Best Buy opened MacBook Pro preorders on October 28 by bundling a free $100 gift card with each purchase, giving Apple shoppers store credit ahead of the official November 6 hardware release date. The promotion applies to the new touchscreen MacBook Pro featuring the PROLED XDR display as well as standard laptops powered by the M6 chip. Buyers do not need a paid retail membership to receive the credit [1].
How MacBook Pro Preorders Earn Store Credit
The incentive arrives as digital store credit rather than an immediate cash discount on the laptop. Best Buy matches Apple’s official list prices, setting the 14-inch touchscreen MacBook Pro at $2,899 and the 16-inch model at $3,399. The credit is store credit. Shoppers can verify that the promotional gift card sits in their cart by checking the final checkout page before completing an order [1]. The voucher applies across every hardware configuration offered on the Best Buy website, giving Apple customers store credit for software or accessories.
Shoppers do not need a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership to claim the deal. As AndroidPure reported, Best Buy did not specify an expiration date for the preorder offer, nor did the retailer clarify what happens to the gift card balance if a customer chooses to return the laptop [5].
Best Buy attached gift card bonuses to other newly introduced Apple products during the autumn launch window. Customers preordering the refreshed iPad mini 8 powered by the A20 Pro chip get a $50 gift card, with tablet prices starting at $699 [4]. Meanwhile, the entry 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 processor comes with the same $100 voucher, starting at $1,999. In contrast, Best Buy opened preorders for Apple’s new M6 iMac starting at $1,499 without offering any gift card bonus [2]. MacRumors reporter Mitchel Broussard confirmed that these promotions do not require membership fees [4].
Trade-In Values and Starting Prices
Best Buy advertises an effective entry price of $1,539 for the baseline 14-inch touchscreen MacBook Pro when buyers trade in an eligible device. That figure reflects a $1,360 trade deduction from the $2,899 retail price. Customers can check potential trade estimates by entering their Apple serial number on the Best Buy website [2].
Owners of recent Apple hardware can secure larger trade deductions to lower out-of-pocket costs. HotHardware analyst Paul Lilly calculated that an operable 14-inch Apple laptop equipped with an M5 Pro chip, 24GB of RAM, and 1TB of onboard storage commands a $1,760 trade estimate at Best Buy, dropping net hardware costs to $1,139 [2]. That valuation offers noticeable savings for users upgrading from last year’s hardware. Similarly, trading an eligible computer toward the entry-level M6 MacBook Pro can pull its starting cost from $1,999 down to $639 [4].
The new touchscreen models cost $400 more than comparable non-touch versions powered by M5 Pro and M5 Max chips [5]. Dealnews noted that Best Buy reduced an older non-touch 14-inch Apple computer carrying an M5 Pro processor and 2TB of solid-state storage down to $2,899, matching the entry touchscreen price but offering double the internal storage [6]. Shoppers who need storage space more than touch input may prefer that discounted machine.
Tandem OLED Display Upgrades
The core upgrade in the new laptop is Apple’s custom PROLED XDR screen, which introduces a dual-stack tandem OLED display to the MacBook family. Tom’s Guide editor in chief Mark Spoonauer explained that Apple’s custom tandem OLED panel achieves a 10 million to 1 contrast ratio, creating deep black levels without losing shadow detail seen on Windows laptops. What does that contrast jump mean in everyday use? Dark interfaces render with sharp precision, and video editing workflows gain visual accuracy across high-contrast scenes. The screen reaches 2,000 nits of peak brightness for both HDR video and standard desktop tasks, outshining rival Windows OLED laptops that cap brightness at 1,600 nits [3]. The boost gives creative professionals an Apple display that handles bright office lights and outdoor shoots without washing out.
Apple avoided using a separate digitizer layer by embedding touch silicon directly into the OLED stack itself. The screen reaches 2,000 nits. That integration cuts input lag and keeps power consumption low. Apple also added a TFT oxide layer, allowing the screen to drop to low refresh rates without flickering [3].
