OLED Touch-Screen MacBook Pro Reported for October or November--Gurman Says Apple Is Testing It on macOS 27.2 With M5 Pro and M5 Max Chips, Above the Models Apple Sells From $1,999

2026October 4, 2026Macs Only!Apple hardware
A space black MacBook Pro seen head-on against a black background, its lid open and its screen filled with a photograph of a laughing crowd in sequins, metallic silver and neon green, carrying one person stretched across their raised hands.
Photo: Apple · A space black MacBook Pro seen head-on against a black background, its lid open and its screen filled with a photograph of a laughing crowd in sequins, metallic silver and neon green, carrying one person stretched across their raised hands.

The MacBook Pro with an OLED touch screen is reported for October or November 2026. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on the first episode of his Power On podcast on October 1 that he believes Apple will introduce 14-inch and 16-inch models with touch-enabled OLED displays in one of those two months, as MacRumors relayed it. As of October 3 Apple had announced nothing, so this is a report and not a product; if it holds, it is Apple's first touch-screen Mac.

Gurman says October, or November if it slips

"Apple, I believe, will introduce its first touchscreen MacBook Pro this fall, as early as October," Gurman said, in MacRumors' transcription. "It could slip to November, but as early as October." He added that Apple is testing the laptops with macOS 27.2, the beta we covered in our September 21 item; MacRumors expects that update toward the end of October. The window has narrowed in steps. On June 26 it ran from late 2026 to early 2027, per MacRumors' June 26 report, and on September 14 Gurman put the laptops in a list of products due before 2026 ends, per its September 14 report.

The reports describe an OLED panel, a thinner case and M5 chips

The other rumored features, per MacRumors, are Apple's existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a thinner design and a Dynamic Island in place of the notch. The June 26 report gave the code names K114 and K116, said Apple chose the current chips over an M6 Pro and M6 Max that it plans to skip, and said a new entry-level MacBook Pro with the M6 is still expected in 2026. Macworld's roundup of the reports adds that both sizes are expected to use tandem OLED, two stacked layers as in the iPad Pro, with on-cell touch sensors built into the panel and a reinforced hinge to keep the screen from moving under a finger. By the same roundup, macOS is reported to enlarge menus, buttons and controls when it detects touch and to revert for the trackpad. Macworld puts the 14-inch MacBook Pro Apple sells at 0.61 inches thick when closed.

Apple's store sells the M5 line from $1,999

What Apple sells is the line in Apple's March 3 press release: M5 Pro and M5 Max, a Liquid Retina XDR display with 1600 nits of peak HDR brightness, and up to 24 hours of battery life. On October 3 Apple's store page listed the 14-inch model at $1,999 with M5, $2,499 with M5 Pro and $4,099 with M5 Max, and the 16-inch at $2,999 and $4,399. The March release gave $1,699, $2,199, $3,599, $2,699 and $3,899. The difference, $300 on the M5 and M5 Pro models and $500 on the M5 Max by our arithmetic, is the June 25 increase that 9to5Mac's price list recorded.

MacRumors' September 14 report calls the touch-screen laptops distinct, higher-priced models that sit above the regular 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, which are reported to wait for M7 Pro and M7 Max chips in 2027, and its October 1 report says it is unclear whether they keep the MacBook Pro name or take one such as MacBook Ultra. Macworld notes that the iPad Pro went up $200 when it got its tandem OLED.

Apple has not said how it would announce them

Bloomberg has also reported an Apple unveiling of smart home products on October 13. 9to5Mac's look at Apple's October history says that report did not specify an event, and that it remains to be seen whether the MacBook Pros arrive at the same event, a separate one or by press release. It recalls that Apple announced new Macs by press release over three consecutive days in October 2024 and unveiled the M5 chip and a new MacBook Pro without an event in October 2025.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro went to an LED backlight in 2007

The 15-inch models of June 5, 2007 were, in Apple's press release of that day, "the first of Apple's notebooks to transition to LED backlighting," in an enclosure "just one-inch thin," at $1,999 and $2,499, the prices the 14-inch M5 and M5 Pro models carry on Apple's store 19 years on. We ordered one the day it was announced, and our June 2007 review judged the LED-backlit screen "slightly superior" to the one it replaced. Four months later our October 4, 2007 report on Battery Update 1.3 watched that machine's battery estimate fall from about 4 hours to under 3.5. With a new screen, a new case and a higher price reported for October or November, we would not order an M5 Pro or M5 Max MacBook Pro before November is out unless the work cannot wait.

