew looks set to announce a new OLED MacBook Pro with a touchscreen.

There’s much more too. Apple’s already jumped the gun and announced the iPad mini 8, which makes me think we’re getting daily announcements — today we received the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac, with the OLED main event coming Wednesday.

And on this live blog, we will cover every single announcement as it happens — exploring every nook and cranny of leaks and rumors and breaking down whether these are the right machines for you. So keep us bookmarked!

What has been announced so far?

• iPad mini 8: OLED screen, under-display speakers, A20 Pro, starts at $699. Pre-ordering starts Wednesday, October 28
• M6 iMac: Powerful M6 chip, 7 colors, 24‑inch 4.5K Retina display, Pre-ordering starts Wednesday, October 28
• M6 MacBook Pro: 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, up to 24 hours of battery life, Powerful M6 chip, Pre-ordering starts Wednesday, October 28

What may be announced this week?

• M6 MacBook Pro (Announced today): Same mini-LED design you’re used to, but with M6 inside.
• M6 iMac (Announced today): Same design as before, but with M6 inside.
• OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro (PREDICTED ANNOUNCEMENT WEDNESDAY): OLED touchscreen, Dynamic Island, M5 Pro/Max. Predicted starting price $2,999

LIVE UPDATES

The update is huge but also comes with a $100 price increase, meaning the new iPad mini starts at $699, or $58.25 per month for 12 months. Fortunately, Apple also increased the trade-in value for older iPads.

It's not a massive increase — $20 more than previous rates at most — but it might help take some of the sting away from the new price tag.

As a reminder, this depends on the model. A newer iPad mini 7 will get you more money, and the tablet's condition matters, too. The numbers we're showing here are potentially what you can get if everything is in good shape.

MacBook trade-in values

This week we're expecting Apple to introduce a new version of the MacBook Pro, likely featuring the M6 chip that we just tested in the updated Mac mini. Additionally, like the iPad mini 8, we should also see a new MacBook Pro with a touchscreen OLED display, a first for Apple.

Like the iPad trade-in program, the Mac and MacBook version will also get a bit more money. Unfortunately, that suggests that the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Ultra will be far more expensive than last year's models.

We're looking at a potential $3,000 price tag for the OLED MacBook.

With that in mind, here's what you could get for trading in your MacBook or Mac.

Right now, we know that pre-orders for the iPad mini 8 will open up on Wednesday, October 28, with shipping beginning on November 6. Presumably, the new MacBooks will have a similar pre-order and shipping window.

How to trade in your iPad or Mac

If you haven't traded in with Apple before, you can swap out your device online or at an Apple Store.

In-store is pretty straightforward. You'll want to unpair any accessories, back up the device and sign out of services like iCloud, iTunes and the App Store. For an iPad, you don't need to erase anything as an Apple specialist will help you with that.

On a Mac, however, Apple requests you erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS. Once those are done, take it into an Apple Store where a specialist will inspect the device and give you a value; if it has no value, Apple will recycle the device.

If you go the online route, you'll need your device's serial number. Plus, you'll do it as part of purchasing a new Apple device. Adding the device is part of the checkout process. Apple will send you a trade-in confirmation email with instructions for backing up your data and prepping the device.

Finally, you can mail the device in or drop it off at an Apple Store. The company will include step-by-step instructions for this part in the confirmation email.

More from Tom's Guide

• The iPhone Duo just came out, and owners are already seeing screens crack at the hinge
• After spending three months testing iOS 27, these 5 features are my absolute favorite
• Apple iPhone Duo 2 with Face ID is reportedly being tested even before the first foldable hits shelves

This time around, Apple is widely expected to unveil OLED MacBooks in both 14-inch and 16-inch variants. And, at long, long last, Apple will make the jump to a full touchscreen for the first time ever. Slight sidebar here; my colleague Jason got tired of waiting and has already strapped a touchscreen to his MacBook Pro.

Mark Gurman, the Apple Whisperer himself, confirmed in a report over the weekend these machines are coming but added there'll be a twist to the tail. Although the MacBook Pro OLEDs will come with touch enabled, they'll be saddled with an M5 Pro and M5 Max chipset, while an also-announced non-touch MacBook Pro 14-inch will debut with the brand new M6 chip. Strange stuff indeed.

But there's going to be more on offer this week than just the MacBook OLED. Apple has today announced a refreshed iPad mini 8 — so let's dig into exactly what you can expect to see at Apple's "Pro and tell" event this week.

Apple 'Pro and tell': When is it?

Apple's "Pro and tell" event is taking place on Wednesday, October 28 and, just like the "Welcome home" showcase a couple of weeks ago, it was teased by Apple's senior vice president of marketing, Greg Joswiak.

There has been very little information beyond the name of the event, but some journalists (Tom's Guide included) have been invited to Los Angeles for an in-person presentation at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 5pm GMT on Wednesday, October 28.

We haven't seen any details on a livestream and following today's surprise iPad mini 8 announcement, it seems like Apple's plan is to drip-feed the announcements between now and Wednesday. We may see a few announcement videos and corresponding press releases posted to Apple's newsroom over the next few days.

Finally, once the products are out in the open, Apple will host its showcase on Wednesday giving media the chance to go hands-on with them. Of course, we'll be giving you up-to-the-minute reports as it happens, so stay tuned to Tom's Guide.

Apple 'Pro and tell': Confirmed and rumored products

If the rumors are to be believed, we could see up to four different devices unveiled by Wednesday.

Let's take a look at each one of them in turn.

Confirmed: iPad mini 8

The new iPad mini 8 is official and swaps the 8.3-inch LCD on the iPad mini 7 for a larger 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel. As a result, the tablet is thinner and lighter.

Another design upgrade is IP67 water and dust resistance. The iPad mini 8 is also powered by the A20 Pro chip, which should make it the fastest iPad mini yet.

You can read everything about the iPad mini 8 right here.

Rumored: MacBook Pro OLED

The most exciting new product likely to launch is the touchscreen-enabled MacBook Pro I mentioned up top. This could be the biggest upgrade to the MacBook product line in years but will require some heavy tweaks to macOS 27 to make it more touch-friendly. Considering Apple has been refining iPadOS for years, this isn't a chasm that'll be difficult to cross.

Elsewhere, the benefits of and OLED display will be hard to beat. You can expect a much better contrast with deeper blacks that the already-impressive Liquid Retina XDR display on the existing MacBook Pro.

As mentioned above, Mark Gurman seems to believe the MacBook Pro OLED (MacBook PrOLED?) will arrive with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips instead of an M6 chip. It will reportedly come in 14- and 16-inch variants and will be slimmer and lighter than the current MacBook Pro. Expect a sky-high price tag, though. Possibly as high as $2,399 for the 14-inch model and $3,599 for the 16-inch variant.

Rumored: M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch)

Alongside the MacBook Pro OLED, it's likely we'll also see an upgrade to the base level MacBook Pro, bumping it from the M5 chip to the M6 that was first unveiled inside the Mac Mini earlier this year.

Some rumors suggest we'll get a hole-punch front-facing camera in place of the current notch. Otherwise, it's likely to be the exact same outer shell as the current 14-inch MacBook Pros.

Rumored: M6 iMac

Following in the footsteps of the upgraded M6 MacBook Pro it's been heavily rumored we'll also see a new version of the iMac with the M6 chip on board. As with the M6 MacBook Pro, the M6 iMac will be an iterative upgrade that likely consists of a chip upgrade and little change to the design or the screen.

The current iMac features a 24-inch 4.5k Retina display with a 4,480 x 2,520 resolution and a max brightness of 500 nits and I'd expect to see the 2026 model remain unchanged.

There may be a lot of potential iMac customers out there hoping Apple will give its all-in-one the touchscreen treatment. Sadly, that doesn't look like it's on the cards for this week either.

Apple 'Pro and tell': Prices and should I buy?

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but judging by the way prices have skyrocketed this year, it's unlikely these new Apple products are going to be easy on the wallet.

For example, the new iPad mini starts at $699, or $58.25 per month for 12 months, for the Wi-Fi model, and $849, or $70.75 per month for 12 months, for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. That's a big jump from the $499 starting price of the iPad mini 7 a couple of years ago and I expect the other devices announced this week to follow suit.

However, in some cases if you've been holding out on an upgrade for awhile, this could be the time to make your move. Pre-orders will almost certainly be available from Wednesday, October 28 (that's the case for the iPad mini 8) with shipping likely to occur in November.

Of course, we’ll keep an eye on the prices of outgoing models the day they’re discounted, so you’ll know exactly when the discount is real. And let's not forget that with Black Friday on the horizon we could see some stellar discounts on slightly older models that might make more sense for some people. Either way, the next few weeks are going to be prime time for buying a new Mac.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone Duo wait times — latest updates and how to beat Apple's January delay
• I’ve been living with Nvidia’s RTX Spark for a week — it’s not a MacBook Pro killer but something much weirder and wildly powerful
• At $1,000, Apple's rumored HomeView Max better do the dishes, too

Over the weekend, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman dumped the final puzzle pieces for Apple’s “Pro and Tell” event. The Cupertino crew are indeed launching 14- and 16-inch OLED touchscreen MacBook Pros with Dynamic Islands to boot, but starting prices could be up to $500 higher than current models.

This confirms exactly what we reported last week, when Counterpoint Research told us that the combo of tandem OLED tech, touch features and skyrocketing memory costs (RAMageddon) would trigger a $300 to $500 increase. Now, the leaks are backing it up.

But before you panic or grab your wallet, you need to understand the decision Apple will put on you in a couple of days.

M5 brute force vs M6 efficiency

The most confusing part of Wednesday’s event won’t be the price; it’ll be the silicon.

Apple is reportedly splitting the lineup. The ultra-premium MacBook Pr-OLEDs are sticking with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips — while the standard 14-inch Pro and new iMac will pack the brand-new M6, but not have OLED or touch.

It looks like a paradox, but it is actually a highly specific use-case decision.

The extra raw grunt of the Pro and Max chips really makes this the choice for creative pros who want that far better display (and Apple Pencil support…please, Apple), with the local AI chops to really challenge Nvidia’s RTX Spark.

