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'MacBook Ultra' Coming Soon With These 12 New Features

Vincent Hanna said:
Anyone complaining about price doesn't need a MacBook Ultra. You may legitimately want one, and you may well buy one as a luxury, as you would any other non-essential purchase. But acting like you're being ripped off, or having some birthright taken from you is ridiculous.

These are high-end machines for professional users who won't blink at the price.
Click to expand...
While normally I’d be making that exact argument I’ll note that if the regular macbook pros stay around in the same tiers with the ultra above and the main difference is a slimmer chassis and a touch screen it wont be professional users buying them.

My employer wouldnt blink twice at a $6k laptop that’s needed, but I’ll definitely get pushback if I request an ultra with the same exact chips and general usability as the pro has for a couple grand less.

I cant possibly make an argument that a touchscreen is going to enhance my coding, especially since, like many professionals no matter the field, the machine is more often than not docked in clamshell on my desk
 
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deconstruct60 said:
It might be useful mechanism to decouple the 'plain' MBP 14" from the MBP 14"/16" Pro models.
Let the plain one drift a while longer to hold prices steady. And let the 14"/16" drift up in costs for a couple iterations.

It might 'pull' more folks debating between MB-Pro 14" Mn and MB-Ultra 14" Mn Pro up into that higher price zone.When the 'plain' MBP 14" had two ports there was a physical distinction, but with matching ports there isn't much of an external different.

Apple thins out the lid. Adds OLED and some other 'bells and whisltes' and there is a bigger gap between plain MBP and this new 14". I also suspect that lack of a gap gets even more strained when the plain MBP 14" comes with a M6 and the other comes with a "M5". Folks just looking at the prefixes are going to be more hesitant to step up (and not paying close attention to their specific workload performance needs).

The plain MBP would pick up OLED about the same time the MBA line up does. Once MBA goes OLED then that 'middle' device will be attacked from the below as well as above. Just going to be a substantive multiple year gap.
After multiple year gap the 14"/16" Ultras go to gen 2 OLED while the others are just getting 'gen 1'.


P.S. If the "no Pro/Max/Ultra" this generation becomes more regular that mismatch between plain MBP 14" and the other 14" model will appear on a more regular basis.

P.P.S. there is also likely a fan club for a MacLaptop that doesn't have a PWM flicker to the screen. The detached plain one could fill that track also ( would decouple from MBA and MBP is all of those go PWM )
Click to expand...
The base 14 inch MacBook Pro is rumored to get all of these exact same upgrades in the spring of 2027, along with an M7.
Apple isn’t going to invent a brand new MacBook line just to exist for six months.
Apple also isn’t going to keep around the mini LED MacBook Pro just for people who suffer with PWM. I don’t say that to sound harsh, they just have not done that with literally any of their other products, this will not be an exception.
 
MacRumors said:


Apple's first high-end MacBook redesign in five years is expected to arrive in the near future, bringing a run of firsts to the Mac.

macbook-ultra.jpg

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the laptop to arrive between late 2026 and early 2027, with the later window now looking more likely owing to the global memory chip shortage. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects mass production to begin by late 2026.

Apple last redesigned the MacBook Pro in 2021 with the M1 Pro and M1 Max models, so this would be its first new high-end laptop design in at least five years. Here is everything rumored about the device so far:

