Published : 10 Oct 2026, 09:08 PM
Updated : 10 Oct 2026, 09:08 PM
Apple is preparing to release its first-ever touchscreen MacBook, marking a dramatic reversal for a company that spent years dismissing the idea as ergonomically flawed.
The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will feature touch-sensitive OLED displays and are expected to launch at an Apple event on or around Oct 27, Bloomberg reports.
The machines will also bring the Dynamic Island -- previously exclusive to the iPhone -- to the Mac for the first time, alongside a significantly lighter chassis, reports The Independent.
The high-end laptops will be powered by M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, first announced in March.
The event, Apple’s second in October, will be geared towards creative professionals in video production, photo editing and music production, according to the report.
Also expected at the event: a refreshed iPad Mini with an OLED screen, a repositioned FaceTime camera and an upgraded speaker system, as well as new iMac and entry-level MacBook Pro models running the M6 chip announced with the Mac Mini in August.
Apple’s first October event, scheduled for Oct 13, will centre on smart home products.
The flurry of launches comes under new chief executive John Ternus, the former hardware chief who succeeded Tim Cook in September and has reportedly been pushing Apple to introduce new product categories at a faster pace.
The touchscreen MacBook represents a notable U-turn. As recently as 2021, Ternus himself argued there was no reason to add touch to the Mac, telling the Wall Street Journal that the iPad already served as Apple’s touchscreen computer and that the Mac was “totally optimised for indirect input.”
Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi made similar remarks in 2018, calling it fatiguing to lift one’s arm and poke a vertical screen, according to The Independent.
Steve Jobs had used almost identical language at a 2010 launch event, calling the concept “ergonomically terrible.”
Federighi appeared to leave the door open in 2022, however, responding to a question about a touchscreen Mac with a cryptic “Who’s to say?” -- a hint, in retrospect, that Apple’s thinking was shifting.
It remains unclear how Apple has addressed the longstanding ergonomic concerns, or what form the October events will take -- whether live-streamed or otherwise.