The OLED waiting room is feeling airy

If you’re looking at that potential $3,000 OLED price tag and thinking, “I’ll just wait for the OLED MacBook Air,” you’ll be waiting a long time.

This is another part of Gurman’s report. Apple is indeed currently testing OLED panels for future MacBook Air and iMac models, but those releases are “some way off.”

MacBook Airs almost always refresh in the spring of each year, and it’s looking like the 2027 update will stick with the standard LCD display. You’ll have to pay the Pro premium for perfectly inky blacks and touchscreen gestures. There is no budget backdoor.

What kind of Mac user are you?

Wednesday is going to completely reset the Mac buying landscape. It used to be simple: pick your size, your M chip, and get largely the same excellent experience.

Now, it’s becoming a little more confusing, so let me help. If your daily workflow involves heavy video editing, digital art, or you have the budget to be an early adopter of macOS touch gestures, the OLED M5 Pro/Max is your dream machine. The multi-core power is there, and the screen will be unmatched.

But if you are a coder, writer or everyday power user who just wants future-proof efficiency without paying a $500 early-adopter display tax? Ignore the touchscreen hype. Grab the entry-level M6 MacBook Pro, enjoy the single-core speed bump, and keep that extra cash in your pocket.

More from Tom's Guide

• I strapped a touchscreen to my MacBook Pro to see if macOS is ready for next week — 3 things that need fixing quickly
• Ditch the data center: I fired my cloud chatbot and built a free local AI agent to run on my PC — and you can too
• ‘Babe, wake up, the internet is collapsing’: Two massive flaws just broke the web, and the data of billions is in the crossfire

For a decade, the Cupertino crew swore they would never put a touchscreen on a Mac. They told us the ergonomics were wrong. They told us to buy an iPad. But the PC industry moved on, OLED got cheaper, and now Apple is finally caving.

But throwing a touch panel on a laptop is only half the battle; the operating system actually has to know what to do with your fingers. Rather than wait for Apple to take my money, I got impatient. Now with macOS2 27 installed, I went back and hooked the Intricuit Magic Screen touch layer to my current M5 MacBook Pro.

And after aggressively poking my display to see what a touch-first Mac actually feels like, it’s clear that macOS in its current form is suffering an identity crisis. Apple has a lot of software duct tape to apply before next week.

The finger vs. the mouse

The first 10 minutes of poking my MacBook Pro felt so familiar to other touch-enabled laptops like the Surface Laptop Ultra I just reviewed. Scrolling through articles with a flick of the wrist, pinching to zoom and tapping to pause on YouTube videos feels instantly natural.

But then, you actually try to get some work done.

Right now, macOS treats your finger exactly like a mouse cursor. There seems to be no native touch intelligence layer bridging the gap between your physical digit and the digital UI. That’s not a bad thing when it comes to simple tapping and scrolling, but the preciseness of a mouse cursor vs the blunt instrument of a finger is an issue.

When you try to hit the tiny, classic “traffic light” buttons in the top corner of the window, you’re playing a frustrating game of digital darts. And there isn’t any real gesture control built-in here to make the app bar appear or snap windows together.

What macOS desperately needs

Now, I know that chances are if Apple’s going to announce an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro next week, it's already done a lot of the software tweaks in secret. But if I can propose three things that would make it great:

Hardware over software?

Using a touchscreen Mac today proves that the hardware experience is undeniably brilliant, but while there are some touch-friendly features on the trackpad, the OS software at the moment is actively fighting you.

If Apple unveils this MacBook Pro next week, it’s likely to be paired with a touch-optimized macOS update that borrows heavily from the iPhone Duo and iPadOS. And if they do that, they won’t just be catching up to Windows laptops; they will redefine how you interact with your computer.

Because ultimately, Windows 11 isn’t really touch friendly either, give or take some buttons. It’s a part of the laptop experience that has gone ignored for a while. And I’m quietly excited for Apple to change this.

We will find out on Wednesday. Keep your screen wipes ready.

More from Tom's Guide

• I built a touchscreen MacBook Pro using this snap-on accessory, and I'm baffled why Apple hasn't made its own for years
• Exclusive: Apple's OLED MacBook Pro may face a '$300 to $500' price hike to 'protect their profits' from RAMageddon
• ‘Babe, wake up, the internet is collapsing’: Two massive flaws just broke the web, and the data of billions is in the crossfire

Built around Intel's Panther Lake processors, the X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition still brings everything you'd expect from this line, including an absurdly light build, a fantastic keyboard, and a beautiful OLED display.

But this time around, Lenovo redesigned the internals around what it calls a "Space Frame," a smaller, double-sided system board that makes the device easier to repair or swap parts. Same weight and feel, but less of a headache if you ever need to pop the hood.

It's not a perfect machine, but if you want a laptop that can survive years of travel and IT tickets, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition deserves your consideration.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition is Lenovo's flagship 14-inch business ultraportable, running one of Intel's latest Panther Lake chips.
• Who is it for? Remote workers, traveling professionals, and anyone else who lives within spreadsheets and browser tabs.
• What does it cost? The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition starts around $2,139 with a base Full HD+ IPS display, 32GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Our review unit, which came with an OLED display, 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, lands at around $2,300. Max the whole thing out, and you're looking at upwards of $3,200.
• How's the performance? Everyday productivity work is a non-issue, and multi-core performance actually beats out similarly specced rivals like the Dell XPS 14. Just don't expect to do any real creative or gaming work on it. The integrated graphics are built for efficiency, not horsepower.
• What about the display? The optional 2.8K OLED panel is stunning. It's bright, colorful, sharp, and has a 120Hz refresh rate.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition review: Specs

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition review: The ups

Whenever it comes to a straight forward no-frills laptop for work, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a usual go-to. And the improvements made across the board reinforce its status.

An absurdly light build that's finally repairable

The first thing I noticed when I picked up the X1 Carbon Gen 14 was how little it weighs. At 2.15 pounds, I genuinely had to double-check my bag before leaving the office to make sure I packed it. That's a well-known selling point for the X1 Carbon line, but what's new here is what's on the inside.

Lenovo rebuilt the internal layout around a "Space Frame" design: a smaller, double-sided system board that shrinks the internal footprint by about 20% and leaves more room for modular components. The SSD, battery, keyboard, and USB-C ports are all replaceable now. It also gave Lenovo room to put in a larger fan, which is exactly what you want with a more powerful Panther Lake chip inside.

Older ThinkPads had a more complicated internal layout that made repairs tougher and hurt their sustainability, but with the Gen 14, you can get more life out of the computer instead of buying a new one when a single part goes south.

In a tech landscape that's been marred by RAM shortages and never-ending price increases, products that last matter more than ever. If you're the type of person who keeps their laptops until the wheels fall off, that matters a lot more than a marginal spec bump.

Dependable performance, but with a catch

I spent most of my review period using the X1 Carbon Gen 14 the way most will: writing, emailing, and juggling too many browser tabs. It handled every bit of that workload without a hitch, and its Panther Lake chip actually beat out pricier rivals in multi-core work.

Where it falls behind a bit is in the graphics department. Lenovo stuck with Intel's baseline integrated graphics here instead of the beefier Arc silicon that's in some other Panther Lake laptops, and it shows.

But that's the trade-off you make for a business laptop, and in my opinion, it's the right one for what this machine is built to do. As long as you stick to the basics and don't try to edit a feature film on this thing, you'll be more than happy with what you get.

An OLED display that's easy on the eyes

Splurge for the 2.8K OLED panel option, and you'll get one of the nicest displays I've tested at this price point. It's bright, sharp, and colorful, with excellent contrast and a 120Hz refresh rate that makes even basic scrolling feel smoother than ever.

Color gamut coverage comes in at around 82% DCI-P3, putting it right up there with the MacBook Pro and just a step behind the Asus Zenbook Duo.

If you don't care about the resolution bump or OLED contrast, the base 1920 x 1200 IPS panel is still a solid display, and it'll cost less in both price and battery life.

A keyboard that's still fantastic, and speakers I didn't expect to love

ThinkPads have been a staple in the "best laptop keyboard" conversation for years, and the X1 Carbon Gen 14 is no different.

The keys are cushioned but still have great tactile feedback, and the backlighting is actually bright enough to use in a dark room.

The TrackPoint nub is still tucked into the middle of the keyboard for the handful of people who use it, and the mechanical trackpad clicks with a satisfying amount of resistance.

I'm not usually impressed by stock speakers on a business laptop, but these caught me off guard. They're loud, clear, and the Dolby Atmos tuning adds a lot of depth to whatever you're listening to.

I normally use a pair of headphones with my laptop, but the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition made me reconsider that choice.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition review: The downs

But alas, the same things that are hitting the laptop market as a whole come to bite the X1 Carbon — namely RAMageddon.

The price adds up fast

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition is not a cheap laptop. The base configuration starts at around $2,139, and once you add the OLED display, more RAM, and extra storage, you're well past that.

Go all-in on a fully maxed-out build, and you can blow past $3,200 easily. Some individual upgrades are cheap on their own, but they add up quickly once you start checking more boxes.

Is it a dealbreaker? Not really. You're still getting a premium laptop for that money, and Lenovo runs sales often enough that you can usually save a few hundred bucks if you're patient. But if the price is a hard line for you, look at something like the Dell XPS 14 for a similar laptop at a lower price.

Battery life dips if you go OLED

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition had an okay battery life during my testing at 13 hours. That's not terrible, but it falls behind the Asus Zenbook Duo and is nowhere close to the MacBook Pro's roughly 16 hours.

Stick with the base IPS display instead, and you'll likely see better battery performance, so decide how much the OLED screen actually matters to you before you tick that box.

Not a laptop for graphics-heavy tasks

It's not exactly a shock given what this laptop is designed for, but the X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition isn't up for anything too graphics-intensive.

The integrated Intel graphics can handle everyday use just fine, but they fall short of competitors running higher-end integrated GPUs, let alone dedicated ones. If your day-to-day involves video editing or gaming, this isn't the laptop for you.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition: Verdict

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition isn't for everyone, but for the person who needs a laptop that can travel anywhere, handle everyday tasks, and last as long as possible, it's one of the better options out there.