  • "MacBook Ultra" branding: Apple has reportedly decided to market two new "Ultra" products over the next year, the foldable iPhone and this laptop, which would establish a tier above the MacBook Pro for the first time. The name is not confirmed and Apple theoretically could still use "MacBook Pro" branding, but for now, "MacBook Ultra" seems highly likely.
  • OLED display: The MacBook Ultra is expected to be the first Mac with an OLED display, replacing the mini-LED backlighting used in current MacBook Pro models. It should deliver richer colors, a higher contrast ratio with true blacks, greater brightness, and improved power efficiency, since individual pixels switch off rather than dim. The laptop will reportedly use hybrid OLED technology combining an oxide TFT backplane with a tandem two-stack OLED structure, the same approach used in the iPad Pro, offering a longer panel lifespan.
  • Touch screen: The device is expected to be the first Mac to support touch input directly on the display, ending years of Apple resistance to the idea. Kuo first claimed the panel would support touch, Gurman corroborated it, and the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital" says the feature is now confirmed. Apple is apparently not positioning the machine as a touch-first device like the iPad, instead letting customers move between touch, trackpad, and keyboard interchangeably, in what Gurman describes as "touch-friendly, not touch-first." The laptop is said to remain a conventional clamshell, with the keyboard and trackpad retained and no detachable or convertible design.
  • Touch-optimized macOS: Apple is reportedly reworking macOS so that controls adapt to the input method being used. Tapping a menu bar item would apparently surface a larger set of touch-optimized controls, and the system is said to gain iPad-style gestures including pinch-to-zoom and fast scrolling. Touch-based options would be integrated throughout the operating system rather than confined to a handful of apps.
  • Reinforced hinge: Apple likely plans to add a reinforced hinge so the display does not wobble when it is tapped. The current MacBook Pro hinge moves easily and does not tilt especially far back, both of which could be a problem on a machine designed to be prodded.
  • Hole-punch camera: The "notch" is expected to disappear, replaced by a far smaller hole-punch camera at the top of the display. The change was first indicated by a roadmap from research firm Omdia and has since been corroborated by Bloomberg. Losing the notch would add visible screen area and free up the menu bar space it currently intrudes upon, taking the design a step closer to an uninterrupted, edge-to-edge display.
  • Dynamic Island: The cutout is expected to digitally expand into an iPhone-style Dynamic Island. It would be interactive and expand contextually based on the app or Mac feature in use, surfacing items such as Siri, low battery alerts, and AirPods connection indicators in the area surrounding the camera.
  • M5 Pro and M5 Max chips: The laptop is now expected to ship with the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips already found in the current MacBook Pro, rather than the "M6 Pro" and "M6 Max." Apple has apparently scrapped the M6 Pro and M6 Max altogether, accelerating instead to M7 Pro and M7 Max chips said to be optimized for intensive AI workloads with upgraded neural accelerators, graphics improvements, and increased memory bandwidth. A second-generation model with those chips is reportedly planned for late 2027.
  • Thinner design: The MacBook Ultra is expected to be noticeably thinner and lighter than the current MacBook Pro. Moving away from mini-LED backlighting should itself help slim down the lid. There has so far been no indication that Apple intends to remove ports such as HDMI, MagSafe, or the SD card slot to achieve it, which was a deeply unpopular decision the last time around.
  • Two display sizes: The laptop is expected to be offered in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, mirroring the current MacBook Pro lineup, with the two models reportedly code-named K114 and K116.
  • Slimmer bezels: Research firm Omdia claims Samsung Display will supply 14.3-inch and 16.3-inch panels, marginally larger than the 14.2-inch and 16.2-inch screens on current models, which would suggest thinner bezels around a slightly bigger display. A February report from Bloomberg indicated that overall screen sizes are not expected to change compared to the MacBook Pro.
  • Built-in cellular: Apple has reportedly at least considered built-in cellular connectivity for future Macs, which would be a first for the platform. If the plan goes ahead, the MacBook Ultra would likely use Apple's existing C1X modem or its next-generation C2 modem for 5G and LTE. This is seemingly the most uncertain feature on this list.

There are already signs of the touchscreen MacBook in Apple's software. macOS 27 Golden Gate hints at t... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: 'MacBook Ultra' Coming Soon With These 12 New Features
Click to expand...
What makes it an ultra? pass...
 
seek3r said:
While normally I’d be making that exact argument I’ll note that if the regular macbook pros stay around in the same tiers with the ultra above and the main difference is a slimmer chassis and a touch screen it wont be professional users buying them.
Click to expand...
The regular MacBook Pros are not going to stick around.

The slimmer chassis/touchscreen redesign is just the next generation of MacBook Pros, no different than the redesigns we’ve had every four or five years for two decades.

The only variable is whether they may have their product name changed to MacBook Ultra.

But there won’t be three tiers of pro laptops. Just two as below:

October 2026:
$1999 M6 MacBook Pro (existing design with only the SoC bump)

$2499 M5 Pro MacBook Ultra (slim redesign w/ OLED touchscreen, but with existing SoCs)

$4099 M5 Max MacBook Ultra (slim redesign w/ OLED touchscreen, but with existing SoCs)
 
sorry, but i just dont get the ultra branding. assuming the oled and touch will trickle down to pro, then air, what will be the difference between Pro and Ultra?
unless they artificially make pro junk (ie. no Max CPU, less RAM), theres just not enough features to differentiate between those.
 
MarkNewton2023 said:
The only standout feature that very very attractive for me if available is cellular capability. This will make it independent on hotspots and WiFi in general.
Click to expand...

I certainly understand the desire to avoid WiFi hotspots. But don't you carry your phone with you when you travel? Why not just use mobile hotspot? Why pay for two mobile network subscriptions when one will do?

I think this is the real reason why we don't see many laptops with built-in cellular: it's a very limited use case because most people already have phones.

