Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

[Leoxo]

Wouldn't it make sense if later this year the OLED MacBooks will have base M4, and then Q1 2027 they'll introduce the M6 Pro and M6 Ultra?

 

[johnrlaporta]

...or, if you're like me, and have a decade-old MBP and have no need for touch screens or OLED, then getting one of these makes perfect sense.

 

[DocMultimedia]

So wait until 2028?

 

[drlunanerd]

The OLED MacBook Pro models will be the first to use Apple's 2-nanometer chip technology, and they could even be the first Macs with cellular capabilities.

This. Cellular is way overdue for the Mac and would be a great new feature.

 

[Analog Kid]

MacRumors has advised against purchasing the next rumored machine.

To be fair, MacRumors is advising against purchasing the next rumored machine because the machine rumored to come after it is rumored to have some nice features.

 

[Analog Kid]

This. Cellular is way overdue for the Mac and would be a great new feature.

Convenient hot spotting has taken this off my wishlist.

 

[Plutonius]

I'm skipping it because I don't need one 🙂.

 

[delsoul]

No thanks. Some of us want a tried and true MacBook model. Not everyone wants an Oled screen with touchscreen etc. If anything, people should buy THIS upcoming one and avoid the first release Oled

 

[TVreporter]

Why I shouldn't? OLED… did you ask my bank account first?

 

[taxman75]

After 9 years, Verizon still charges $10/month for a dinky little Apple Watch to connect via cellular. I won't wait around to see the monthly pricetag for having a cellular Macbook in the US.

 

[JPack]

Some of these comments are just silly.

What display technology do you think iPad Pro uses? This isn’t some ground breaking alien tech. Many PC notebooks also use touch OLED. Waiting the new MacBook Pro is common sense but don’t treat it like this is an Area 51 tech refresh.

 

[ssbb]

OLED, touchscreen... Hope it won't be the only option. I enjoy OLED on my TV but hate on laptops. That much that I manually swapped OLED to IPS panel on one of my Thinkpads. Cellular sounds good though but not that important since hotspot covers all the very rare cases when I work somewhere without wifi access.

 

[G5isAlive]

My wife once said to me "Never buy the first generation of a new model or technology." At the time, she was referring to my Honda Pilot, which was a brand new design (2016-17 model), and had bugs aplenty in the AV system, which was not upgradeable.

any chance that would be your first wife? cause that would be sort of ironic. but yeah the world is made up of two types of folks, those that say wait, those that say buy.

 

[Jeeve Stubbs]

OLED on Mac: say hello to burn-in.
Touch screen: Apple often ends up copying Microsoft or Samsung, usually 5 to 20 years late.

 

[SkimPappa]

I just hope they get these pro machines to a min spec 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD. It’s so embarrassing seeing such a powerful machine handicapped by lack of storage and RAM.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I think it is bad advice to tell people to not buy, especially when there are no verified facts, not to mention people with different needs and budgets.

 

[Jeeve Stubbs]

any chance that would be your first wife? cause that would be sort of ironic. but yeah the world is made up of two types of folks, those that say wait, those that say buy.

First wife maybe, but probably not first girlfriend.

 

[hybrid_x]

There is always something "better" in the pipeline. If you need a computer now, buy a computer now.

 

[darngooddesign]

For all the reasons you gave, for waiting, apply for getting now.
A first generation, very expensive toy, potentially with added features, not particularly wanted or needed.

It would be safer, if you need an upgrade; Intel, M1 & M2 owners, to buy a M5 that will see you though a few years of generational change.

Counterpoint. I bought the 16” M1-Pro when it was released, first generation with added features, all were wanted and/or needed by various people and it’s been spectacular. I would have no problem buying the redesign.

 

[carswell]

If a touchscreen is added to a Macbook running macOS, doesn't that turn iPadOS into an also-ran?

I mean, if macOS is made touch-friendly, why wouldn't/shouldn't it also run on iPad Pros and Airs, turning them into 2-in-1 Macbooks, into the Apple equivalent of Microsoft Surfaces?

And if Apple could do that but doesn't, would it be a purely marketing decision aimed at forcing people to buy two devices instead of one?

 

[darngooddesign]

No thanks. Some of us want a tried and true MacBook model. Not everyone wants an Oled screen with touchscreen etc. If anything, people should buy THIS upcoming one and avoid the first release Oled

Tandem OLED has already been out on the iPad Pros and it’s great. Not all that different from my MBP’s great Mini LED which was first on the iPad Pros.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

I still doubt touch will be a thing for Mac, and, unless there is some dramatic change to the software, cannot see why I would pay for it. I am not willing to spend a few hundred extra bucks to be able to scroll up and down via the screen.

 

[chetzar]

There is NO WAY Apple is updating to M5 Pro & M5 Max in the MBP to only turn around and update to M6 Pro & M6 Max the same year.

 

[entropys]

These rumoured features for the M6pro MBP sounds so incredible I am surprised it doesn’t mention it will make buyers more handsome and finally get laid.

There will be a lot of disappointment.

 

[Outpostjupiter]

Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works.

We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this year, a massive refresh is coming. Rumors suggest that there won't be just one MacBook Pro refresh in 2026, but two.

After launching M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models in the spring, Apple will do another update in late 2026, introducing the first OLED MacBook Pro models. The OLED MacBook Pro is expected to feature a design refresh, faster M6 chips, all new display technology, and, in a first for the Mac, touch screen capabilities.

It's going to be the biggest update to the Mac lineup since Apple silicon chips came out in 2020. iPhones have used OLED for years, and Apple brought it to the iPad Pro in 2024, but Macs don't use OLED yet.

Apple said for years and years that the Mac wouldn't get a touch screen, but times change. Multiple rumors suggest that touch capabilities are coming, making the Mac more like an iPad. Touch-based controls will be available right alongside traditional mouse and keyboard input options.

The OLED MacBook Pro models will be the first to use Apple's 2-nanometer chip technology, and they could even be the first Macs with cellular capabilities. With so many changes in store, it doesn't make much sense to buy an M5 Pro or an M5 Max MacBook Pro with much better options coming just months later.

OLED touch displays will be limited to the higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch models because of the cost, so the warning isn't applicable to the standard M5 MacBook Pro that came out last fall. The entry-level MacBook Pro isn't expected to get the same upgrades, though it is likely to get an M6 chip.

It's also possible OLED will be so expensive that it's limited to a single, super expensive high-end model, but we're still probably looking at M6 chip upgrades and a design refresh across the lineup.

Two Mac refreshes in a single year is unusual, but not unheard of. Apple refreshed the MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in January 2023, and then updated the machines again with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips in October 2023.

Normally a Mac refresh results in a Buy Now recommendation from us, but this year, with rumors of two updates in 2026 and so much expected from the later models, those interested in a high-end, premium MacBook Pro should plan to wait.

Article Link: Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

I just did a quick calculation using Mathematica on my M4 Max MBP. Multiplying two 5K by 5K matrices…it ran at ~500 GFLOPS/s. I find that staggering.