The new "Space Frame" chassis is one of the most meaningful updates to this model, and Lenovo managed to include it without adding any weight to what was already one of the lightest 14-inch laptops around.

The keyboard is still one of the best you'll find on a laptop, the OLED display is beautiful, and the speakers genuinely caught me off guard. Just know what you're signing up for in price and graphics performance before going in.

If you're looking for an alternative, you can get a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip for a similar price, which nets you more processing power and a much longer battery life.

But you won't get the same access to the MacBook's internals that you do with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, so you'll have to decide which pros and cons matter most to you. If you'd rather spend less, the Dell XPS 14 is a close, budget-friendly option.

It sounds like a dream machine. But before you get your wallet out for it, we need to have a very grounded conversation about what that screen is actually going to cost you, and whether OLED is going to be a smokescreen for skyrocketing memory costs.

I’ve been speaking with David Naranjo, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, who just ran a Bill of Materials (BOM) analysis on what this leap to OLED actually means for the PC industry.

And the data tells a fascinating story: OLED isn’t just making your laptop look prettier. It is fundamentally changing how much you are going to pay, and acting as a very convenient distraction for rising hardware prices.

Brace for a $300 to $500 hike

Let’s cut straight to the math. Right now, if you want a 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and a mini-LED display, the starting price is $2,499. If Apple drops an OLED model next week, Naranjo is expecting that cost to jump.

“Based on a BOM analysis for the current mini LED model and our IT Panel cost report, I would expect a 14" OLED version to start between $2,799 and $2,999,” Naranjo commented.

That’s a sizable $3-500 “Apple Tax” increase overnight, so where is that money going? According to Counterpoint, it covers the advanced tandem OLED technology (the same bright, vivid panel you see in the M5 iPad Pro), the long-rumored touchscreen features, and — crucially — ongoing memory expenses.

With PC demand slowing and buyers pinching pennies, Apple and other manufacturers (more on those in a minute) are betting on the higher end — that you’ll pay more for something premium to get those perfectly inky blacks and a touch interface.

The memory cost distraction

Here is where my BS detector starts blaring. Across the tech world right now, we are quietly living through an era of memory hyper-inflation. A "RAMageddon," if you will.

And over the past year, I’ve seen lots of manufacturers point to new OLED screens as the justification — even when the internal specs haven’t moved an inch.

A great recent example, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 has the same internals as last year’s model, but it’s $300 more and packs an OLED display. Not to say that screen isn’t good, but it got me thinking: is OLED just a shiny smokescreen to soften the blow of massively inflated memory costs?

Naranjo wouldn’t go as far as calling it a smokescreen — OLED does genuinely improve contrast, color accuracy and response times after all. But he does admit it is a very convenient shield.

"It’s becoming a way for PC makers to justify higher prices as memory and component costs go up," he told me. "Manufacturers are using these premium displays to protect their profits and balance the rising costs."

In other words: RAM and SSD storage are getting ridiculously expensive to acquire right now. Instead of just raising the price of the laptop and making you angry, Apple and others may be slapping a gorgeous OLED panel on the front so you feel like you are getting an upgrade for extra cash.

Plot twist: Windows users should thank Apple?

If you use Windows laptops from the likes of Asus, Lenovo HP or Dell, you’re probably rolling your eyes right now. They’ve had stunning OLED screens for years. So why is Apple getting the credit for a “turning point” in the industry?

Put simply, it comes down to supply chain bullying.

Apple isn’t the first to the party (same as they weren’t with the iPhone Duo), but they buy at a scale that bends reality. "Thanks to its influence and buying power, Apple could speed up investment in the display supply chain," Naranjo notes.

Just like they did with smartphones, when Apple adopts OLED for MacBooks, display factories have to massively expand their manufacturing capacity.

That expansion improves production yields and inevitably lowers the cost of the screens for everyone. Counterpoint forecasts OLED notebook panel shipments will jump 50% in 2026, while mini-LED (the current MacBook Pro tech) plummets by 38%.

Apple’s rumored leap next week would subsidize cheaper OLED screens for budget and mainstream Windows laptops over the next four years.

The verdict

If this announcement happens next week, and you’re planning to hit the “buy” button on an OLED MacBook Pro, you need to accept you’re probably paying quite the early-adopter tax to cover rising memory costs.

If your livelihood depends on perfect color accuracy, or you have been desperately waiting to touch your Mac’s screen, that $2,799 starting price might be worth it to you.

But if you just need a reliable, lightning-fast workhorse, this price prediction is your ultimate signal. I mentioned this in other articles before but to summarize: wait for that October 28 event and watch the current mini LED MacBook Pro prices like a hawk.

Outgoing stock plus Black Friday build-up means you can expect some steep discounts.

More from Tom's Guide

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According to Bloomberg reporter and Apple tipster Mark Gurman, this MacBook Pro—or MacBook Ultra, as it has also been known — will also be slimmer and lighter than the existing models. It’s expected to come in 14- and 16-inch variants, and, interestingly enough, the laptops are rumored to have M5 Pro and M5 Max chips instead of an M6 chip.

If these rumors are true, this would be the biggest upgrade to the MacBook line since its redesign in October 2021. Of course, these upgrades will likely come with a steep price. That said, and understanding that none of these reports are official, here’s everything we’ve heard and expect from the MacBook Pro OLED.

MacBook Pro OLED: Rumored price and availability

There is no official release date for the MacBook Pro OLED, but we can make a reasonable guess about when we can expect it. Apple usually releases devices a week after they’re officially announced. To that end, we could see the MacBook Pro OLED sometime during the week of November 2.

Price-wise, previous estimates from MacWorld suggested that the MacBook Pro OLED could cost roughly 20% more than the current MacBook Pros, thanks to the OLED touchscreen and high-end chips. That would translate to a starting price of around $2,399 for the 14-inch model and $3,599 for the 16-inch variant — up from the $1,999 and $2,999 baselines of today’s M5 Pro models.

MacBook Pro OLED: Design and display

Instead of the existing mini-LED LCDs (or Liquid Retina displays), this rumored MacBook Pro will feature an OLED panel — which would be a first for MacBooks. This will deliver higher contrast between light and dark elements, more vivid colors, and stronger HDR. In addition, this MacBook Pro is expected to include a touchscreen, another first for MacBooks.

One interesting thing is that Apple is apparently ditching the display’s notch in favor of an iPhone-style Dynamic Island. Some folks have never liked the notch, so they’ll likely celebrate this rumored design change.

OLED panels are thinner and lighter than LCDs. This is why the iPad Pro M5 is slimmer and weighs less than an iPad Air M4. As a result, rumors suggest the OLED MacBook Pro should be noticeably more portable. We can’t say whether these laptops will be as featherweight as MacBook Airs, but it will be interesting to see the size and weight differences.

Besides being thinner and lighter, the rest of the OLED MacBook Pro’s design should remain the same. That means a similar keyboard, touchpad, and port selection.

MacBook Pro LED: Performance

Reports originally said the OLED MacBook Pro would pack the then-unannounced Apple M6 chip. That processor is now real and powers the new Mac mini M6. However, despite being the most recent M-series chip, it appears the OLED MacBook Pro will use a different processor.

According to Mark Gurman, the 14- and 16-inch OLED MacBooks will run on M5 Pro and M5 Max chips from the existing MacBook Pros. Though these are last-gen chips, they are more powerful than the M6 chip.

Why won’t this laptop have higher-end versions of the M6 chip? Gurman claims that Apple isn’t developing M6 Pro, M6 Max, or even M6 Ultra processors. The reason is that the company wants to focus more on AI and better graphics performance. As a result, Apple plans to focus its resources on developing M7 chips sooner — which means skipping higher-end M6 processors.

MacBook Pro OLED: Outlook

With the Apple “Pro and Tell” event on October 28, it won’t be long before we find out whether the rumored MacBook Pro OLED is real. Given the event’s title, we’ll undoubtedly see something MacBook Pro-related. Regardless, stay tuned for updates as we hear them!

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone Duo wait times — the latest updates
• I’ve been living with Nvidia’s RTX Spark for a week
• At $1,000, Apple's rumored HomeView Max better do the dishes, too

A deluge of leaks point to an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro, a new entry-level M6 MacBook Pro, M6 iMac and an OLED iPad mini 8 — with announcements expected at an in-person media “experience” on Wednesday, October 28, and sales starting as soon as Friday, November 6.

Translation for anyone with a shopping cart open right now: close the tab.

First, the thing you actually came here to do

If you are considering buying a MacBook Pro, iMac or iPad mini in the next 30 days, stop.

You are standing in the exact spot where people have handed Apple full price for hardware that becomes last year’s model in literal days. Three separate outcomes favor you being patient:

• You want the latest? Wait two weeks — the new machines are about to exist, and the OLED MacBook Pro is the biggest notebook upgrade Apple’s shipped in years.
• You want a bargain? Wait slightly longer — when Apple refreshes, the outgoing machines don’t vanish. They get discounted, and retailers will start clearing stock at genuine discounts within weeks.
• You need a laptop today? That’s fine, this advice has an escape hatch, and it’s at the bottom of this piece.

Now, the fun part — what have you been waiting for.

What October 28 is (probably) going to bring

Let’s start with the big one: the OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro. This redesigned prosumer notebook has been rumored for years, and it’s going to be the biggest change to Apple’s notebook lineup in years.

Outside of all that vivid OLED goodness, gorgeous contrast and easy-on-the-eyes HDR, this is a tectonic shift in the way you can actually interact with your Mac — taking notes from the iPad to bring touch to the conversation. If you’ve faithfully owned an M1 MacBook Pro, this is the upgrade you’ve been waiting for.

Then, there’s the new entry-level M6 MacBook Pro. The rumors seem to be aligning around this sharing the exact same 14-inch shell of the MacBook Pros you’ve seen over the past few years, but with that all-important silicon upgrade.

As we’ve found out from testing this base model over the past few years, it’s become clear that the “cheapest MacBook Pro” has always been the best-value Mac nobody noticed.

Next, the all-in-one looks set to get the silicon bump. The M6 iMac is less revolution, more the annual injection of “newer is faster,” to keep the all-in-one up-to-date for folks who would rather not think about towers, monitors or cable management.