On the other hand, now that Apple has their own modem chip, maybe it will be so cheap for them to add cellular that they'll just do it anyway.
 
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andrewxgx said:
sorry, but i just dont get the ultra branding. assuming the oled and touch will trickle down to pro, then air, what will be the difference between Pro and Ultra?
Click to expand...
The M* Pro and Max chips.

All that's happening here is they are splitting the three current MacBook Pro models into two product lines: Base M series in what we have always called the entry-level MacBook Pro, which will now be the ONLY MacBook Pro, and the more powerful versions with the Pro and Max chips will be re-branded as Ultra.

These first Ultra models will at first have additional features the now separate MacBook Pro won't, like the touchscreen, but in time these features will come to every Apple laptop. But the Ultras will always have the faster SoCs, just as they did when they were still marketed as MacBook Pros.
 
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Reminds me of when I bought a Dyson fan for $500, which got dust stuck in its 'feature' shrouded motor, which then got so hot it set off my smoke alarm. Should declare I live in Australia, where it gets hot. Replaced the Dyson with a normal $100 fan which has served me well ever since.

Must say, this discussion has helped me come to my senses. I don't need some gimmick touchscreen, or hot cores right beside lithium, so no pro or ultra for me. I'm going to wait for the studio M5.
 
Well, I upgrade my MacBook Pro every 5 years, so I will be sitting this one out for quite a while yet...
 
jchap said:
True, there are users who really don't need or want to interact with the screen via touch (including myself), but a few users here are saying that it might be nice to have the option.
Click to expand...
Exactly my point. A few is not enough for Apple, that’s why the Touch Bar was canned. And that’s why the touch screen will be a temporal anomaly as well in the MacBook feature set.
 
Vincent Hanna said:
The regular MacBook Pros are not going to stick around.

The slimmer chassis/touchscreen redesign is just the next generation of MacBook Pros, no different than the redesigns we’ve had every four or five years for two decades.

The only variable is whether they may have their product name changed to MacBook Ultra.

But there won’t be three tiers of pro laptops. Just two as below:

October 2026:
$1999 M6 MacBook Pro (existing design with only the SoC bump)

$2499 M5 Pro MacBook Ultra (slim redesign w/ OLED touchscreen, but with existing SoCs)

$4099 M5 Max MacBook Ultra (slim redesign w/ OLED touchscreen, but with existing SoCs)
Click to expand...
It is like Apple is playing games on us. They never put everything in one generation but in stages so we have to keep upgrading.
 
Vincent Hanna said:
The regular MacBook Pros are not going to stick around.

The slimmer chassis/touchscreen redesign is just the next generation of MacBook Pros, no different than the redesigns we’ve had every four or five years for two decades.

The only variable is whether they may have their product name changed to MacBook Ultra.

But there won’t be three tiers of pro laptops. Just two as below:

October 2026:
$1999 M6 MacBook Pro (existing design with only the SoC bump)

$2499 M5 Pro MacBook Ultra (slim redesign w/ OLED touchscreen, but with existing SoCs)

$4099 M5 Max MacBook Ultra (slim redesign w/ OLED touchscreen, but with existing SoCs)
Click to expand...
It is like Apple is playing games on us. They never put everything in one generation but in stages so we have to keep upgrading.
 
Reason077 said:
I think this is the real reason why we don't see many laptops with built-in cellular: it's a very limited use case because most people already have phones.
Click to expand...

and yet we have iPads with cellular since 2010. iPad owners don't own iPhones? You are right to suggest it is marketing, everything with apple is (news flash they are a company), but maybe its tied to the fact Macs can support multiple accounts leading to potential misuse? Don't know.
 
Takeo Apple said:
Knowing Apple if the finger gets closer to the screen the elements will automatically change before you actually touch
Click to expand...

MacRumors said:


Apple's first high-end MacBook redesign in five years is expected to arrive in the near future, bringing a run of firsts to the Mac.

macbook-ultra.jpg

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the laptop to arrive between late 2026 and early 2027, with the later window now looking more likely owing to the global memory chip shortage. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects mass production to begin by late 2026.

