Apple’s next high-end MacBook Pro could bring one of the biggest redesigns to the laptop in years, with a significantly lighter body that will join the already rumored OLED display and touchscreen support.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has reworked the internals of its upcoming MacBook Pro, miniaturizing parts and rearranging components to make the laptop considerably easier to carry. The report does not reveal an exact weight, but describes the reduction as “significant”. That might be especially noticeable on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which has traditionally prioritized performance, battery life and cooling over being particularly lightweight.
A larger MacBook Pro redesign
The reduced weight is not expected to come on its own. Apple is preparing an OLED display for the new high-end MacBook Pro, replacing the mini-LED technology used by the current models. More surprisingly, the display is expected to support touch input, making this Apple’s first touchscreen Mac.
Touchscreen laptops have obviously been common on the Windows side for years, but Apple has continued to rely on the MacBook’s keyboard and trackpad, while reserving direct touchscreen interaction for the iPad.
There are already potential signs of touchscreen Mac support appearing in macOS 27.2. The latest beta includes new gesture recognition references across apps, including Photos, Notes, Safari and Quick Look, in addition to a new long-press animation for dock icons.
Previous reporting also suggested that macOS could dynamically make some controls larger when users interact with touch. Importantly, touch is not expected to replace the keyboard or trackpad, but rather a different way to interact with a Mac.
OLED would be another big change. The MacBook Pro already has an excellent mini-LED display, so Apple has to offer more than simply putting an OLED panel in the laptop. Reports suggest that Apple will use Tandem OLED technology, while the redesigned display may also replace the familiar notch with a Dynamic Island-style area.
Combined with a thinner and significantly lighter chassis, this could make the upcoming model feel significantly different from the MacBook Pro Apple has been selling since the big 2021 redesign. The 2021 generation has moved in the opposite direction in some respects. Apple made the MacBook Pro thicker and brought back useful connections that had disappeared from previous models, prioritizing functionality over its previous pursuit of thinness.
Gurman currently expects Apple to introduce the new high-end MacBook Pro as early as October 2026, although the launch could slip into November. Apple is reported to be testing the machines with macOS 27.2, further suggesting that a release is getting closer.
There’s still some uncertainty around exactly where these machines sit in Apple’s ever-broadening MacBook range. Recent reports suggest that the OLED touchscreen models could be positioned above the regular MacBook Pro rather than simply replacing any existing model outright. Also the possibility of different brands, such as “MacBook Ultra”, has been floated, although this remains unconfirmed.
Either way, if the reports are true, this is shaping up to be much more than just another processor refresh. A significantly lighter and thinner chassis, OLED display and touchscreen support will represent significant changes to a MacBook Pro design that has remained broadly familiar for the past five years.