The last revision of a tried and tested design is always a better machine than 'Gen 1' of a new design, even if it doesn't have teh shiney.
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Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro
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Morpheus77
macrumors newbie
Do what I do. Get the latest now. Sell it a month or two before the new one comes out for maximum value and make up the difference.
transpo1
macrumors 68000
All these people out here having a mental breakdown over the possibility of a touchscreen OLED because it will introduce new points of failure - meanwhile they are cheering the introduction of a brand new cellular system … while iPhones have had WiFi hotspot capabilities since 2011 🙄
throAU
macrumors G4
There's (generally) always something better in the works.
Buy what will make your job easier today.
Buy what will make your job easier today.
bvansomeren
macrumors newbie
I'm basically on a M2 for the simple reason that I've avoided first gen redesigns. It will probably last me fine until the M7 lands with a year of refinements
mansplains
macrumors 68000
Apple has fixes for PWM on iPhone 17s in accessibility, I could see such an addition for the MacBook Pro.
mansplains
macrumors 68000
Agreed, although the last few years tell of something new and worse around the corner, thanks to encrapification
Considering the number of “leaks” and “rumours” that have been wrong lately, it’s pretty likely this one is also wrong with the new MacBook Pro’s with touchscreen OLED screen - ugh yuk! - coming out next year. So I’m updating from my 2015 Retina MBP 15” this year as it will be a considerable upgrade anyway than waiting another year for a 1st gen touchscreen Mac no one wanted or asked for.
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
PixelPanics
macrumors regular
What if this rumoured redesigned MacBook is actually not part of the MacBook Pro line, but instead it's a higher end product line named MacBook Ultra or MacBook Studio?
TechRunner
macrumors 68030
I came here expecting everyone to agree with the story. It turns out I have the same reservations as most people: I don't want a touch screen laptop and the first of a new generation is always risky. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether an OLED screen is much better. On the other hand I find the screen of my M2 Air to be fine.
The Cockney Rebel
macrumors 601
I don’t know how I’d get on with this.
I’d sever a person’s hand if they touched my Mac’s screen.
I’d sever a person’s hand if they touched my Mac’s screen.
Buy the M5 because it’s going to be amazing.
Skip the M5 because the M6 will be even better.
Rumour sites.
Skip the M5 because the M6 will be even better.
Rumour sites.
akbarali.ch
macrumors 6502a
bought an m1 pro last year and can’t fathom why most normal users would ever need more. unless your hardware is literally old and falling apart.
Not every MacBook purchaser is buying their MacBook as an upgrade. For some of us the MacBook (or Mac Mini or iMac) that we buy will be our first ever Mac. My main (desktop) PC has been a Windows PC for over 30 years now and I've finally decided to make the move to Mac - mostly because of the excellent Apple hardware but also because as a long-time iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch user I'm thinking that it's time I made more use of the integration between Apple devices.
I'm impatient to get going on my desktop PC transition now and even the wait until the rest of the M5 MacBook Pro line-up is released is killing me so I'm most definitely not going to wait until the M6 MacBooks are released which, based on all the overly optimistic predictions we've seen for the release dates for updated Apple TV, HomePod Mini, higher-end M5 MacBooks etc come and go, I'm guessing is more likely to be in early 2027 rather than late 2026. We also don't know whether the RAM price increases will have caught up with Apple by then and whether the rumoured thinner, lighter M6 MacBook Pros might be a lot more expensive that what we're about to get (I hope) with the upcoming rest of the M5 MacBook Pro range.
I'll mostly be using my MacBook in clamshell mode, I'm only buying a laptop rather than a Mac Mini so that I do have the rare occasions when I want to work from a hotel room covered, so I'm not sure that thinner and lighter will make a huge difference to me, I'll rarely use the laptop screen anyway, and I predict that whatever the M5 successor to the 4 Pro chip ends up being called will be more than enough power for me so I doubt I'll need the performance improvements that the M6 chip will no doubt deliver.
If the new M6 design really does impress me or some software comes out that makes me need M6 performance then I can always upgrade to the M6 or more likely wait until M7 and buy the second generation of the new design.
So yeah - just hurry up and release the rest of the M5 MacBook Pros please Apple.
I'm impatient to get going on my desktop PC transition now and even the wait until the rest of the M5 MacBook Pro line-up is released is killing me so I'm most definitely not going to wait until the M6 MacBooks are released which, based on all the overly optimistic predictions we've seen for the release dates for updated Apple TV, HomePod Mini, higher-end M5 MacBooks etc come and go, I'm guessing is more likely to be in early 2027 rather than late 2026. We also don't know whether the RAM price increases will have caught up with Apple by then and whether the rumoured thinner, lighter M6 MacBook Pros might be a lot more expensive that what we're about to get (I hope) with the upcoming rest of the M5 MacBook Pro range.
I'll mostly be using my MacBook in clamshell mode, I'm only buying a laptop rather than a Mac Mini so that I do have the rare occasions when I want to work from a hotel room covered, so I'm not sure that thinner and lighter will make a huge difference to me, I'll rarely use the laptop screen anyway, and I predict that whatever the M5 successor to the 4 Pro chip ends up being called will be more than enough power for me so I doubt I'll need the performance improvements that the M6 chip will no doubt deliver.
If the new M6 design really does impress me or some software comes out that makes me need M6 performance then I can always upgrade to the M6 or more likely wait until M7 and buy the second generation of the new design.
So yeah - just hurry up and release the rest of the M5 MacBook Pros please Apple.
Windows had elegant UI elements..? I must have missed that version 🙂
Being that they implemented touchscreens on Windows machines because their trackpads were rubbish and Apples were and are still amazing. They are all copying Apples trackpad now.
ItsASpider
macrumors 6502
...I guess you're just making a joke here, but a human hair is anywhere between 17 µm and 181 µm. 1 µm is 1000 nm.
ScanTheNavian
macrumors 6502
I think only relatively few will actually need that on a Macbook. But for certain creatives or people with specialized jobs then it will be amazing. I'll likely never be able to motivate the purchase of a Touchbook. iPads make a lot more sense to me in that case.
I'm just thinking that certainly the screen will be totally flippable all the way back to be like an (heavy) iPad?
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If the redesign means we can have both MacBook and iPad in one device I am all in. Could think of a iPad-like touch screen with a slide out Mac/keyboard but with better weight distribution than iPad+Magic Keyboard combo.
cicalinarrot
macrumors 65816
You're missing the point, like most people here.
If you need a computer, you buy a computer. But if you want a major redisign with cool new features and not just a performance update on the model we have now, you should wait. Yeah, there's always an update around but not all updates are the same. Some are incremental, some are completely new models. All they're saying is the next one will be mild, the one after is a big one. Most extreme example? Some people bought pricey and slow Intel Macs right before the glorious M1.
By the way, I usually do the opposite and never choose a device that's a major redesign. Used to work in repair and all of the biggest flaws in iPhones happened with a redesigned and were fixed in the second itereation (antennagate, bendgate and touch problems on the 6, audio chip on 7 and so on).
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