And finally, there’s the OLED iPad mini — which is, low key, the one I’m most excited for. I’ve loved the iPad mini for a while now, but that LCD display has always been the thorn in its side. Clearly, the mini’s been on borrowed time for two years; this is Apple saying it isn’t dead, it’s just been saving its energy.

Who’s actually safe to buy now?

Playing both sides of the wallet is my job, so here’s the honest carve-out. If your laptop just died, your classes start this month, or you’re about to spend your rent money — buy what you need, today.

Any Mac on Apple’s current shelves is absurdly fast; your productivity is worth more than a speculative OLED panel, and the M4 MacBook Pro is still a monster.

What you should not do in a panic: buy the current MacBook Pro at full price as a “just in case” machine while your old one still works, which is how a lot of folks look when refresh cycles hit.

And if you’re holding a trade-in-eligible Mac: lock in your trade-in quote now or wait for the dust to settle, because trade-in allowances on older generations typically drop once new silicon is officially on the table.

What to do while we wait

Stay locked in on Tom’s Guide — we’ll update the moment Apple confirms or changes anything. We've received our invite to the October 28 event, and we can’t wait to see everything the Cupertino crew’s been working on!

On top of that, we’ll keep an eye on the prices of outgoing models the day they’re discounted, so you’ll know exactly when the discount is real. If the November 6 sale date is true, Black Friday collides with fresh discontinuations, and that is going to be the single best fortnight of the year for buying Macs.

The “Pro and Tell” pun may be a bit cringe, but the buying window is not.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone Duo wait times — latest updates and how to beat Apple's January delay
• I’ve been living with Nvidia’s RTX Spark for a week — it’s not a MacBook Pro killer but something much weirder and wildly powerful
• At $1,000, Apple's rumored HomeView Max better do the dishes, too

Invitations for the event, dubbed "Pro and Tell," started going out this week and Tom's Guide received one. It's pretty clear the from the teaser that the next MacBook Pro will be a prominent part of the event.

Here's everything you need to know about the Pro and Tell event.

When is Pro and Tell?

The Apple Pro and Tell event takes place on October 28, 2026 starting at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.

What we expect to see

We expect at least three new devices to launch next week, including a new MacBook.

The touchscreen MacBook Pro is supposed to feature an OLED panel, a first for an Apple laptop. The rumored MacBook Ultra, could also get a name change and slight redesign, mostly making it thinner and lighter.

Additionally, Apple may abandon the webcam notch in favor of an iPhone-esque Dynamic Island. It's not clear what chipset it will feature; rumors have suggested both the current M5 Pro and M5 Max silicon or the newer M6 chip which first launched in the latest Mac mini.

The updated iPad mini similarly should feature an OLED panel, following the iPad Air and iPad Pro from the last two years. It may also get a repositioned front-facing camera to support landscape video calls.

Finally, we should see an M6-powered version of the iMac. We aren't expecting a redesign or any other new features based on current rumors. If the new Mac mini is any indication, an M6 iMac will be significantly faster and more efficient.

Outlook

Apple has been rumored to be working on an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro for years, so it will be interesting to see how the company finally implements the new display.

The iPad mini is one of the best tablets available, and adding an OLED screen should make it even better.

Tom's Guide will be on hand to get all the latest news and hands-on with Apple's newest devices. Keep us in your tabs to stay up to date.

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The promise of offline AI work will certainly appeal to some customers, but it also makes RTX Spark laptops a relatively niche offering. That was my main takeaway from testing the HP OmniBook Ultra 16. While impressive, it’s too overpowered for everyday work and relatively underpowered for gaming. Due to that, RTX Spark laptops might struggle to compete with their more popular direct competitor, high-end MacBook Pros.

To better understand who these machines are actually for, I reached out to Tom Mainelli, Group Vice President of Device & Consumer Research at IDC, for his take on where RTX Spark fits right now and where it might go from here.

Early adopters, developers, and creators

RTX Spark laptops target a narrow group: AI developers, content creators, and early adopters. These are premium notebooks built for people who already understand what the platform offers and why the price is what it is.

“These are outside the budget and needs of mainstream users, for now,” Mainelli said. At the same time, he sees them as a preview of where the PC industry is headed. The various configurations support different workloads, but the overall pitch is the same: a high-end Windows machine that can handle local AI work in a way previous laptops couldn’t.

Competing with MacBook Pro and gaming laptops

Mainelli positions RTX Spark notebooks as competitors to similarly configured MacBook Pros. Both platforms use unified memory, which makes them better suited to running larger models locally than traditional Windows laptops with discrete GPUs.

The difference is that this is an Nvidia system-on-chip, so it brings native CUDA support to Windows on Arm — something Windows laptops haven’t had before. Windows has also added new setup features that make it easier to install and run local agent platforms such as OpenClaw, Hermes, and Perplexity Computer in a more secure, managed way.

Though Nvidia didn't market them directly as gaming laptops, it did show games running on RTX Spark systems. And given Nvidia’s gaming origins, it’s natural to wonder how these machines function as gaming systems. “Few vendors are marketing their RTX Spark systems as gaming systems, which typically have high-end discrete GPUs, but they appear to offer a solid gameplay experience,” Mainelli said.

My team and I noted that sentiment in our reviews of RTX Spark laptops, which tend to offer performance on par with RTX 5070 gaming laptops. Still, these aren’t — and shouldn’t be considered — gaming laptops. Gaming is simply an option, not a primary function.

Unified memory architecture

The unified memory design could change the value proposition. On the high-end 128GB configurations, you can allocate up to 96GB to the GPU. That’s far more than you can get with a discrete GPU in a laptop, and it means you can load sizable models into memory and potentially run more AI inference workloads locally.

“Because the unified memory architecture makes it possible to allocate more memory to the GPU than you can buy in a system with a discrete GPU, it could change the value proposition,” Mainelli said.

In theory, that could reduce what AI developers spend on cloud-based tokens. In practice, Mainelli said it’s still early. It requires a savvy user who’s willing to spend up front on the hardware and then experiment with local models to get the best results.

Cost is the biggest barrier

When I asked about the practical limitations that could slow adoption, Mainelli pointed to cost first. “Today, it is cost,” he said. “And the fact that to run some of the larger AI models locally, you need to buy higher-memory configurations.”

Some buyers may still hesitate about Windows on Arm, though he noted that Microsoft, Qualcomm, and the PC vendors have done a lot of work over the last few years to address most of those concerns.

Compatibility issues aside, I can see RTX Spark laptops potentially paying for themselves over time if they can speed up the work of AI developers and creators. Still, with the initial asking price being as “low” as $2,599 for a machine like the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra, even the target customer might have reservations.

More products are coming

Looking ahead 12 to 18 months, Mainelli expects more systems based on the RTX Spark platform. He doesn’t see Nvidia and its partners shifting focus away from the premium segment anytime soon, and commercial products could also appear. For now, though, these remain specialized machines aimed at people who already know why they want the combination of unified memory, CUDA, and local AI capability on Windows.

“I’m confident we’ll see additional products ship leveraging the RTX Spark platform in the future,” Mainelli said. “I expect NVIDIA and its partners to remain focused on the premium and potentially commercial segments in the nearer term.”

To be clear, RTX Spark isn’t trying to be the next mainstream Windows laptop. It’s a high-end option for a specific kind of buyer. Whether that audience grows beyond early adopters and developers will depend on how useful the local AI and memory advantages prove in everyday work — and whether that’s worth the cost of entry.

More from Tom's Guide

• I benchmarked Nvidia's RTX Spark: Apple wins the CPU war, but Nvidia's GPU just broke my testing charts
• I’ve been living with Nvidia’s RTX Spark for a week — it’s not a MacBook Pro killer but something much weirder and wildly powerful
• 'They are new to the laptop market': AMD issues a reality check to Nvidia’s RTX Spark and fires a warning shot at Arm

The aluminum shell housing all the internals feels satisfyingly ultra-premium, while opening it up reveals that sharp mini-LED display — not as vivid as OLED, but bright, buttery smooth and color accurate all the same. And those ergonomics are stellar with a great-feeling keyboard and a touchpad that can talk back to you with haptics when you do things around Windows 11.

Then there’s the tweaks to Windows 11 itself. Beyond what you see in version 26H2, setting up an agent is now simpler than ever as part of the startup process. And powering all of this is that RTX Spark — turboboosting a lot of those agentic workflows I created to free up my personal time, alongside the moments of creativity in ComfyUI.

On top of that, it eliminates the compromise between either being a good creator notebook or good at gaming, and just giving you the best of both worlds.

Don’t fall for the marketing hype, though. I know Microsoft is welcoming you to “break up with your MacBook Pro,” and inviting the comparison. And across a few stats, Apple does dominate — like battery life, surface temperatures and raw CPU performance. If you came in looking for this, that high price tag will feel like a sharp sting.

But if you understand what this is — a different species of laptop that focuses on beefing up the GPU grunt — then the story changes. This isn’t a MacBook Pro killer. It’s a creator laptop by day, gaming system by night, and a glimpse at the local future of AI.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra: Cheat sheet

• What is it? Microsoft’s new flagship 15-inch workstation laptop, powered by Nvidia’s RTX Spark chipset.
• Who is it for? This is for the high-end creators, AI developers, and PC gamers who want a boat load of power, alongside local agentic AI capabilities in a portable chassis.
• What does it cost? Pricing starts at $2,599. The price of the model I tested is a whopping $5,899.
• What do we like? The utilitarian design feels completely in charge, that magnetic USB-C port is the smartest charging solution I’ve seen in years, it’s an ergonomic joy to use, and the RTX Spark chip obliterates creative workflows and modern PC games, while ushering in a local agentic future for computing.
• What don’t we like? Battery life and CPU performance is underwhelming compared to Apple’s MacBook Pros. And in our lab testing, the Surface Laptop Ultra does fall slightly behind other RTX Spark laptops.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra: Specs

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra: The ups

So as I started daily-driving the Surface Laptop Ultra, I was waiting for the moment I started feeling like I missed my MacBook Pro. That moment never came.

Looking like it’s in charge

The first obvious thing you’ll notice is that sharp, uniform design language. This thing looks like it can do some serious work, and you can see all the Surface's attention to the finer details around the frame too.