Sources

  1. MacRumors, “MacBook Pro With OLED Touch Screen Rumored to Launch in October or November - MacRumors” accessed Oct 3, 2026The October 1, 2026 report of Mark Gurman's first Power On podcast: his belief that Apple will introduce 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with touch-enabled OLED displays in October or November; the two quoted sentences ("Apple, I believe, will introduce its first touchscreen MacBook Pro this fall, as early as October" and "It could slip to November, but as early as October"); testing with macOS 27.2, in beta and expected toward the end of October; the other rumored features (existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a thinner design, a Dynamic Island instead of a notch); the regular 14-inch and 16-inch models reportedly moving to M7 Pro and M7 Max in 2027 ("next year" in the article); and that it is unclear whether the models keep MacBook Pro branding or take a name like MacBook Ultra; accessed October 3, 2026.
  2. MacRumors, “Apple's OLED 'MacBook Ultra' Will Stick With M5 Pro and M5 Max Chips - MacRumors” accessed Oct 3, 2026The June 26, 2026 relay of Gurman's Bloomberg report: a launch window from late 2026 to early 2027 ("between late this year and early next year"); the code names K114 and K116; the choice of the current M5 Pro and M5 Max over next-generation M6 versions and Apple's plan to skip an M6 Pro and M6 Max; and a new entry-level MacBook Pro with the M6 chip still expected in 2026; accessed October 3, 2026.
  3. MacRumors, “MacBook Pro With OLED Touch Screen Running macOS 27.1 Inside Apple - MacRumors” accessed Oct 3, 2026The September 14, 2026 relay of Gurman's Bloomberg report placing the laptops in a list of products coming before the end of 2026; that the first OLED models are expected to be distinct, higher-priced models that sit above the regular 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro; and that the regular models are expected to jump to M7 Pro and M7 Max chips in 2027 ("next year" in the article); accessed October 3, 2026.
  4. Macworld, “Touchscreen MacBook Pro rumours: Release date, OLED, specs and latest leaks | Macworld” accessed Oct 3, 2026From the roundup as modified September 4, 2026: the high-end MacBook Pro models as the first Macs to support direct touch input; both sizes reported to use tandem OLED, two OLED layers, first introduced by Apple in the M4 iPad Pro; on-cell touch sensors integrated into the display; a reinforced hinge to minimise screen movement when the display is touched; menus, buttons and controls that may enlarge when touch input is detected and revert for mouse or trackpad; the current 14-inch MacBook Pro at 0.61 inches thick when closed; and the iPad Pro's $200 price rise when it got a tandem OLED; accessed October 3, 2026.
  5. Apple Newsroom, “Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max - Apple” accessed Oct 3, 2026The March 3, 2026 date; M5 Pro and M5 Max; the Liquid Retina XDR display with 1600 nits peak HDR brightness; up to 24 hours of battery life; the starting prices of $2,199 (14-inch M5 Pro), $2,699 (16-inch M5 Pro), $3,599 (14-inch M5 Max), $3,899 (16-inch M5 Max) and $1,699 (14-inch M5); and the article image; accessed October 3, 2026.
  6. Apple, “Buy MacBook Pro - Apple” accessed Oct 3, 2026The lowest standard-display prices on October 3, 2026: 14-inch M5 at $1,999.00, 14-inch M5 Pro at $2,499.00, 14-inch M5 Max at $4,099.00, 16-inch M5 Pro at $2,999.00 and 16-inch M5 Max at $4,399.00, and no chip on the page other than M5, M5 Pro and M5 Max.
  7. 9to5Mac, “Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more - 9to5Mac” accessed Oct 3, 2026The June 25, 2026 price increases and the list entries "M5 MacBook Pro: $1,999 (up from $1,699)", "M5 Pro MacBook Pro: $2,499 (up from $2,199)" and "M5 Max MacBook Pro: $4,099 (up from $3,599)"; accessed October 3, 2026.
  8. 9to5Mac, “‘HomePad’ coming: Will Apple hold an October special event? - 9to5Mac” accessed Oct 3, 2026The October 2, 2026 article: Bloomberg's report of an October 13 unveiling of a smart home hub, a HomePod mini and an Apple TV 4K did not specify whether Apple will hold an event; several new MacBook Pros, including touchscreen models, are still expected in 2026 and it remains to be seen whether they come at the same event, a separate event or through press releases; Apple announced new Macs through press releases over three consecutive days in October 2024 and unveiled the M5 chip alongside new iPad Pro, MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models without an event in October 2025; accessed October 3, 2026.
  9. Apple Newsroom, “Apple Updates MacBook Pro - Apple” accessed Oct 3, 2026The June 5, 2007 press release: the new 15-inch MacBook Pro models "are the first of Apple's notebooks to transition to LED backlighting"; the enclosure "is just one-inch thin"; and the suggested retail prices of $1,999 (2.2 GHz 15-inch) and $2,499 (2.4 GHz 15-inch); accessed October 3, 2026.

Then and now

All pairings

Our LED-backlit 15-inch MacBook Pro took Battery Update 1.3 in October 2007; the MacBook Pro is reported to get an OLED touch screen in October or November 2026.

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