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Apple's Rumored MacBook Pro Redesign: 6 New Features Anticipated

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Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the ‌MacBook Pro‌ is now several years away, think again.

M6-MacBook-Pro-Feature-1.jpg

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small performance boost for the next ‌MacBook Pro‌ refresh when new models with M5 chips arrive likely early next year, while the "true overhaul" for the laptop will come further down the line – either in late 2026 or early 2027. So if you are planning to skip the M5 ‌MacBook Pro‌, or you're just plain curious about what's two generations away, here are the biggest changes rumored to be coming to Apple's premium laptop line.

OLED Display
Goodbye, mini-LED
Several rumors have indicated that Apple is developing MacBook Pro models with OLED displays. Research firm Omdia in May 2024 claimed Apple is "highly likely" to introduce new MacBook Pros featuring OLED displays next year, while display analyst Ross Young in September 2024 said that Apple's supply chain is expected to have sufficient notebook-optimized OLED display production capacity in 2026 to bring the technology to MacBook Pro. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects the MacBook Pro to gain an OLED display "between the end of 2026 and early 2027." Compared to current MacBook Pro models that use mini-LED screens, the benefits of OLED technology would include increased brightness, higher contrast ratio with deeper blacks, improved power efficiency for longer battery life, and more.

Thinner, Lighter Laptop
Major Redesign
The switch to OLED displays could allow future MacBook Pro models to have a thinner design, and rumors suggest that is indeed what Apple intends. When the M4 iPad Pro was unveiled in May 2024, Apple touted it as the company's thinnest product ever. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman subsequently called the iPad Pro the "beginning of a new class of Apple devices," and said Apple was working to make the MacBook Pro thinner over the "next couple of years." Apple is reportedly focusing on delivering the thinnest possible device without compromising on battery life or major new features.

Notably, the MacBook Pro got thicker and heavier with its most recent redesign in 2021. A major highlight was the reintroduction of several ports that were removed in previous iterations in favor of chassis thinness. How Apple will make its redesigned MacBook Pro thinner without removing the functionality it reintroduced fairly recently is the big question.

Punch-Hole Camera
No More Notch
If you are fed up of the notch intruding on your Mac display, here's some good news. Apple plans to remove the notch from the redesigned MacBook Pro, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap indicates that redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, rather than the notch we've become accustomed to. A MacBook Pro without a notch would offer additional visible pixels on the screen, creating a more uninterrupted and cohesive display design.

Such a move would mirror Apple's iPhone evolution, since the iPhone's notch became the current Dynamic Island starting with the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2022. It's unclear whether the MacBook Pro would include Dynamic Island functionality or simply adopt the visual design, but the change would at least address long-standing user complaints about the notch, which physically ingresses into the macOS menu bar.

5G Modem
Cellular Connectivity
Earlier this year, Apple introduced the C1, its custom-built 5G modem chip which debuted in the entry-level iPhone 16e. More recently, Apple debuted the ‌iPhone Air‌ equipped with a new C1X chip, which is up to 2x faster than the C1. According to Apple, the C1X is the most power-efficient modem in an iPhone. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is considering bringing cellular connectivity to the Mac lineup for the first time. The company is said to be "investigating" the possibility of adding a second-generation C2 modem chip to a future Mac as soon as 2026, teasing the potential for a cellular MacBook Pro in the same year. The C1 and C1X modem chips are limited to sub-6GHz 5G speeds, but the second-generation version will support faster mmWave technology, according to Gurman.