There is no lip to get your finger in to lift the laptop screen, but it’s simple to do with one hand. The keyboard feels fantastic to use with a nice satisfying tactile click to each key and a soft landing.

That massive haptic touchpad feels graceful across Windows 11, but the tap backs you get from things like snapping windows to the sides of the screen make it a two-way conversation.

And then there’s the magnetic USB-C port — giving you the MagSafe connectivity without the need to give up a standard port. Obviously, you can see from my TikTok below that I loveed it, but I did hear the feedback: what’s the durability when you whip it out vertically rather than horizontally?

Well, after doing that several times, that reduced height of the USB-C male connector means it pulls out just as easily with the connector safely intact. This is a durable solution, and I hope we see this come to phones in the near future!

RTX Spark drags Windows 11 into the agentic era

As I noted in my “week in the life” diary, this laptop is a beast for local AI. Out of the box, Windows 11 makes setting up agents like Hermes or OpenClaw incredibly simple. On top of that, the power-user centric additions to the UI like moving the taskbar to the side and removing all the pointless start menu widgets is a joy to use.

But at its core, it’s that Team Green silicon and full Nvidia CUDA support that gives this a massive advantage. Most open-source AI models are optimized for CUDA first, meaning that with a little reinforcement learning on Hermes, this laptop was able to autonomously manage my email and task list admin — giving me time to make myself breakfast.

As for the performance itself, you can see this advantage at play in generating text and images — all with zero cloud subscription fees.

While the TG lab doesn't normally run these tests (we will going forward), I've reached out to my friends in the industry to ask about these numbers. And the opinion is unanimous: RTX Spark breezes past M5 Pro, AMD Ryzen AI Max 395+ and demolishes Intel Core Ultra X9 in AI token generation.

But to give myself more context, I faced it off with my RTX 5060 Ti 16GB desktop GPU.

I wasn't expecting it to beat a desktop graphics card. The difference in wattage going to each of these chips is insane! However, the Spark does get impressively close here.

Ending the MacBook dilemma

For years, creatives have carried a MacBook Pro for work and a separate system for gaming. Either its a gaming tower at home, a second gaming laptop or a handheld. The Surface Laptop Ultra ends that compromise, and that comes courtesy of the fact that GPU bolted onto RTX Spark is a real monster.

M5 Pro does pull quite a lead in terms of Adobe Creative Suite workloads, but, you can get supreme gaming here. Numbers-wise, this is close to an RTX 5070 gaming laptop, which Apple can only dream of.

Apple's GPU is strong, but it doesn't have the game support that Windows does. Throw in the vast improvements to prism emulation that support anti-cheat software for multiplayer games, and this becomes an enticing option for working by day and playing by night.

Even before any upscaling tech, it’s a night and day difference in the gaming department. Throw in RTX technologies and it’s a runaway victory.

Oh, and that whole other thing MacBooks did well — running as fast both on and off the charger — yea, the Surface Laptop Ultra does that too.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra: The downs

Nvidia’s first foray into an all-in-one chip isn’t without some issues. The laptop’s not the problem, but rather a couple cracks in the armor and defining who RTX Spark is actually for.

The MacBook Pro reality check

A lot of folks came into the RTX Spark launch hoping for it to be a MacBook Pro killer. If you measure by the CPU, creator performance and battery life, it isn’t.

In multi-core metrics, the Nvidia chip in here performs at the top of its class for Windows laptops, but the M5 Pro does peek ahead.

And the same can be said for creative tasks like transcoding video or working across Photoshop or Premiere Pro, as you saw above. It does end the MacBook dilemma as I mentioned above, but if you have a specific use case, you’ll get faster speeds by going for Apple here.

And then there’s that stamina portion of things. Don’t get me wrong — the claim of “all day battery life” is technically true, but Surface Laptop Ultra barely touches the sides of the efficiency of Apple silicon.

When it comes to gaming, at just over 1.5 hours, you can think of your RTX Spark running at full pelt in AAA titles (or AI tasks) lasting just a little bit longer than your standard issue gaming laptop.

The performance overall is impressive (if you know what to do with it…more on that in a bit), but make sure you bring that 140W charger with you.

Popping the hype bubble with a few reality checks

I’ll be upfront. This laptop is not for everyone. An RTX 50-series gaming laptop could do a lot of what you see here, and if gaming isn’t your main focus, a MacBook Pro could be the move.

So let’s get down to brass tacks here with some reality checks on who this is for:

• The big differentiator is unified memory: With one giant pool of memory to share across all the internals, that’s capable of running far larger local AI models than your standard gaming laptop.
• The Nvidia advantage in AI: Thanks to the AI software stack being almost overwhelmingly Nvidia-optimized, you’ll get the fastest local performance of any laptop.
• The PixelSense mini LED display: It's bright and color accurate, but it lacks the pop of OLED RTX Spark options like the Asus ProArt P16 or the HP OmniBook Ultra 16.

Of course, I can talk about this being the everything machine it is, but when you break down the big things that give RTX Spark the edge here in any buying decision, it starts to level the market in your mind and give clarity to who should buy this.

If you are an AI enthusiast/developer, or you’re keen to jump into the field of agentic AI/AI creative, this is the laptop for you.

If you want good gaming on-the-go, a gaming laptop is the way to go.

If you want portable creator performance, the MacBook Pro reigns supreme.

The Spark does touch on all these things, and it does them well. But at those kinds of prices? If you have clear intentions around what work you’re doing but nothing specific in mind for embracing AI agents (as you’ll see from some of our reviews), this is an investment you may regret.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra: Verdict

The Surface Laptop Ultra is a remarkable piece of hardware. The utilitarian design, brilliantly clever magnetic USB-C port and communicative haptic touchpad prove that Microsoft’s hardware engineering is operating at the highest level.

And as it should, because the RTX Spark chip inside is a bit of a breakthrough for the local agentic future of computing, as well as a monster for creators, developers and gamers alike.

But to be clear: this isn’t a MacBook Pro killer. You’ll notice that in CPU and battery life. Instead the sheer force of that chip and unified memory makes it a weapon for pro workloads — housed in a mean-looking chassis.

Carrying on its legacy of being an AI-infused laptop for creatives from the ProArt P16 2025, this ProArt P16 steps up and delivers an even sleeker, lightweight 16-inch machine with greater battery life and an OLED touchscreen (finally) featuring a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Along with its varied selection of ports, including an SD card reader, this laptop is geared up to be the ultimate portable notebook for photo and video editing, creative work and more.

More than anything, though, the main draw here is its capabilities for running your own on-device AI agent. No subscriptions or prompt fees here, just an assistant that can adapt to your routines (after a few goes). It's wicked to see in action, and while the Asus- exclusive StoryCube and MuseTree apps are fun to check out, I imagine video editors, 3D designers, game developers and coders will go beyond this to take full advantage of this chip, with apps like Hermes Agent. This has up to a whopping 128GB of RAM to power it all, after all!

But it will take a lot out of wallets, and its premium standard won't be worth the creative power it boasts unless you're an AI power user or a 3D creative. It's also worth noting that this is Windows on Arm, meaning apps and games can either run natively or through Microsoft's Prism emulation, so some may not run exactly as expected (even though Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says "every single application that Windows has ever run" will work). Oh, and it can still get quite loud when put under pressure and a little hot.

While it's certainly one of the best AI laptops, it's no MacBook Pro killer when it comes to pure performance. But when it comes to AI, it shines in a different way.

Asus ProArt P16 (RTX Spark) review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? An elite creator laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark N1X chip for 3D creative work and local AI tasks.
• Who is it for? Power users looking for a slim, lightweight machine for 4K (and beyond) video editing, 3D graphics work, game design, coding, and to utilize local AI agents.
• What does it cost? Prepare your wallet. The Asus ProArt P16 (RTX Spark) is available for $2,799 in the U.S. at Best Buy and £3,099 in the U.K. at Currys, and that's just the starting prices. Asus' official website notes prices starting at $4,399 / £3,899, but you can find it for less at third-party retailers. For the highest spec? Expect to pay $6,999 / £5,999.
• What do we like? Its superb performance across the board (from speedy local AI tasks to gaming), the still-gorgeous 16-inch OLED display now with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, battery life that actually lasts and great port selection for creators — all wrapped up in a slick, premium design.
• What don’t we like? This is a huge investment with AI in focus, so know what to take advantage of with this chip. And this can get loud and a little hot when pushed.

Asus ProArt P16 (RTX Spark) review: Specs

Asus ProArt P16 (RTX Spark) review: The ups

The Asus ProArt P16 with RTX Spark takes the wins of its last-gen model and makes some welcome refinements, too, leading to a thin, premium laptop that's made for creativity, AI and some gaming.

Slim, light and ready to move

Look familiar? This should, as the Asus ProArt P16 sports a near-identical utilitarian aluminum design as its predecessor. But this time, it's thinner and lighter than ever, and actually undercuts the MacBook Pro this time.

Coming in at 13.9 x 9.5 x 0.5 ~ 0.6 inches and weighing 3.9 pounds, this is the slimmest ProArt to date, and it's likely thanks to the laptop having just an RTX Spark chip rather than a laptop GPU fitted under the hood, too. Compared to the previous P16, which is 0.7 inches and weighs 4.1 pounds, it's not a major change, but those small tweaks to the design make it that much more portable and easier to slip into a bag. More so than the MacBook Pro now, at 0.6 inches and 4.7 pounds.

It's a premium machine, from the way it looks to the way it feels, while still being subtle enough to use anywhere, whether that be at the office or a coffee shop. To me, it isn't too far off the slick style of a Razer Blade 16, and I mean that as a huge compliment. The ProArt P16 comes in two colorways, including Nano Black and Neo White, and you'll be happy to know the former delivers a fingerprint-resistant finish.

Another highlight is the backlit chiclet keyboard with 1.7mm key travel, which is comfortable and speedy to type on, along with a big haptic touchpad that feels punchy and accurate to the touch. But unlike the last-gen model, there's no DialPad here, which was a handy way to access different shortcuts, apps or functions right on the touchpad. It's a shame, especially for creative tools, which some will surely miss.

