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MacBook Pro With OLED Touch Screen Launching as Soon as 2026

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Apple is working on a new version of the MacBook Pro with an OLED display, a hole punch camera, and touch screen functionality, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said today. The updated MacBook Pro is set to launch sometime between late 2026 and early 2027.

macbook-pro-prime-day-2025.jpeg

Apple hasn't redesigned the MacBook Pro since the launch of the M1 Pro and M1 Max machines in 2021, but that is set to change with the launch of the OLED models. Along with new display capabilities, there will be a hole-punch camera and no notch, plus a thinner and lighter design. Apple is also adding a reinforced hinge and an updated screen design that will ensure the display does not move when it is touched.

While Apple plans to add a touch screen, the MacBook will continue to have a trackpad and a keyboard, with touch gestures augmenting existing functionality.

With an OLED display and touch integration, the upcoming 2026/2027 MacBook Pro models will likely be more expensive than the current higher-end MacBook Pro models that are priced starting at $1,999 for the 14-inch model and $2,499 for the 16-inch model.

The touch screen MacBook Pro models will be equipped with Apple's next-generation M6 chips. Apple just this week debuted the M5 Apple silicon chip, so the M6 is a ways off. Apple won't have M5 Pro and M5 Max chips ready until early 2026, which means it is increasingly likely the M6 variants will come in 2027.

It is possible that Apple will introduce two MacBook Pro refreshes in the same year, but it would be unusual.

Apple plans to test touch screen Macs with the MacBook Pro line, and the technology won't come to other Macs until Apple learns how it fares with consumers. Apple's last attempt at touch-based functionality in the Mac did not go well. The Touch Bar that was added to the MacBook Pro in 2016 did not prove popular with customers, and Apple ended up phasing it out starting with the 2021 MacBook Pro refresh.

Rumors about a touch screen Mac surfaced earlier this year when Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple would incorporate on-cell touch technology in the OLED MacBook Pro. Kuo said that Apple decided to give the Mac a touch screen after "long-term observation of iPad user behavior" that suggested touch controls can enhance productivity and user experience in certain scenarios.

Article Link: MacBook Pro With OLED Touch Screen Launching as Soon as 2026
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/16/macbook-pro-oled-touch-screen/
touch screen - had a few Windows laptops with touch screen and disabled that in BIOS, don't see the appeal for the average person. Makes me wonder if there will be a "special" line of MacBooks that have touch screen along with the regular ones.
Now, it it would let you flip the screen 180 degrees and run iPadOS, maybe ...
 
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MacRumors said:
Apple is also adding a reinforced hinge and an updated screen design that will ensure the display does not move when it is touched.
Click to expand...

A reinforced hinge could mean a redesigned hinge which would allow the display to be flipped around all the way to use the MacBook Pro in tablet mode. This new hinge could come from research Apple has been doing on the hinge for the iPhone Fold.

MacRumors said:
While Apple plans to add a touch screen, the MacBook will continue to have a trackpad and a keyboard, with touch gestures augmenting existing functionality.
Click to expand...

With the iPad getting a sort of Mac mode, it is more likely now that the Mac could get some kind of iPad mode if the rumor of it getting a touch screen is true. This would be especially great for artists who have always wanted to draw on their Mac, which is much more powerful.

MacRumors said:
Apple won't have M5 Pro and M5 Max chips ready until early 2026, which means it is increasingly likely the M6 variants will come in 2027.

It is possible that Apple will introduce two MacBook Pro refreshes in the same year, but it would be unusual.
Click to expand...

Not that unusual. Apple recently did this in the same year with the M2 and M3. I think it will have more to do with what schedule TSMC is able to provide 2nm chips.

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This is exciting news. Hopefully we can get some other improvements at the same time, such as the introduction of a cellular model. Perhaps a C2X chip, and we could also see the N series, perhaps N2 chip, come to the Mac as well. These new efficient chips combined with the M6 on a 2nm process and an OLED display might enable Apple to make the new MacBook Pro a lot thinner and lighter, which aligns with some rumors from earlier this year, while keeping the incredible battery life the same. Perhaps we will see some other improvements such as bezel reductions, since OLED can have narrower bezels, gaining a little more screen size.
 
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kalafalas said:
Touch screen on a Mac makes no sense at all. macOS with touch support (and the interface to match) already exists, it’s called iOS. Touch targets and design philosophy on macOS makes sense with a precision pointer, not a fat finger.
Click to expand...
It sounds like youre saying Apple couldn’t pull off something Microsoft did a decade ago. I reckon they could if they put their mind to it. They’d obviously have to get rid of the complex command sequences and surface everything in the gui, but that’s not as hard as they make it look.
 
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Ok guys, there are some usage scenarios where a touch screen on a MacBook does make sense - in particular when you are standing up and need to navigate to something it is far less wrist and arm strain to use a touch screen than to force your hands into a position to use the track pad (while standing). That being said, its usefulness is limited and I probably wouldn't want to pay whatever extra it costs for that feature (if it can be sectioned out).
 
Touch screens on laptops are worthless to 95% of the population. I've had a touchscreen on a few Windows laptops and I never used them once. I don't like fingerprints on any display except my phone, and I honestly don't even like that but I don't have a suitable alternative. Also, hasn't the OLED display been rumored for several years now?
 
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I think my big question at this point is if they are entirely skipping m5 pro and max versions of the MBP and will release an m6 mid year? or are we talking late 2026/early 2027 for the redesign and we're still getting the m5 max early next year?
 
Can't think of a single use for touch screen on a laptop unless you can flip the screen around and use it in tablet mode..... Can't picture Apple doing that and cannibalizing iPad pro sales though
 
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