M6 Series Chip
2nm Process
Before the MacBook Pro's major redesign, Apple plans to update the lineup with M5 series chips, likely in early 2026. The chips will be manufactured with TSMC's third-generation 3nm process, known as N3P, resulting in typical year-over-year performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the M4 seri... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Apple's Rumored MacBook Pro Redesign: 6 New Features Anticipated
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/17/upcoming-macbook-pro-redesign-6-new-features/
abatabia said:
So the M5 is looking to be as pointless as that early 2019 15” MacBook Pro when the late 2019 was redesigned, which itself was semi pointless as m1 was already rumored. Got it.
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i think M5 will come with the redesign and later will have the M6...this is how Apple get his customers in its trap
 
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I hope they hold off on the touchscreen display, because it's the kind of new thing that's likely to cause a multi-year delay while supppliers are found to satisfy Apple's requirements. Just give us OLED and a less-instrusive camera hole and we'll be happy. (I'd ask for thinner and lighter too but I know how many would be up in arms.) Don't care to have a modem and another mobile subscription to pay, I can't even imagine a time I'd need it since I've always got my phone around.
 
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gurman is a wanker
there is already a massive AI-related performance change thats hidden in plain sight in A19 specs, that was just barely mentioned during iphone event.
M5 should bring apple on par with AMD desktop/mobile GPUs, maybe even NV, in terms of AI performance, and should destroy them completely given those GPUs have a fraction of memory available to Apple's GPU.
 
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Actually the six new features listed in this article all sound very plausible to me and it seems in conjunction with the redesigned MacOS Tahoe that this all could become reality in the very near future. It just feels like all the pieces of the puzzle are slowly coming together finally.
 
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andrewxgx said:
look at tahoe UI and tell me that aint a touch-frist UI
Click to expand...
Tahoe's UI isn't dramatically different from the Big Sur-Sequoia UI (which in turn wasn't dramatically different from the Yosemite or Leopard UIs). All of those revisions are basically skin updates. The bigger changes like the window corner radius and slightly padded sidebars don't do much to enhance a potential touch UI when most of the other interface elements are the same size they've been for years.
 
The MacBook Pro doesn’t have to be thinner as it would feel less powerful. Thinner will mean compromises and for a pro-machine Apple should try to avoid compromises. The current MacBook Pro looks really great and the design could go on for at least 10 more years. The only thing I’m missing on my MacBook Pro is an Ethernet jack.

We’ve already seen how bad a thinner MacBook Pro is.

If they do create a redesigned MBP they really should get rid of the notch. I rather see a slightly thicker bezel.
 
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USB-A, and just flat out MORE ports because all that stuff isn't going away and it's more durable. Silicon valley called this out with taping port expanders to laptops in the show, excellent commentary on that item.
 
The current MBP design is a solid winner. It’s just the right dimensions for what it does and what it represents. Not to thin, not too big.

I bought a 16” M4 recently to upgrade from my smaller M1 and I’m very happy with it. My wife has one of the touchbar Mac’s that’s getting passed down and she’s getting the M1. The keyboard debacle with the touchbar MBP’s. All the issues. I was NOT a fan of that machine. I LOOKED for an excuse to ditch that unit.

If I were on the fence and a redesign came out I may purchase the older (current) MBP to get one in the current chassis design. I’m a fan of it it.

I hope Apple doesn’t mess it up again. Memories can be short across multiple product cycles.

And do away with MagSafe on the MBP at your peril. I HATED USB-C charging on that unit.
 
andrewxgx said:
look at tahoe UI and tell me that aint a touch-frist UI
Click to expand...
It won't be, because the anticipated touch screen laptops won't be out while its still the current OS.

I'm suspicious of anything to do with touch screens from Apple, not because I don't want it, but it seems we've been told by Apple for so long it was totally unnecessary, what is the compelling reason to switch their viewpoint now? The only way I see this happening is if iPadOS and macOS merge into one system, and iPadOS26 is the first step to make this change happen.
 
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Touch screen, yes please. It's the only Windows laptop feature I envy, super useful to primary user and also in group use. Designing for social work/consumer realities is still a largely untapped UX innovation path. So many don't realize how limiting it is just thinking about tech from an individualist POV for individual users, when that is very far from the full reality of use for mobile/portable products especially.

ALSO GIVE US MOAR FASTER AND LARGER RAM!
 
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