A Geekbench record for an M6 Pro that the benchmark's creator doubts, and a handwashing timer missing from the new Apple Watches
Geekbench's own creator says a claimed M6 Pro record looks wrong, and handwashing detection is missing from Apple's new Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4.
A claimed Geekbench record for an "M6 Pro" chip appeared on Saturday, and the person who runs the benchmark told MacRumors he doubts it. The same weekend produced a smaller and fully checkable change at the other end of the line-up: Apple's own Watch User Guide leaves the brand-new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 off the hardware list for handwashing detection. No insider report about an unannounced iPad, Mac, AirPods, Vision Pro, HomePod or Apple TV product appeared in the 24 hours to Sunday morning.
A record for an "M6 Pro", and the platform's own creator doubts it
The entry sits in Geekbench's public browser under the name "Apple M6 Pro", attached to a machine identifier of Mac18,6 and dated September 18, 2026. It lists 18 cores split into two clusters of six and 12, a base frequency of 4.78GHz, 48GB of memory, a single-core score of 4,150 and a multi-core score of 37,565 1. AppleInsider wrote it up on Saturday afternoon and traced it to a thread on r/apple 23.
Two results on the same version of the benchmark make the comparison possible, because both come from silicon Apple has already shipped. The M6 Mac mini scores 4,071 single-core and 22,783 multi-core across its 12 CPU cores, and the M5 Pro in the 16-inch MacBook Pro scores 3,692 and 33,595 2. Saturday's entry lands a little above the M6 on one core and a little above the M5 Pro on many, which is roughly where a genuine M6 Pro with 18 cores would be expected to land.
Then the platform's own operator weighed in. John Poole, who created Geekbench, told MacRumors he had uncovered "internal inconsistencies" in the entry and that the result might not be legitimate 4. That verdict arrives against reporting from the other direction: Mark Gurman reported in June that Apple plans to skip the M6 Pro and M6 Max entirely and move to M7 in the first half of 2027 5. AppleInsider describes the M6 generation as lasting about six months, which is where the question of whether an M6 Pro exists at all comes from.
For anyone watching the Mac line rather than this one entry, the useful date is close. The M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini and the M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studio reach stores on Tuesday, September 22 6. Buyer-run benchmarks from those machines will be the first hardware-backed numbers for this generation, and they will settle far more than a database entry can.
What the entry does establish on its own is nothing. Nobody has corroborated it, the company that runs the benchmark questions it, and the roadmap reporting it contradicts comes from the reporter with the strongest record on Apple silicon.
Apple's Watch guide leaves the new models off handwashing detection
Handwashing detection arrived with watchOS 7 in 2020 and still ships in watchOS 27, and Apple Health still carries handwashing as a category, including in the iOS 27.2 beta. The change is in the hardware list. Apple's Watch User Guide names the Series 11 and Ultra 3 under the feature's supported devices, and leaves out the Series 12 and Ultra 4 that went on sale on September 18 78.
9to5Mac, which found the omission, says the cause is unclear: a line dropped from the guide, or a limit of the new hardware. The Series 12 and Ultra 4 carry the first overhauled Apple Watch processor in several years, together with a rebuilt health sensing stack and new Audio Intelligence features such as Siri Recap and Live Rewind 9. The reporter's reading is that a pandemic-era feature was left out of the new models 7.
This one is documentation rather than an insider report, so treat it as a fact about what Apple's own pages say today. What it changes is narrow and immediate: a Series 12 or Ultra 4 bought this weekend cannot be relied on for handwashing reminders, on the evidence Apple has published so far. watchOS 27 has already taken other features away from existing owners, including the double-click of the Digital Crown that switched apps 10.
| Signal | Reporter and time (UTC) | What it rests on | How much weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Apple M6 Pro" Geekbench 7 entry, Mac18,6, 4,150 single-core and 37,565 multi-core | Surfaced on Saturday; AppleInsider at 15:29, MacRumors at 17:59 24 | A single entry in a public benchmark database | Unconfirmed. Geekbench's creator found internal inconsistencies and doubts it; nobody has reproduced it. |
| Whether an M6 Pro chip exists in Apple's plans | Mark Gurman, relayed by MacRumors on June 25 5 | Bloomberg supply-chain reporting | The roadmap still says M6 Pro and M6 Max are skipped and M7 arrives in the first half of 2027. Saturday's entry does not overturn it. |
| Series 12 and Ultra 4 support for handwashing detection | 9to5Mac at 22:16, against Apple's Watch User Guide 78 | Apple's own supported-hardware list | Firm that the list omits the new models. Whether that reflects the hardware or the document stays open. |
What to watch next
- Tuesday, September 22 — the M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini and the M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studio reach stores. Retail Geekbench runs from those machines are the first hardware-backed numbers for the M6 generation, and the fastest way to test Saturday's entry 6.
- Friday, October 16 and Friday, October 23 — iPhone Duo pre-orders open and the phone goes on sale. Apps need to be built against iOS 27.0 to use the inner display and iOS 27.1 for the Duo's own tab bar, so how much third-party software arrives ready is the open question for launch day 1112.
- No public date — iOS 27.2 remains in developer testing, and Apple has not said when it ships or whether the revamped Health app reaches that release 13.
- Any watchOS 27 point update — watch whether Series 12 and Ultra 4 are added to the handwashing detection list, or stay off it.
What stayed out
- The Apple Music album-countdown feature that @itspdfu demonstrated on video on Saturday: the September 18 issue carried the feature flag behind it, so the same item is not repeated here 14.
- Mark Gurman's Saturday posts, one advising iPhone 17 Pro owners against an 18 Pro upgrade and one criticising Apple's influencer programme: an insider's commentary on shipped products, which is not reporting on anything unannounced 1516.
- 9to5Mac's Saturday relay of the TechInsights teardown and the Qualcomm modem inside the US iPhone 18 Pro Max, which the September 19 issue carried from the teardown itself 17.
- Launch-week Apple Watch discounts and weekend deal round-ups, iPhone 18 Pro accessory lists, the Apple @ Work enterprise password column, the Indie App Spotlight, Apple's list of more than 30 speed changes in iOS 27, and October product round-ups that recycle the September 14 Bloomberg pipeline.
- No qualifying insider report about an unannounced iPad, AirPods, Vision Pro, HomePod, Apple TV or Mac appeared in this window. Ming-Chi Kuo's newest post is still his September 1 MediaTek note and Ross Young's is his August 31 post, so neither analyst published an Apple component claim this weekend.
References
- 1Geekbench 7 result: "Apple M6 Pro", Mac18,6
browser.geekbench.com
- 2
- 3
- 4M6 Pro Chip Result on Geekbench is Likely Fake
macrumors.com
- 5
- 6Apple Releasing Two New Macs Next Week
macrumors.com
- 7
- 8Apple Watch User Guide: handwashing detection hardware
support.apple.com
- 9Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 review
9to5mac.com
- 10
- 11
- 12iPhone Duo: everything we know
macrumors.com
- 13Everything New in iOS 27.2 Beta 1
macrumors.com
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
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