A good port selection will always be appreciated, and the ProArt P16 delivers. With three USB 4 ports that support displays and power delivery up to 40Gbps (any can be used for the 140W USB-C charger), one USB-A for peripherals, an HDMI output and even a headphone jack, there's plenty of connectivity here. And it wouldn't be a creator laptop without an SD card reader, so it's a good thing it has one.

It has (RTX) Spark

The Asus ProArt 16's headline event is easily Nvidia's RTX Spark N1X chip, boasting a 20-core CPU and (get this) a 6144-core GPU, thanks to the tensor cores stuffed inside. There is another RTX Spark N1X processor featuring an 18-core CPU and a 5120-core GPU available on more affordable ProArt 16 models, too, which confusingly has the same name. Be sure to watch out for that.

Our review unit comes with the 20-core RTX Spark N1X variant, 128GB of DDR5X RAM and 2TB of storage. With that kind of power under the hood, especially that RAM, it's like sitting on a goldmine. It's the type of high-level specs you'd find on a MacBook Pro with M5 Pro, an Asus ROG Flow Z13 with an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip, and even the previous Asus ProArt P16 with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and RTX 4070 GPU (but the latest model now comes with double the memory).

To cut to the chase, it's a beast. It is incredible what a single superchip can accomplish when it comes to complex local AI workloads, handling 3D creative work and playing the latest PC titles at stable frame rates. To have this running in a thin-and-light 16-inch laptop with actual respectable battery life is a huge triumph. Well, the 128GB of RAM on this review unit definitely helps, too.

In testing, though, it's harder to reflect this. Nvidia notes that in many tests, including Geekbench and 3DMark, the numbers don't reflect the performance of the chip. Even in Geekbench AI, Team Green states that the numbers will be obsolete due to deprecated DirectML, and some games couldn't boot (but there was an exciting workaround).

Regardless, here's a look.

Despite the warnings, the RTX Spark N1X still shows impressive high-end figures. Apple's MacBook Pro M5 Pro still wipes the floor, and it's not the strongest when it comes to single-core performance, but there's a significant uplift everywhere else. The last-gen ProArt P16 with its powerful AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and Asus ROG Flow Z13 with a similar Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip can't touch multi-core performance, and for creators, our Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K video to 1080p, shows the ProArt P16 with RTX Spark cuts times drastically.

What about for 3D work? There's no better way of testing this than in games. After playing Cyberpunk 2077 on Ray Tracing: Ultra settings and seeing around 30 FPS at 4K, and bumping that up to 115 FPS with DLSS with frame generation, yeah — this machine can game.

The chips' RTX graphics (and 6144-core GPU) clearly shine, even beating the numbers of a dedicated RTX 4070 GPU in the previous model. How impressive is that? Now, while this P16's UHD+ OLED display is a visual treat for gaming, I prefer performance, so I was often playing games at lower resolutions for those higher frame rates without heavily relying on Nvidia's frame generation.

The ProArt P16 can breeze through anything I throw at it, and for those complex 4K video edits, 3D design or development, this machine can handle it (as it should, considering its price).

But when it comes to working with local AI agents, this is where the RTX spark truly shines (more on this later).

A display for creatives

Asus strikes again with an absolutely gorgeous 4K OLED touchscreen that any creator will appreciate, and I would say it's one of the best touchscreens you can find on a laptop.

The Asus ProArt P16's 16-inch UHD+ (3840 x 2400) OLED touchscreen features all the perks from its last model, including a productivity-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio. You'll find an ultra-bright 1,600 nits of peak brightness (and this shows), an anti-reflective coating, along with a flood of colors and deep blacks in anything you view. For touching up images in Photoshop with a touch and simply watching shows, this screen is a treat for the eyes. Plus, while there's no stylus included, you'll find this screen does support it.

Thankfully, there is one welcome upgrade I'm happy to see: a 120Hz refresh rate with a 0.2ms response time. No more being limited to a 60Hz screen, as the ProArt P16 now delivers ultra-smooth motion. That complements creative work, but it's even better for gaming.

Gearing up for "Avengers: Doomsday," I watched "VisionQuest" on Disney+ and was blown away by the array of bright colors surrounding Vision as a house in a bright green space was being digitally constructed in front of him. As ever, the ProArt P16's OLED display is one to beat.

Battery life that lasts

The Asus ProArt P16 is a powerful machine with an OLED display and plenty of gaming potential. Usually, that translates to the kind of battery life that is in dire need of an outlet way too often, as the best gaming laptops can attest. But that's not the case here.

Using our battery test, which involves web surfing and streaming video at 150 nits of screen brightness, the ProArt P16 with RTX Spark lasted 12 hours and 26 minutes. That's well past a full working day, and an amazing effort from a machine with the power it packs!

No, this is nowhere near MacBook Pro levels of battery life, nor is it close to what Intel's Panther Lake chip offers in the Dell XPS 14 (2026) at over 20 hours. Still, it makes traveling and using the ProArt P16 far more realistic this time around, with enough juice to power through the day and have a little leftover in the evenings.

Asus ProArt P16 (RTX Spark) review: The downs

The Asus ProArt P16 with its RTX Spark N1X has many exciting features, but its price is not one of them. That alone narrows down who this will be for, and you'll want to make full use of its effectiveness in AI to make the most of what you're getting here.

Some limits

I wouldn't necessarily call this a "down," more like a change in perspective. The RTX Spark N1X is built for local AI and agents, and that means running LLMs and the like without limits. No tokens or per-prompt payments; data and automated processes that are yours and work for your routine.

That's an extremely useful tool to have in your pocket. That is, if you know what you want to use it for. For video editors automating time-consuming assembly tasks or finding highlights in long-form cuts, and developers using an agent to write volumes of code, the RTX Spark in the P16 brings that power on the go. For others, they may not have any use for it beyond writing up drafts, finding specific files, summarizing documents or simply having fun with it.

But if you're looking to take advantage of AI, you can see how the RTX Spark N1X can be an effective way of being productive and simplifying tasks you have no idea where to start with.

A great example: I was trying to play Red Dead Redemption 2, but it would crash every time I booted it up. I had no idea what the problem was, so I asked my Hermes Agent to see what was wrong and fix the problem.

It said everything on the setup side looked healthy, and asked exactly what was happening when I launched the game. At that point, I had gone to make a coffee, so the question timed out. But then, Hermes just went deeper into the issue anyway, and came back with:

"I found that RDR2 has been running in Vulkan mode, which is a known issue on the new ARM Blackwell GPU with driver 617.42. I'll switch the API to DirectX 12 in the config, back it up first, and launch the game to test the fix."

And then, voilà! It started running without any problems. It may have taken me a trip to Google, a look through Reddit posts and some tinkering of my own to figure this out, but if something didn't quite work right, I would have just left Red Dead Redemption 2 unplayed.

That's an amazing way to quickly solve a problem. Now, I tried the same with Forza Horizon 6, which kept saying "Invalid Gaming Services Detected" and that I need to update "Gaming Services." Hermes couldn't quite solve that one, but a little tinkering and direction would have pointed it in the right direction.

Asus' exclusive MuseTree and StoryCube apps make a return, too, and these are a great way to start generating and visualizing ideas, plans and even turn simple text or drawings into full-blown videos (like my terribly drawn stickman that turned into an animation). I got more out of Hermes, but these are nice apps to have to express creativity.

With tasks like that, I can imagine making full use of an AI agent to automate tasks and help me here and there, and developers, editors and more could take this even further. But for anything other than AI-focused tasks, there are other laptops out there that have better performance, like the best MacBooks, or that play games better, like the best gaming laptops.

Hot under pressure

It's easy to tell how much power is packed under the hood of the Asus ProArt P16, because you can hear it as soon as an AI agent starts processing a prompt or a game is booted up.

In all fairness, when it comes to general tasks such as browsing the web, writing up documents or watching shows, the laptop is dead silent. But when I started using the Hermes Agent to ask simple questions, the fans start whirring and slowly taking off as it starts to process what's been asked. It's not obnoxiously loud, but I wouldn't call this laptop "stealthy."

I also noticed it getting a little hot towards the keyboard area. That's likely due to the laptop's design, with the keyboard deck drawing in cool air to "maximize fresh air volume inside the chassis." I'd imagine it needs as much cooling as it can get, but this is supposed to keep the keyboard surface "comfortably cool." It's a touch hotter than that when put under pressure, though.

The price of (RTX) power

Yup, the RAM crisis isn't going anywhere. It's $6,999 / £5,999 for the highest configuration of the Asus ProArt P16 with RTX Spark. You can get three iPhone Duos and still have $1,000 left over, seven PS5 Pros at their now-increased price — you get the picture.

Even the base configurations I found, coming in at $2,799 / £3,299, are $500 more than the advanced ProArt P16 we recommended in 2025. And that came with a respectable 32GB of RAM and an RTX 4070! While it's more affordable than a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro ($2,999 / £2,999), that still comes with 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD (and more performance power, according to the numbers).

Over the past year, we've seen laptop prices skyrocket, and despite not needing a discrete laptop GPU now, the RTX Spark hasn't made this machine any more affordable. This is a prosumer laptop for a niche group of users, and you really have to know what you're going to use this laptop for to invest in it.

Asus ProArt P16 (RTX Spark) review: Verdict

The Asus ProArt P16 is an outstanding laptop for creativity, with its legacy continuing with the might of Nvidia's RTX Spark N1X. With an even slimmer design that's light enough to bring with you anywhere, a knockout OLED touchscreen with amazing brightness and colors, the right ports and battery life that can (finally) get you past a workday and still have juice left, Asus has done its creator laptop justice.

But are you willing to pay a high price for a laptop that's mainly dedicated to AI? That's the main question to ask yourself. For me, I wouldn't be pushing agents to their limits in my day-to-day to justify the high price, despite seeing its perks. Still, running AI models and agents locally is an impressive feat, and I love that this acts as a competent gaming machine to play the latest PC titles, too.

If you know that you could fully utilize Nvidia's CUDA and RTX graphics for creative work and beyond, then this laptop should be calling to you. And no, you won't need the top configuration, unless you're sitting on a very stacked wallet. It's one of the best AI laptops around, and it would want to be at the price it's going for.