When Apple unveiled the MacBook Pro PROLED models, the company highlighted the panel as a leap forward for creative software workflows. Hands-on testing revealed both strengths and familiar boundaries in the hardware. Writing for The Verge, Antonio G. Di Benedetto praised the PROLED XDR screen’s brightness and vivid contrast but called the broader laptop update “kind of boring” because core chassis elements remain largely unchanged [1]. Early testers agreed that although the display panel brings richer colors, the machine still looks and feels like a classic Apple laptop during routine typing and window management.
Chassis Tweaks and macOS Controls
Engineers rebuilt the display hinge to keep the lid stable when users tap the screen. The 14-inch model weighs 3 pounds, placing it close to the 2.7-pound MacBook Air. Face ID is not included. A Dynamic Island replaces the older screen notch, using Touch ID rather than facial recognition for system unlocks [3].
The glowing Apple logo returns to the laptop lid after a ten-year absence, though its internal lighting has changed completely. Because self-emitting OLED screens lack a traditional display backlight, Apple built a separate light source behind the lid that dims and brightens to match screen output [3]. On the software side, Apple modified macOS to help users target small buttons. Window controls like the traffic light buttons magnify as a finger approaches the glass, preventing accidental clicks on tiny window corners [1]. It is a small change that smooths out touch navigation.
Creative applications are adding touch tools for specific workflows. In Logic Pro, musicians can tap piano chords or input drum beats directly on the screen, while Pixelmator Pro allows users to adjust photo layers with multi-touch gestures. Apple excluded Apple Pencil input. The company chose to keep a clear dividing line between Mac laptops and iPad tablets [3].
When MacBook Pro Preorders Ship to Customers
Best Buy lists an official release date of Friday, November 6 for all preordered laptops. Online orders will arrive on or shortly after launch day, depending on shipping location. For the baseline 14-inch M5 Pro build, Best Buy listed home delivery only, whereas 16-inch configurations in Silver and Space Black offered both delivery and local store pickup on November 6 [5]. Store pickup is also free. Buyers can place orders online through Best Buy to secure hardware before initial launch allocations sell out.
Other major retail platforms opened hardware reservations without adding bonus gift cards. Amazon launched preorders across the new MacBook Pro lineup at standard list prices with free delivery, but without bonus store credit. Amazon offers no gift cards. Apple also sells preorders at regular retail rates, though its store offers interest-free monthly financing and business leasing [6].
Shoppers who do not need a touchscreen can preorder the entry-level M6 MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,999 with 16GB of unified memory and a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display. The M6 chip increases CPU and GPU core counts from 10 to 12, providing graphics performance gains of up to 30% over the older M5 generation [6]. Because Best Buy includes the same $100 gift card on M6 orders, buyers can choose between new touchscreen technology and lower entry prices and still secure store credit for accessories [2].
- ONLINE NEWS Bourque, B. (2026, October 31). Best Buy is bundling a $100 gift card with touchscreen MacBook Pro preorders. The Verge. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Lilly, P. (2026, October 30). Preorder Apple’s Touch OLED MacBook Pro And Get A Free $100 Gift Card. HotHardware. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Spoonauer, M. (2026, October 30). Should you buy the touchscreen MacBook Pro? 10 things you need to know. Tom’s Guide. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Broussard, M. (2026, October 28). Best Buy Offering Up to $100 Gift Cards With iPad Mini 8 and M6 MacBook Pro Pre-Orders. MacRumors. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS AndroidPure Staff. (2026, October 29). Best Buy Adds a $100 Gift Card to Touchscreen MacBook Pro Pre-Orders. AndroidPure. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS DealNews Staff. (2026, October 29). Apple MacBook Pro PROLED XDR Touchscreen Laptop at Best Buy: Preorders from $1,539 w/ trade + $100 Best Buy GC. Dealnews. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS 1001Rss Staff. (2026, October 29). Best Buy Opens Pre-Orders for PROLED XDR MacBook Pro With $100 Bonus Gift Cards. 1001Rss. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS SplashTheNews Staff. (2026, October 31). Best Buy Adds $100 Gift Card to MacBook Pro Preorders. splashthenews.com. [Article Link]
