There have been rumors for some time that Apple would redesign the MacBook Pro as early as this fall. This will be the first renewal in about five years. There are a lot of rumors about this redesign, but we’ll highlight the most exciting upgrades.
Thin design
Many people aren’t too excited about the fact that the MacBook Pro will be even thinner, especially after the Jony Ive disaster that was known as the 2016-2020 MacBook Pro.
That said, I’m still optimistic. For the most part, the current MacBook Pro chassis is overbuilt for the M4 and M4 Pro chips that most consumers are buying. The M4 Max makes more use of it, but I think in the end many people will end up choosing the baseline chipset anyway.
However, I don’t think it’s necessary to make it significantly thinner. After all, that’s what the MacBook Air is for. I think most people would agree that the 16-inch MacBook Pro is quite bulky.
With recent innovations in thermal solutions, it’s certainly possible that the MacBook Pro could be a bit slimmer without compromising performance.
I know I’d like a 16-inch MacBook Pro a little more if it wasn’t such a burden to carry around in my backpack.
OLED display
This is arguably the biggest rumor for the next MacBook Pro: it will feature an OLED display.
Apple introduced tandem OLED in the iPad Pro in 2024, and that same display technology should come to the MacBook Pro in an upcoming redesign. You can expect deeper blacks and punchier colors than current miniLED panels.
According to recent reports, production of these tandem OLED panels is expected to begin in the second quarter, so we’ll likely see a redesigned MacBook Pro by the end of the year.
touch function
Apple first launched the MacBook Pro in 2006, but after 20 years in business, the company may finally be doing away with something it’s been putting up with for years: the touchscreen.
Touchscreens have been on Windows laptops for a long time, and clearly Apple has experience with them with both the iPad and iPhone. But the company never wanted to add a touch screen to the Mac. The closest thing we got was the now-defunct Touch Bar on the 2016-2020 MacBook Pro (through 2022 if you include the odd M1 and M2 13-inch models).
In any case, many reliable sources say that touchscreens will be coming to Macs. It’s not clear exactly how the implementation will roll out, but it seems almost certain that we’ll see the first touchscreen MacBook Pros as early as this fall.
summary
This doesn’t cover all the MacBook Pro redesign rumors, but these are my personal top three features.
Other rumors about the MacBook Pro redesign include some form of small notch or hole-punch cutout, and the possibility of a dynamic island on the Mac. The next MacBook Pro may also support cellular, thanks to Apple’s recent in-house modem development.
And of course, there’s always new silicon coming out, and the M6 Pro and M6 Max are set to debut with these new models. These could be the first generation of chips to use the new 2nm process.
This MacBook Pro redesign should arrive around October this year, but there are rumors that it could arrive in early 2027. Only time will tell.
Are you excited about the MacBook Pro overhaul? Let us know in the comments.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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