The laptop itself is practically a work of art, thanks to its sleek all-black aluminum design and soft textured surface. The 16-inch 3K OLED touchscreen, roomy lattice-less keyboard, and punchy speakers also lend to this laptop’s premium experience. This is the kind of laptop you want to be seen using.

Like the recently released Googlebooks, RTX Spark laptops like the OmniBook Ultra 16 aren’t for general users. Because of that, you’ll want to seriously consider whether these laptops are for you. To that end, here’s my full review of the HP OmniBook Ultra 16 to help you decide.

HP OmniBook Ultra 16 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The HP OmniBook Ultra 16 is a high-end thin-and-light laptop powered by Nvidia’s new RTX Spark chip.
• Who is it for? This notebook is for those who want a high-powered machine for on-device AI work.
• What does it cost? The HP OmniBook Ultra 16 starts at $3,199 at Best Buy. This is the same model I reviewed, and it packs an Nvidia RTX Spark N1X chip, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. HP has a higher-end model for $4,999 with 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.
• What do we like? We like the sleek design, gorgeous 16-inch OLED panel, lattice-less keyboard, and strong RTX Spark-driven performance.
• What don’t we like? We don’t like the steep asking price and unimpressive battery life.

HP OmniBook Ultra 16 review: Specs

HP OmniBook Ultra 16 review: The ups

The HP OmniBook Ultra 16 is one of the best RTX Spark laptops around thanks to its solid performance, stellar design, vibrant OLED panel and easy portability.

Lovely design

I won’t mince words — the HP OmniBook Ultra 16 is one of the most beautifully designed laptops I’ve ever tested. This is especially true the instant you hold it, when you can better appreciate its sturdy CNC aluminum chassis with its smooth texture. The all-black color and discreet HP logo on the lid are also quite classy.

Measuring 14.01 x 10.1 x 0.62 inches, the OmniBook Ultra 16 is a lot thinner than you’d expect. That makes it easy to slip into most backpacks. At 4.8 pounds, this isn’t exactly the lightest laptop, but it also doesn’t feel overly heavy thanks to its smart weight distribution.

The trunk hinge design isn’t just for show; it also helps airflow. That said, I like how this design element sets this laptop apart from other clamshell designs. The subtle “OmniBook” etched here is also quite nice.

Typing on the OmniBook Ultra 16 is a joy thanks to the spacious keyboard and lattice-less keys. I’m also a fan of the enormous haptic touchpad, which is just as responsive as the touchscreen. I don’t typically care for laptop keyboards, but the one on the OmniBook Ultra 16 is easily among the best I’ve tested.

You get a pretty decent number of ports for such a thin laptop. The left-hand side has an HDMI port, a pair of USB4 ports, and a headphone jack. Over on the right, there are two USB-A ports and a microSD card slot. Though I wish there were an Ethernet port to complete the package, you get more than enough ports for what you’d need.

Strong RTX Spark performance

Our HP OmniBook Ultra 16 review unit is the entry-level model, which packs an Nvidia RTX Spark N1X processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. As the first RTX Spark laptop I tested, I was very curious to see how it performed in a variety of situations, including basic everyday work and gaming—along with some local AI testing.

It should come as no surprise that the OmniBook Ultra 16 had no problem handling my average workflow, which typically consists of multiple open Chrome tabs, Slack, photo editing in GIMP, and the occasional YouTube video running in the background. As I said in the intro, this is an overpowered machine for the basics.

Now, how did HP’s RTS Spark laptop fare in our lab testing? As you can see in the chart above, the OmniBook Ultra 16 scored well in the Geekbench 6 single- and multi-core benchmarks. It also turned in solid numbers in the Handbrake SSD test. The Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Ultra, which packs an RTX 5070 GPU and 32GB, didn’t perform as well. However, the 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro outperformed both laptops in these tests.

The OmniBook Ultra 16 also performed well in our Adobe benchmarks, which include Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Despite the strong results, Apple’s MacBook Pro scored better on both tests by a considerable margin.

In gaming, the OmniBook Ultra 16 has mixed results. In our testing, which involves running a game’s built-in benchmarking tool at maximum graphical settings and native resolution, games like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Cyberpunk 2077 barely hit 20 frames per second, let alone the minimum 30 fps.

Even if the OmniBook Ultra 16 couldn’t match a dedicated gaming laptop like the RTX 5070-driven HyperX Omen 16, it was generally on par with the M5 Pro MacBook Pro, though Borderlands 3 ran considerably better. Though both HP and Apple’s laptops did well in the 3DMark graphical test, it shows that games need to be optimized for the respective silicon to run at their best.

Our gaming benchmark tests are pretty demanding, so you can still have a great gaming experience with the right settings. For instance, Cyberpunk 2077 ran between 38 and 47 frames per second at default graphical settings (no frame gen) at native 1800p resolution. When I dropped the resolution to 1080p and enabled DLSS, the FPS hovered between 58 and 65, which is quite nice!

On-device AI actually works

RTX Spark systems like the OmniBook Ultra 16 are built for on-device (or offline) AI tasks. Since I’m not a coder or programmer, I just did a simple test using Qwen3.8 27B to see how this all works. Here is the prompt I used:

"I have a 48-hour layover in Tokyo with a $300 budget. Plan a realistic, hour-by-hour itinerary for someone who loves ramen and hates crowded tourist spots."

Though it took around 15 minutes, I got a detailed itinerary. I didn’t check it for accuracy since my goal was to see if the laptop could complete this task while offline. Yes, you can get the same results much faster by asking ChatGPT, but the point is that you can safely work with AI offline on a machine like this instead of potentially sharing private information on services that depend on the cloud.

Vivid display

One of the main selling points of the HP OmniBook Ultra 16 is its stunning 16-inch OLED touchscreen. In the latest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I was stunned by the deep contrasts of both day and night-time scenes. Colors appear appropriately bold, while the 3K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate ensured everything appeared sharp and ran smoothly, respectively.

Our lab tests confirm what my eyes saw. Color reproduction (sRGB and DCI-P3) leans toward the oversaturated end, but not much so. Color accuracy (Delta-E) is also very strong. As you can see, these values are on par with some of the OmniBook Ultra 16’s competitors.

The touchscreen capabilities are on par with other Windows laptops I’ve tested, never failing to register my gestures. I don’t always use the touchscreen on laptops that have them, but I appreciate their inclusion in case I ever feel the need to tap on something.

HP OmniBook Ultra 16 review: The downs

The HP OmniBook Ultra HP is an impressive laptop but it has some noteable flaws.

Steep price

Make no mistake, the HP OmniBook Ultra 16 costs a pretty penny. The entry-level model starts at $3,199, which comes with 32GB of RAM and 1TB. For $4,999, you can get a model with 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. If you want to go all out, the highest-end model for $6,299 comes with 128GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.

Now, if you’re the target user who wants a powerful laptop for on-device AI workloads and big creative projects, then the price might be worth it. However, if you’re just looking for a traditional work or gaming laptop, then you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Middling battery life

HP says the OmniBook Ultra 16 has up to 17 hours of continuous video playback at 1080p and with the display set to 200 nits of brightness. However, on the Tom’s Guide battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi with the display set to 150 nits, the OmniBook Ultra 16 endured just eight minutes short of 11 hours.

As you can see, competitors like the MacBook Air M5 and Galaxy Book 6 Ultra outlasted HP’s laptop by well over four hours. Now, we were only able to run a single battery test on the OmniBook Ultra 16, so I’ll update this review after we’ve done three full tests as we usually do. That said, I don’t expect the final results to be greatly different.

While I’m placing battery life as a con, it’s only because we live in a world where Apple, Qualcomm, and even Intel have raised the ceiling on laptop battery life. You’ll be able to get plenty of work done on the HP OmniBook Ultra 16 on a single charge. That said, don’t forget to bring its 140W GaN charger when you’re on the road.

HP OmniBook Ultra 16 review: Verdict

The HP OmniBook Ultra 16 isn’t a laptop for general customers, but it’s great at what it was designed for. If you want a portable device for on-device AI work or creative projects, you won’t go wrong here. The fact that the laptop is a beautiful piece of work only sweetens the deal.

Even if RTX Spark systems like the OmniBook Ultra 16 are only for the pros, they’re impressive machines that prove you don’t need the cloud to get AI work done. If what I said about the HP OmniBook Ultra 16 impresses you and you think it could benefit your work (and won’t completely drain your bank account), then certainly give it a try.

That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, during the latest episode of the Power On podcast. According to Gurman, Apple Stores are scheduled for a "big floor reset" overnight between November 5 and November 6. Gurman believes this is being done to prepare Apple's retail locations for the unannounced MacBooks.

The release date makes total sense, given what we know about how Apple tends to release new products. November 6 is just nine days after the October 28 event — and a Friday. Apple loves to release new products on a Friday, and that usually happens the week following a big launch event. Pre-orders will likely open following the event, or on Friday October 30.

It's likely that this big retail switch will also be to aid the release of the iPad mini 8 and M6 upgrades for the iMac and 14-inch MacBook Pro. They are all expected to appear at the October 28 event, and will presumably go on sale shortly afterwards.

Not an M6 chip in sight

Gurman also reiterated claims that the touchscreen MacBook may not come with an M6 chip. He claims that Apple is "pretty much done" with the M6, which only debuted last month, and will not be developing any M6 Pro, M6 Max or M6 Ultra chips.

This reiterates past rumors that Apple would launch the touchscreen MacBook with M5 Pro, M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips.

That should offer significantly better performance power than the standard M6 chip, which wouldn't be fitting for a premium device that may, or may not, bear the "Ultra" name. Further chip upgrades won't be happening until the release of the M7 series, which Gurman expects to happen "at the end of next year."

As for why Apple is skipping the high-end M6 chips, rumors suggest it's because it wants Apple Silicon to pivot more towards AI and better graphics performance Presumably, by scrapping the M6 variants, Apple can pour extra effort and resources into developing the M7 chips sooner than it otherwise would have.

