Apple readies touch-screen MacBook Pro for 2026, reversing decade-long anti-touch stance

Apple Inc. is preparing to finally launch a touch-screen version of its Mac computer, reversing course on a stance that dates back to co-founder Steve Jobs.

The company is readying a revamped MacBook Pro with a touch display for late 2026 or early 2027, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The new machines, code-named K114 and K116, will also have thinner and lighter frames and run the M6 line of chips.

In making the move, Apple is following the rest of the computing industry, which embraced touch-screen laptops more than a decade ago. The company has taken years to formulate its approach to the market, aiming to improve on current designs.

Bloomberg News first reported in January 2023 that Apple was working on a touch-screen MacBook Pro.

The new laptops will feature displays with OLED technology — short for organic light-emitting diode — the same standard used in iPhones and iPad Pros, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the products haven’t been announced. It will mark the first time that this higher-end, thinner system is used in a Mac.

A spokesperson for Cupertino, Calif.a-based Apple declined to comment.

Apple shares pared their losses Thursday after Bloomberg reported on the plans. The stock was down 1.2% to $246.32 as of 2:49 p.m. in New York.

The touch-screen MacBook Pro will retain a full trackpad and keyboard — mirroring the approach of PC makers like Dell Technologies Inc., Acer Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd. and Microsoft Corp. That means users won’t have to rely on the touch display if they don’t want to.

For the revamped MacBook Pro, Apple is retiring the “notch” — the cutout at the top of the screen that houses the camera. In its place, the company will adopt a so-called hole-punch design that leaves a display area around the sensor. This will be similar in concept to the Dynamic Island on the iPhone.

The company has also developed a reinforced hinge and screen hardware to prevent the display from bouncing back or moving when touched, a common drawback of existing touch PCs.

Because of the pricier components, the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are likely to cost a few hundred dollars more than current versions. Today’s non-touch models with high-end chips start at $1,999 for the 14-inch version and $2,499 for the larger one.

The current MacBook Pro design dates back to 2021, though Apple refreshed the 14-inch base version with an M5 chip on Wednesday. The company is planning M5 Pro and M5 Max iterations for early 2026 that retain the current look, Bloomberg News has reported.

As of now, Apple isn’t actively developing additional touch-screen Macs. Instead, it’s waiting to see the market’s reaction to the touch version of the MacBook Pro, the people said. This follows a typical strategy for Apple, which offers new features on its top-end devices before bringing them down-market.

For years, Apple resisted the idea of touch-screen Macs, arguing that PCs with the feature were difficult to use and not ergonomic. It instead pushed users who want touch interfaces to buy iPads.

The late Jobs, then Apple’s chief executive officer, said in 2010 that “touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical,” suggesting that they wouldn’t make sense for a computer screen. His successor, Tim Cook, quipped that combining a tablet and a laptop would be like melding a toaster and a fridge.

Apple tried a compromise in 2016 with the Touch Bar, a touch-screen strip that sat above the keyboard. This interface replaced the function row, giving access to different controls depending on the task. The feature flopped and was removed in recent years.

There have been concerns within Apple that touch-screen computers would cannibalize sales of iPads. But tablet growth has already slowed in recent years, and touch screens have increasingly become must-have features for PCs.

And Apple has bridged the gap between iPads and Macs in other ways: The devices now have unified interfaces, processors and app ecosystems.

Apple’s iPad Magic Keyboard, introduced in 2020, also showed that customers were interested in combining a touch display with a traditional keyboard and trackpad. The accessory has become central to the iPad Pro’s sales pitch, letting users easily shift between touch and traditional controls.

Adding a touch screen to the MacBook Pro could push users upmarket, creating new revenue opportunities for Apple. While the $999 MacBook Air remains the company’s bestselling laptop, a high-end touch-enabled MacBook Pro might entice customers to trade up — or switch from a Windows PC.

Other new Macs in development include updated MacBook Airs with the M5 chip. Those devices — code-named J813 and J815 — are slated for release in the spring. The company is also working on a refreshed Mac Studio, Mac mini, and a pair of external Mac monitors dubbed J427 and J527.

Apple is exploring another major Mac change as well: a shift from the Touch ID fingerprint scanner to Face ID. But that remains years away.

Gurman writes for Bloomberg.