Key takeaways
- Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple will hold a “launch experience” in Los Angeles on October 28 for the first touchscreen MacBook Pro: 14- and 16-inch models with OLED displays, a Dynamic Island and M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. MacRumors says it may be called “MacBook Ultra”.
- The same event should bring an OLED iPad mini, and a new iMac and entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip. Today’s 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,499.
- My view: in my opinion, Apple ran out of new ideas and said “let’s try touch”. MacBook screens already collect every fingerprint, I expect the cheapest touch model above $3,000, and I do not expect anything big.
As 9to5Mac and MacRumors reported, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple will launch the first touchscreen MacBook Pro at an event in Los Angeles on October 28. Apple has started inviting selected media and creators to what it calls a “launch experience”, not a classic live keynote.
Expected: new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with touch-enabled OLED displays, a reinforced hinge, a Dynamic Island instead of the notch, and M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Gurman says they will be “significantly lighter”, but probably not much thinner. Apple should also show an OLED iPad mini, plus a new iMac and an entry-level MacBook Pro with the M6 chip.
In this article: 16 years of “no”, and now touch · Fingerprints are not a hater excuse · My prediction: “touch”, but only with a stylus · A touchscreen on a laptop is nonsense · M5 in the expensive model, M6 in the cheap one? · My price guess: over $3,000 · Was Steve Jobs right? · Wow product of the year? I am sure it will not be · Why a “launch experience” and not a keynote? · OLED iPad mini and iMac: work machines, not toys · Will it kill the iPad Pro? · Am I buying? · FAQ
16 years of “no”, and now touch
In 2010, Steve Jobs said touch surfaces do not want to be vertical: after a while your arm gets tired, and after longer it “wants to fall off”. People call it “gorilla arm”. In 2012, Tim Cook compared merging a tablet and a laptop to merging a toaster and a fridge. Microsoft, Dell and Lenovo have sold touchscreen laptops for years.
How do I see it? In my opinion, they simply ran out of new things to do and said: let’s try touch.
Fingerprints are not a hater excuse
I use a MacBook myself, and I know how annoying it is to clean the display. In my opinion, it is one of the worst displays in this one way: it collects every fingerprint. So here I support every hater. It is really annoying to clean it all the time, and it takes real effort.
Now imagine you touch it all day. Even if Apple adds some special coating, I do not believe it will work well.
My prediction: “touch”, but only with a stylus
I am 50/50 that it will go like this. Apple will say: yes, it is touch, but it reacts best to a stylus, a specific one they present that day, and that stylus will cost another $200. And they will tell us a fairy tale that after thorough experiments they found that fingers do not work so well.
That would really be just business. I have the feeling that whoever makes Apple’s strategy today has completely lost the way, and thinks only about how to pull money out of us, whatever it costs, as long as they still have the power to do it.
A touchscreen on a laptop is nonsense
Let me be clear: touch on a laptop that does not fold is useless. Touch only makes sense when the display folds back, so you can lay it flat on the table in front of you and draw, for example if you are a designer or you simply like drawing. That is how the competition does it: the display folds back, and you get something like a stronger tablet. Apple will surely not do that. Or it will, and it will sell it as “a mega hinge”, and you pay $500 more for it.
I am afraid this greed will finish them. I do not mean right now. But I see hundreds of comments where people feel negative, the same as I do. I wrote about it in my Apple $5 trillion article.
M5 in the expensive model, M6 in the cheap one?
Readers on MacRumors call it mixed messaging: the most expensive touch Macs get M5 Pro and M5 Max, while the cheaper iMac and base MacBook Pro get the newer M6.
Here we have to separate myth from truth. In my opinion, it is a myth that this is bad. Everyone knows the most powerful chips are Pro and Max. Even if the name says 5, Apple will surely put the best into Pro and Max, and they will be much more powerful. An M6 in the cheaper models will be a base M6, and an M5 Pro or Max will beat it in performance. The number is more about PR. And as we see this year, Apple’s PR department works at 1,000%.
My price guess: over $3,000
And here comes the part that hurts most: the price. Today the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,499 and the 16-inch at $2,999. I really think the cheapest touch model will be over $3,000. No joke.