This means those of you that want to prioritize performance and on-device AI processing may want to hold off on picking up the touchscreen MacBook until the launch of the M7. Though whether they will come to the MacBook Ultra this time next year, or much later than that, isn't clear right now — so a delay is a risk you may have to take.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple 'Welcome home' event RECAP — HomeView, Apple TV 4K, HomePod mini 2 unveiled — all the news, prices and release dates
• Apple says Siri doesn't need to beat ChatGPT — here's what it's betting on instead
• iPhone Duo Geekbench scores leak, and Apple's foldable is about to leave Android rivals in the dust

That said, I'm less excited about the software. Its Android apps are still mobile apps scaled up to run on a larger laptop display. Sure, the optimized versions run well, but when I'm on a laptop, I want desktop apps.

I'm also not quite ready to let AI run around my laptop, offering all kinds of help. Is wiggling the cursor to get help from Gemini a fun novelty à la Google Lens? Yes. Will I actually use it in my daily life? I just don't see myself doing that.

These laptops are built to work with the best Android phones, much like Apple's best iPhones and best MacBooks play nice together. And like Apple's system, iPhone owners are mostly left out of the crossover features between laptop and phone. I'd go so far as to say that iPhone users with no interest in switching to Android should skip this laptop and get a MacBook Neo or a MacBook Air instead.

That said, these slightly buggy laptops lay a strong foundation for the future of Google's laptop ventures. Will Google dethrone Apple and Microsoft as the top laptop operating systems? That's a long way off, but with enough time, iteration, and marketing, anything is possible for Google.

Dell XPS Googlebook review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The Dell XPS Googlebook is a touchscreen laptop that runs on Googlebook OS and is designed to work with Android phones.
• Who is it for? Longtime Android users who've always envied how iPhones and MacBooks play nice will enjoy the Dell XPS Googlebook.
• What does it cost? $999 at Best Buy
• What do we like? The slim design, bright 14-inch nearly bezel-less LCD panel, interesting AI features, and impressive overall performance made me enjoy my time with Dell's Googlebook offering.
• What don’t we like? To make the most of the Dell XPS Googlebook, you're dependent on Android phones and a sometimes buggy operating system (admittedly still in its infancy and likely to improve). I also will always prefer desktop software like on macOS and Windows.

Dell XPS Googlebook review: Specs

Dell XPS Googlebook review: The ups

Dell did a fantastic job with its visually attractive design, bright LED panel and stellar performance.

Slim and attractive

Dell made a beautiful laptop, which isn't surprising, given its long history of making beautiful XPS laptops. The Shimmer color will draw your eye like any silver laptop, and the slick Glowbar (standard on Googlebooks) gives it a little extra visual appeal.

Additionally, this laptop is sleek. Weighing just 2.2 pounds, it's light enough to carry everywhere without back pain. Dimension-wise, it's about what you'd expect from a 13.4-inch laptop, but its 0.5-inch depth is impressive (the Acer Googlebook is the same depth, but that doesn't make it any less impressive). It packs a silky-smooth hinge that makes opening and closing the laptop easy, even with one hand.

The keyboard looks and feels good on the Dell XPS Googlebook, so long typing sessions don't negatively affect my hands. The touchpad feels a little weird at times, but it might just be me getting used to the haptic feedback that some other laptops don't have.

Overall, the trackpad still feels off to me, especially with gestures like two-finger scrolling and zooming. I kept overscrolling and bouncing back up. Maybe I'm just used to how scrolling works on my MacBook, but no matter how much I used it, I couldn't get comfortable with it for anything beyond basic clicking (clicking feels great with the haptic feedback).

The trackpad issues didn't ruin the experience, and the touchscreen lets you scroll and navigate if you're comfortable with that.

And it's not all bad; the touchpad is large relative to the laptop, so you have some room to work with.

Despite offering four speakers, the Dell XPS Googlebook didn't blow me away with its sound, but I also don't expect a laptop to be overly impressive. Side by side with my M4 MacBook Air, the volume levels and sound quality are similar, which should be fine for watching videos and doing basic tasks. Just don't expect desktop-level sound, because you see "Quad-speakers" on the spec sheet.

Solid LCD touchscreen

Unlike the Acer Googlebook 14, this isn't a 2-in-1, so it's probably not the best choice for artists or anyone who likes flipping their laptop around and turning it into a tablet. It also uses an LED display instead of an OLED, but as the lab results show, it still performs solidly in brightness, though it lacks HDR support, which may be a deal-breaker for some.

Outside of the lab, I watched a wide range of content, and it all looked great. I watched plenty of 4K YouTube videos that looked just as good as on any other laptop I've tested, or on my MacBook Air, which I use as my daily driver. I even threw on Fight Club, which I rented from Prime Video, and it looked just as gritty and slick as I remembered it.

As you might expect from this device's Chromebook roots, web browsing looks great, with crisp, sharp text. I even read this review back on the Dell XPS Googlebook, and it looked beautiful.

You get a 2.5K (2560 x 1600) InfinityEdge touch display that is responsive enough for most people (I don't really use touchscreens on non-2-in-1 laptops much, but it's nice to know it works well).

Based on our lab tests, the colors are solid and fall within a similar range to those of the slightly cheaper Acer Googlebook 14, though they're not quite as vivid (Dell's colors are arguably more realistic, closer to the beloved MacBook Air).

Power and performance

This laptop is a powerhouse. It crushed the Acer Googlebook 14 in Geekbench tests for only $100 more. If performance is your main buying factor, Dell's model is the way to go. Of course, you're trading the convertible aspect I mentioned earlier, so it's not necessarily a one-to-one comparison.

The MacBook Air literally outperforms it, but it costs $300 more. And with different target audiences (Android owners vs. iPhone owners), they aren't the same. But the MacBook Air is the gold standard for laptops, and it's always worth a side-by-side look.

Interestingly, Dell actually beat the more expensive Lenovo Googlebook 15, though the price increase is mainly due to the larger screen, not better performance. The model that most closely rivals Dell in performance is the HP Googlebook 14, which scored 2,994/14,679, almost the same. We benchmarked all of the new Googlebooks if you want a more in-depth comparison.

In terms of real-world performance, I have exactly zero complaints about the Dell XPS Googlebook. I used it for basic graphic design, writing, and even light gaming, and it handled everything with ease. It stayed perfectly cool no matter what I did, which is important for a portable laptop you might actually use on your lap.

An Android owner's dream

Googlebooks are companions for Android phones, and this device does that with mostly stellar results.

I used a Google Pixel 10XL phone to play with the Dell XPS Googlebook, and the whole process was seamless. You can use your phone to set up the laptop so your apps, contacts, and calendars move back and forth between the two devices. You can also stream apps from your phone onto the laptop, much like Apple's iPhone mirroring feature. For a die-hard Android user, this is what they always wanted Chromebooks to be.

The synergy between the two devices feels very Apple-like, which is clearly Google's and the device makers' goal.

Magic Pointer is one of the features Google pushed heavily when it announced Googlebooks. A simple wiggle of the mouse cursor prompts the search box, which then works a bit like Circle to Search on an Android phone. Do I see myself using this regularly? At the moment, I can't see it making its way into my workflow, but over time, I might find myself using it more often.

Google's Rambler is an upgraded speech-to-text tool that does a nice job. Basically, it takes your stream-of-consciousness talking and turns it into a mostly coherent document. I tested it a few times; I'm great at rambling, as my editor can tell you, but it captured the essence of my nonsense well enough. I wouldn't use it, as it's bordering on AI writing, with it taking my words and cleaning them up, but if you're comfortable with AI changing your words around a little, it's a great feature.

The final major AI feature that's part of Googlebooks and available on Dell's offering is Create My Widget. It's a bit like vibe coding for creating an app for your laptop. I tried it by telling Gemini what kind of app I wanted, and it built one for me. I prefer Claude for vibe coding, but having it built right into the operating system is quite cool.

Overall, the AI and Android integration is a key selling point of the Dell XPS Googlebook. And you can probably decide whether these features sound like selling points or detractors from my description. Personally, I don't see myself using them, but they all work as advertised, which is all you can really ask for from a new operating system with features in their infancy.

Dell XPS Googlebook review: The downs

On its own, the Dell XPS Googlebook is a solid first attempt at a new operating system, though it has room for improvement.

Middling battery life

Googlebooks seem to have middling battery life across the board. You can read our article about why Googlebooks have a battery-life problem for more details on our testing methods and how they compare to Google’s. But no matter how you slice it, Googlebooks are not battery-life champs.

The Dell XPS Googlebook did marginally worse in our testing than the Acer Googlebook 14, but only by 21 minutes. Now, when you look at it next to the current king of portable powerhouses, the MacBook Air, the difference is relatively shocking and enough to potentially make you reconsider spending $999 on this laptop.

Dell and Google promise up to 18 hours of battery life with this laptop, which sounds like an incredible number capable of crushing Apple's lightweight leader. But when our testing showed a number that's so vastly different from the laptop makers', it has me wondering under what conditions Google's tests are being done.

"Battery life is based on controlled web browsing tests. Actual battery life may be lower and will vary based on factors like network conditions, location, settings, and usage," reads the fine print on Google's website. The part about variance certainly tracks, but I generally don't expect that much of a shift between manufacturer testing and our own.

Of course, if you're an Android user, the interoperability between your laptop and your other devices might outweigh battery life concerns. That's really something you'll need to think about. Yes, the cross connections are cool and useful, but five hours of battery life is significant.

Googlebook OS is buggy

I found the Dell XPS Googlebook and Googlebook OS to offer a fairly smooth experience, but as it's a brand new operating system, there are some bugs here and there. However, I will say I didn't experience as many as I might have expected based on some of our other Googlebook reviews.

The biggest issue comes from things like apps streaming from the phone not scaling correctly and the occasional crash. Fortunately, nothing crashed that required me to do a bunch of work over again; otherwise, I'd probably be a lot more upset about any of the bugs.

If you go into it knowing that you're getting a laptop that plays well with your phone that may have a small hiccup here and there, you'll have a good experience overall.

Dell XPS Googlebook review: Verdict

In the end, I really like this laptop, even as an iPhone user. Its biggest strength is stellar performance on paper. Compared to other laptops in the Googlebook line and other $1,000 laptops, it's a powerful device that scored well in benchmarks and real-world testing.

But that power comes with less-than-stellar battery life, which could be a major issue for anyone working on the go when power outlets aren't always available.

Despite these minor issues, I have no problem recommending this laptop to any Android user who wants a laptop with cool handoff functionality and strong back-and-forth synergy.