After more than a decade of insisting on not adding touchscreens to Mac devices, Apple may release the next generation of MacBook Pro laptops with touchscreen support, according to information from Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo.
As quoted in a Gizmochina report on Thursday, Ming Chi Kuo said that Apple is preparing a MacBook Pro with an OLED screen that will be equipped with a touch panel.
The device is expected to enter mass production in late 2026 and could be released in late 2026 or early 2027.
Until now, the closest thing to a touchscreen Mac that Apple has ever offered is the Touch Bar , a thin layer of glass above the keyboard that also serves as a customizable control surface.
The Touch Bar first arrived in 2016 and lasted until the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2, which Apple quietly discontinued in 2023.
The Touch Bar feature was a clever way to add touch without rethinking macOS, but ultimately it never truly replaced physical buttons or provided the benefits of a full touchscreen.
Ming Chi Kuo suggests that the addition of touch bar support to MacBook models appears to reflect Apple's long-term observation of iPad user behavior, which suggests that in certain scenarios, touch controls can improve productivity and the overall user experience.
If all goes according to plan, Apple is expected to launch an M5-powered MacBook Pro model in 2025 and then an OLED MacBook Pro with the next-generation M6 chip.
