Report: Apple launching updated iMac with M6 chip and new colors later this year

What happened

Report: Apple Launching Updated iMac With M6 Chip and New Colors Later This Year

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman is reporting that Apple is developing a new iMac powered by the M6 chipset, alongside updated color options. The machine is expected to arrive later this year, ending what would be a two-year gap since the last iMac refresh.

This article breaks down what Gurman's report actually says, what it means for the iMac line, and who should be paying close attention ahead of a potential fall or holiday announcement. If you own or plan to buy an all-in-one desktop from Apple, here is what the current information tells you and where the gaps still are.

The announcement

How it works

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who has a strong track record on Apple hardware reporting, says Apple is actively working on a new iMac that will include the M6 chip and refreshed color options. The report comes after a two-year period without an iMac update, which has left the current model on the M4 chip. Gurman's sourcing is described in terms that suggest the machine is on a real product timeline rather than an exploratory phase, though no specific launch event or month has been named in the available summary.

The original source is 9to5Mac, which is reporting on Gurman's Bloomberg coverage. That chain of sourcing is worth noting because it means the detail level is what Gurman chose to share at this stage, not a comprehensive product briefing. Apple has not commented and has made no official announcement as of this writing.

What actually changed

The central hardware update in this report is the move from M4 to M6. Apple's M-series chips follow a generational cadence, and skipping directly to M6 would represent a two-generation leap for the iMac line. Whether that means the machine ships with an M6, M6 Pro, or a base M6 configuration is not specified in the available information. The other confirmed element is updated color options, which suggests the palette introduced with earlier iMac generations will be revised in some way, though no specific colors are named.

Why it matters

No display size changes, port additions, price adjustments, or RAM and storage tier updates are mentioned in the summary. Builders and buyers should treat those variables as unknown until Apple makes an official announcement or Gurman's follow-up reporting fills in those details closer to launch.

Who should care

The audience most directly affected is anyone currently waiting to buy an all-in-one desktop Mac. If you are on an Intel iMac or an M1 or M2 model, a two-generation chip jump to M6 would represent a meaningful performance difference across CPU throughput, GPU workloads, and the efficiency cores that handle background tasks. Creative professionals who depend on the iMac's integrated display and compact footprint have the most to gain from a chip upgrade at this scale.

Who is affected

Enterprise buyers who standardize on iMac for design, video, or development teams should also note this cycle. A two-year gap means many deployed units are on aging silicon relative to what is available in MacBook Pro and Mac Studio lines. An M6 iMac would restore parity or near-parity with those portables for the first time in a couple of years.

Availability and how to try it

No release date, launch event name, or pricing has been disclosed in the available reporting. Gurman's language, as summarized, points to a launch later this year, which in Apple's calendar typically means a fall event in September or October or a holiday-season release in November. Those are reasonable windows given the company's historical patterns, but this article is not asserting any of those as confirmed.

If you want to track availability, the most reliable signals will come from additional Gurman newsletters at Bloomberg, 9to5Mac's ongoing coverage, and Apple's own newsroom. There is no developer preview, beta, or early-access program for consumer hardware, so the earliest anyone can try an M6 iMac is the day it ships to retail or to Apple Store shelves.

What to watch next

What to watch next

The two details most worth watching are chip tier and color lineup. Knowing whether Apple ships a base M6 or also offers M6 Pro configurations in the iMac would substantially change the machine's appeal to professional workflows. The current iMac tops out at a single chip tier, so any expansion of that ceiling would be a structural change to the product, not just a speed bump.

On the color side, Apple has used iMac color refreshes in the past to signal a broader design moment. If new colors arrive alongside the M6, it may indicate a minor industrial design update rather than a purely internal spec change. Gurman tends to layer in additional details as launch nears, so his Bloomberg coverage remains the clearest signal source between now and whenever Apple makes this official.