Apple last redesigned the MacBook Pro in 2021 with the M1 Pro and M1 Max models, so this would be its first new high-end laptop design in at least five years. Here is everything rumored about the device so far:

  • "MacBook Ultra" branding: Apple has reportedly decided to market two new "Ultra" products over the next year, the foldable iPhone and this laptop, which would establish a tier above the MacBook Pro for the first time. The name is not confirmed and Apple theoretically could still use "MacBook Pro" branding, but for now, "MacBook Ultra" seems highly likely.
  • OLED display: The MacBook Ultra is expected to be the first Mac with an OLED display, replacing the mini-LED backlighting used in current MacBook Pro models. It should deliver richer colors, a higher contrast ratio with true blacks, greater brightness, and improved power efficiency, since individual pixels switch off rather than dim. The laptop will reportedly use hybrid OLED technology combining an oxide TFT backplane with a tandem two-stack OLED structure, the same approach used in the iPad Pro, offering a longer panel lifespan.
  • Touch screen: The device is expected to be the first Mac to support touch input directly on the display, ending years of Apple resistance to the idea. Kuo first claimed the panel would support touch, Gurman corroborated it, and the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital" says the feature is now confirmed. Apple is apparently not positioning the machine as a touch-first device like the iPad, instead letting customers move between touch, trackpad, and keyboard interchangeably, in what Gurman describes as "touch-friendly, not touch-first." The laptop is said to remain a conventional clamshell, with the keyboard and trackpad retained and no detachable or convertible design.
  • Touch-optimized macOS: Apple is reportedly reworking macOS so that controls adapt to the input method being used. Tapping a menu bar item would apparently surface a larger set of touch-optimized controls, and the system is said to gain iPad-style gestures including pinch-to-zoom and fast scrolling. Touch-based options would be integrated throughout the operating system rather than confined to a handful of apps.
  • Reinforced hinge: Apple likely plans to add a reinforced hinge so the display does not wobble when it is tapped. The current MacBook Pro hinge moves easily and does not tilt especially far back, both of which could be a problem on a machine designed to be prodded.
  • Hole-punch camera: The "notch" is expected to disappear, replaced by a far smaller hole-punch camera at the top of the display. The change was first indicated by a roadmap from research firm Omdia and has since been corroborated by Bloomberg. Losing the notch would add visible screen area and free up the menu bar space it currently intrudes upon, taking the design a step closer to an uninterrupted, edge-to-edge display.
  • Dynamic Island: The cutout is expected to digitally expand into an iPhone-style Dynamic Island. It would be interactive and expand contextually based on the app or Mac feature in use, surfacing items such as Siri, low battery alerts, and AirPods connection indicators in the area surrounding the camera.
  • M5 Pro and M5 Max chips: The laptop is now expected to ship with the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips already found in the current MacBook Pro, rather than the "M6 Pro" and "M6 Max." Apple has apparently scrapped the M6 Pro and M6 Max altogether, accelerating instead to M7 Pro and M7 Max chips said to be optimized for intensive AI workloads with upgraded neural accelerators, graphics improvements, and increased memory bandwidth. A second-generation model with those chips is reportedly planned for late 2027.
  • Thinner design: The MacBook Ultra is expected to be noticeably thinner and lighter than the current MacBook Pro. Moving away from mini-LED backlighting should itself help slim down the lid. There has so far been no indication that Apple intends to remove ports such as HDMI, MagSafe, or the SD card slot to achieve it, which was a deeply unpopular decision the last time around.
  • Two display sizes: The laptop is expected to be offered in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, mirroring the current MacBook Pro lineup, with the two models reportedly code-named K114 and K116.
  • Slimmer bezels: Research firm Omdia claims Samsung Display will supply 14.3-inch and 16.3-inch panels, marginally larger than the 14.2-inch and 16.2-inch screens on current models, which would suggest thinner bezels around a slightly bigger display. A February report from Bloomberg indicated that overall screen sizes are not expected to change compared to the MacBook Pro.
  • Built-in cellular: Apple has reportedly at least considered built-in cellular connectivity for future Macs, which would be a first for the platform. If the plan goes ahead, the MacBook Ultra would likely use Apple's existing C1X modem or its next-generation C2 modem for 5G and LTE. This is seemingly the most uncertain feature on this list.

There are already signs of the touchscreen MacBook in Apple's software. macOS 27 Golden Gate hints at t... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: 'MacBook Ultra' Coming Soon With These 12 New Features
Click to expand...
I’m concerned the Touch screen implementation may be revisiting the horrible Mac Touch Bar. After that debacle, I hoped Apple had learnt that just because you can does not mean you should.
 
I don't see how it's going to be significantly thinner with M5 Max/Pro CPU options. With fans. With a battery capable of providing the usual run times.

If you want thinner, just get an Air. No fans. Lower power CPU that presumably requires a smaller battery.
 
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Can you imagine how much these things are gonna cost, considering upgrading from a 16” M1 Pro MBP from 2021 that’s showing its age.
 
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