The key path
- Apple is reportedly introducing a touchscreen MacBook Pro that will have thinner, lighter frames and run its fastest line of chips.
- The touchscreen laptop will cost several hundred dollars more than the current lineup of MacBook Pros.
- Apple also updated its 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip this week.
After more than a decade of refusing to build a touchscreen laptop, a decision supported by co-founder Steve Jobs, Apple is finally preparing to launch a version of its MacBook laptop with a touch display.
According to Bloomberg When reporting on Apple rumors, managing editor Mark Gorman, who has an 86.5 percent accuracy rate, said the tech giant would launch a touchscreen MacBook Pro in late 2026 or early 2027. The upcoming line will feature a thinner, lighter design powered by the next-generation M6 processor.
Gorman writes that the new touchscreen models will come in 14- and 16-inch sizes and are expected to cost several hundred dollars more than the current version. Currently, the non-touch 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,599, while the base price for the 16-inch model is $2,499.
Apple has long avoided including touchscreens in its MacBooks. In 2010, Jobs, then Apple’s CEO, said at a launch event that a touchscreen laptop would be “ergonomically terrible”.
“We’ve done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn’t work,” Jobs said at the time. “Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It gives a great demo, but after a while, you start to get tired, and over time, your arm wants to fall off.”
Jobs’ successor and current CEO, Tim Cook, agreed, saying in a 2012 earnings call that merging a tablet and a laptop was like putting a “toaster” with a “refrigerator.”
Related: Apple’s foldable iPhone release date has been revealed, according to a JP Morgan investor letter
“You can replace a toaster and a refrigerator, but they won’t satisfy the consumer,” Cook said at the time.
Still, the touchscreen laptop market has become a huge one, with global revenue for touchscreen laptops reaching nearly $50 billion so far this year and expected to hit $120 billion by 2033. In comparison, the overall global laptop market was worth $194.25 billion in 2022 and is forecast to grow to $334.51 billion by 2030, according to Grandview Research.
The new touchscreen laptop displays will reportedly use OLED technology, the same advanced screens found in iPhones and iPad Pros. Instead of using the traditional “notch” design with a top cutout for the camera, Apple plans to adopt a “hole-punch” approach, in which a small circular or bullet-shaped cutout will be inserted directly into the screen to house the front-facing camera.
Related: Apple revealed iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and AirPods with direct translation. Here’s what to know.
The touchscreen MacBook Pro will still feature a full-size keyboard and trackpad, allowing users to operate the device traditionally without relying on the touch display. Apple has also bolstered the laptop’s construction with an upgraded hinge and redesigned display, so the screen stays stable and doesn’t move or bounce when touched. Bloomberg.
Apple also updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip on Wednesday. The new chip boasts faster computing speeds, better graphics and better capabilities for AI-powered tasks.
According to Gorman, the tech giant is also working on updating its MacBook Air lineup with the M5 chip, with plans to release the devices in the spring of 2026. 99,999 MacBook Air is Apple’s top-selling laptop, according to the report.
Related: Apple is rolling out a major overhaul to its operating system across all products. What we do know is this.
The key path
- Apple is reportedly introducing a touchscreen MacBook Pro that will have thinner, lighter frames and run its fastest line of chips.
- The touchscreen laptop will cost several hundred dollars more than the current lineup of MacBook Pros.
- Apple also updated its 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip this week.
After more than a decade of refusing to build a touchscreen laptop, a decision supported by co-founder Steve Jobs, Apple is finally preparing to launch a version of its MacBook laptop with a touch display.
According to Bloomberg When reporting on Apple rumors, managing editor Mark Gorman, who has an 86.5 percent accuracy rate, said the tech giant would launch a touchscreen MacBook Pro in late 2026 or early 2027. The upcoming line will feature a thinner, lighter design powered by the next-generation M6 processor.
Gorman writes that the new touchscreen models will come in 14- and 16-inch sizes and are expected to cost several hundred dollars more than the current version. Currently, the non-touch 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,599, while the base price for the 16-inch model is $2,499.
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