They will say: we gave you this and this and this, everything got more expensive, and we need a huge margin for investors, so pay us, we need to raise the stock price. That was sarcasm. But it is my angle on everything that is happening now.
Was Steve Jobs right?
Yes. Everyone forgets what Steve Jobs said, and Tim Cook also said it was a bad idea. Then came the new CEO, John Ternus, and we thought he would not be all about money. But it looks like he is even more about money than Cook. Even if everyone says it is better now, in my opinion, not at all. Everything changed, nobody knows what comes next, and I do not like at all where Apple is going.
Wow product of the year? I am sure it will not be
After HomeView and the Apple TV, will this be Apple’s first real wow product this year? I am sure it will not. It will be just a new Mac. But all the fans, especially the ones who run YouTube channels or have written about Apple for years, will find one new thing and repeat “wow, how cool” over and over. They will tell such fairy tales that in the end they will not believe it themselves.
In my opinion, a minor upgrade, as always. After the last few months, I am so disappointed that I almost do not want to believe something cool will show up. But I have hope that I will be wrong, and that after the launch I will say: hooray, the Apple we know is back.
Why a “launch experience” and not a keynote?
The most liked comment on MacRumors asks: “Can they just have a live keynote?”
In my opinion, Apple knows very well who is on its side: the people who make a living with Apple’s help. They will surely not invite independent bloggers. They will invite those who always say wow: “the camera moved, that is next level.” They invite those who know how to sell, even when nothing changes.
OLED iPad mini and iMac: work machines, not toys
OLED is cool. But after so many years on the market, is Apple not a bit ashamed to present OLED as a surprise now? OLED is not a feature you just do, and even when you do it well, a normal person will not see much difference at first glance. The numbers they tell us do not matter much to a normal user. I wrote about the OLED iPad mini price before.
The Pro versions are bought by people who need a computer for work all day and need the power of Pro. It would have been enough to give them a new chip, more power, and say: here is the keynote, it is out, at almost the same price. That would be fair. Not a show where they spend even more on PR and then charge it to us in the price. Do you understand what we are missing? The truth, not just “look how cool we are”. We need them to treat us like normal people. Instead they give us things we do not need. This is a work machine, not a toy.
Will it kill the iPad Pro?
Never. The iPad is light, powerful, you take it and handle it however you need. That is why an iPad is an iPad. I am curious what went through their heads when they merged iPad features into a big MacBook. Touch on a MacBook is not relevant. Only if you can fold it back flat and draw on it does it make sense.
Am I buying?
This time I will wait for some cheaper or mid model, let’s say an Air. But we will see the price segment. Slowly, Apple pushes us toward everything expensive. If you want to know what may come next, read my M7 MacBook Pro redesign article.
Featured photo: current 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5) by AzureSaturn, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Disclosure: the author owns Apple shares. This article is opinion based on reports and rumors; Apple has not announced these products.
Touchscreen MacBook Pro: FAQ
When is Apple’s October 2026 event?
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will hold a launch event in Los Angeles on October 28, 2026, and has started inviting media.
Will the MacBook Pro get a touchscreen?
Reports say Apple will launch 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with touch-enabled OLED displays, the first touchscreen Macs. MacRumors says they may be called MacBook Ultra.
What chip will the touchscreen MacBook Pro use?
It is expected to use the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, while a new iMac and entry-level MacBook Pro are expected to get the M6 chip.
How much will the touchscreen MacBook Pro cost?
Apple has not announced a price. Today the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,499 and the 16-inch at $2,999, and the touch models are expected to cost more.
What else will Apple announce on October 28?
An OLED iPad mini with a landscape front camera, and a new iMac and entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip.
Sources: Bloomberg (Mark Gurman), 9to5Mac, MacRumors.
Our Take
Do not expect anything big on October 28.
Be ready: all the bloggers who make a living from Apple will call it “next level”. In my opinion, I would not believe it too much. Touch on a Mac that already collects every fingerprint, likely above $3,000, is not the wow I am waiting for.
