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MacBook Pro With OLED Touch Screen Launching as Soon as 2026
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Yep. Pencil support. This is honestly the only reason I’d want touch on a MacBook Pro.
Jony Ive would say,
"Apple's team designed this amazing new screen to remove the complexities, hurdles, and barriers of using technology, allowing those daily frustrations to dissipate and disappear, and enabling you to interact directly with your ideas - no clunky or complicated accessories to interfere with and interrupt your thought process - just reach out your finger to make your next passion project come to life."
Or something to that effect.
(*Disclaimer: Not the real Jony Ive*)
So why NOT bring the M6 MBP into the past with a swivel-screen?
A lot of companies did do that in the past. Yes, there can be issues with the mechanics and durability of the hinge mechanism. But hey, why not modernize the platform?
Hmmm, on second thought, that would only be good for me when I'm AWAY from home. I'm outfitting all of my desks so that they can dock a laptop...but the laptop would have to be closed, so I wouldn't have access to the touch screen anyhow. I guess I should be glad I don't have to pay for all of my big ideas, huh?
A lot of companies did do that in the past. Yes, there can be issues with the mechanics and durability of the hinge mechanism. But hey, why not modernize the platform?
Hmmm, on second thought, that would only be good for me when I'm AWAY from home. I'm outfitting all of my desks so that they can dock a laptop...but the laptop would have to be closed, so I wouldn't have access to the touch screen anyhow. I guess I should be glad I don't have to pay for all of my big ideas, huh?
I had the same thought too, but for me I think Apple might skip M5 Pro/Max and will go straight for M6 Pro/Max OLED redesigned thinner MacBook Pro in 2026 or later. It'll probably make a difference between mini-LED M5 MacBook Pro and OLED M6 Pro/Max MacBook Pro. Here's the link: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...5-pro-and-m5-max-models.2468875/post-34214782
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I was very apprehensive at first because as others have mentioned many times here and over the years - 1) macOS isn't really built for touch, menus, apps, scaling in general is too small in many places for something as fat as a finger, 2) unless it can lay flat and can be used as a tablet it is ergonomically uncomfortable, 3) and most of all its just unnecessary for most people, even people that own laptops with touch screen say that they don't use touchscreens that often.
If price remains the same (which according to the rumour it wont) then thats fine. But if its spiked by several hundreds of dollars than thats an awful deal for most people, since nobody buys a Macbook for touch. Effectively, if all you want is a Macbook Pro with an M6 (Pro?) chip and an OLED screen then you are asked to pay more for a feature that you dont really need. Which is most people judging by reactions in this thread.
However, looking from an artist perspective, the more I thought about it then more I like the idea. I've considered buying an iPad for some time for drawing, but to me thats too expensive since I wouldnt use it for anything else, I love my Macbook and do everything on it, I dont even use my iPhone at all, and I like to have just 1 device that I use for everything. But If I could have a Macbook that would also allow me to draw with Apple pen that would be amazing and I wouldnt have to deal with multiple devices. But would I pay more for that luxury? If its 100 more dollars than yes, if its 200-300 more than maybe, but if its anything more than that then hell no.
If price remains the same (which according to the rumour it wont) then thats fine. But if its spiked by several hundreds of dollars than thats an awful deal for most people, since nobody buys a Macbook for touch. Effectively, if all you want is a Macbook Pro with an M6 (Pro?) chip and an OLED screen then you are asked to pay more for a feature that you dont really need. Which is most people judging by reactions in this thread.
However, looking from an artist perspective, the more I thought about it then more I like the idea. I've considered buying an iPad for some time for drawing, but to me thats too expensive since I wouldnt use it for anything else, I love my Macbook and do everything on it, I dont even use my iPhone at all, and I like to have just 1 device that I use for everything. But If I could have a Macbook that would also allow me to draw with Apple pen that would be amazing and I wouldnt have to deal with multiple devices. But would I pay more for that luxury? If its 100 more dollars than yes, if its 200-300 more than maybe, but if its anything more than that then hell no.
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Apologies if this has already been said, but I don't want a touchscreen "MacBook", there I said it, the limitation of the hinge / screen position would be very annoying.
Apple should release a new product, a "MacFold", like simlar products that can be a laptop or a tablet, then I'd be in.
If this is their plan, it would make sense that they care less about the ipad cabilaising Mac sales, this would attack both.
Apple should release a new product, a "MacFold", like simlar products that can be a laptop or a tablet, then I'd be in.
If this is their plan, it would make sense that they care less about the ipad cabilaising Mac sales, this would attack both.
It always makes me laugh when people say they’d rather have less features. It’s the mark of a true bought in fan boy who has truly drunk the koolaid.
Give me as may features as possible, and yes I think touchscreen on laptops is great with no downsides. Microsoft make it work in the Surface Laptop very well. Even if you don’t use a pen, it’s nice to browse the web with touch support
Give me as may features as possible, and yes I think touchscreen on laptops is great with no downsides. Microsoft make it work in the Surface Laptop very well. Even if you don’t use a pen, it’s nice to browse the web with touch support
I never said i wanted less features, i said that if i was going to have touchscreen it would be better suited in a tablet/laptop combo, like the surface pro laptop.
If you've ever tried to use the Apple Pencil while an iPad Pro is attached to the magic keyboard, you'd see this is very much a "downside"..
I would buy an iPad Pro with 16 or 32gb RAM running macOS. iPad apps could run in „iPad“ mode on macOS if they wanted. Would not be too difficult to integrate these UI elements into macOS and use them for iPad apps only.
Strongly believe that Apple is missing an opportunity, afraid to let the customer decide what they want.
Strongly believe that Apple is missing an opportunity, afraid to let the customer decide what they want.
I have a Surface Pro and Surface Laptop and glad they both have touch. Macs would be better with touch whether you want it or not, there’s no downside.
and in an ideal world, Apple would release both of the equivalent products, they won't, we both know this.
The point i'm making, which you're willfully misunderstanding, is that if they are going to do one, I want it to be the surface pro equivlant (that can be used in laptop mode).
I'm not asking for you to have less features, I'm asking for a product that keeps multiple use cases possible.
Macs won’t be better with touch. Touch does nothing to make a desktop OS better except when used with drawing tablets. Steve Jobs himself said touch is better flat, not vertical, and that is the consensus with customers too.
Unless Apple has a novel approach to touch on macOS it isn’t going to happen otherwise it would have been done already long ago when PC laptops started doing it. Apple always likes to highlight a novel approach that others don’t do.
What makes it even harder now is that RAM prices are 4 times higher than last year and those prices are eating away at profits for now. Adding a touchscreen that only a small minority have asked for increases prices even more with the possibility that it won’t sell well.
Touchscreens are still popular—they're just not universally desired. They’ve found a stable niche rather than being the explosive trend they were a few years ago. Creative professionals still value pen input, especially on Windows machines, which is why they remain relevant. Not for AutoCad, though.
Why are some Windows/Linux users less enthusiastic? Many Windows users don’t regularly utilise touch on a traditional clamshell laptop—it’s simply not ergonomic. Linux support for touch has improved compared to the past, but it remains inconsistent across different distributions and hardware. Touch functionality adds cost, weight, and sometimes reduces battery life. High-end productivity laptops often ship without touch as a standard feature. So while touchscreens are still prevalent, they’re no longer regarded as a must-have feature for mainstream laptop.
Even if touchscreens aren’t universally embraced on Windows laptops, they’ve become a standard expectation in premium devices and 2-in-1s. Apple doesn’t want the MacBook to appear outdated compared to its competitors.
So is Apple doing this because touch is popular? Not exactly. It’s more accurate to say:
Touchscreens aren’t universally loved—but they’re expected. And Apple dislikes being the only premium laptop manufacturer without a feature that competitors have offered for a decades.
Why are some Windows/Linux users less enthusiastic? Many Windows users don’t regularly utilise touch on a traditional clamshell laptop—it’s simply not ergonomic. Linux support for touch has improved compared to the past, but it remains inconsistent across different distributions and hardware. Touch functionality adds cost, weight, and sometimes reduces battery life. High-end productivity laptops often ship without touch as a standard feature. So while touchscreens are still prevalent, they’re no longer regarded as a must-have feature for mainstream laptop.
Even if touchscreens aren’t universally embraced on Windows laptops, they’ve become a standard expectation in premium devices and 2-in-1s. Apple doesn’t want the MacBook to appear outdated compared to its competitors.
So is Apple doing this because touch is popular? Not exactly. It’s more accurate to say:
Touchscreens aren’t universally loved—but they’re expected. And Apple dislikes being the only premium laptop manufacturer without a feature that competitors have offered for a decades.
I agree with all of this. My original post was basically saying, I hope we don't get a MacBook with a Touchscreen and instead Apple embraces the 2-in-1 Laptop/Tablet, this would be an amazing device in my view.
Apple risks cannibalising the iPad Pro market; if they don't do it, they risk missing out to windows machines.