Reports and rumors suggest that the next MacBook Pro that Apple will launch might not be a MacBook Pro at all. It could actually be something entirely new and more exciting – a “MacBook Ultra” – positioned above the Pro as Apple’s premium laptop, suggesting that the current M5 Pro and M5 Max models will remain on sale when they launch.
The MacBook would be just the latest Apple product to carry the Ultra name, which already covers the Apple Watch Ultra and CarPlay Ultra (not to mention Apple’s high-end silicon chips designated Ultra). This will likely result in a significantly higher price for the new machines. This is part of a larger trend at Apple, where the company is looking to offer more models at higher price points, such as the new MacBook Neo at an unprecedented price of $599.
Below, we’ve listed the features we’re expecting from the MacBook Ultra, which is expected to go on sale later this year or in early 2027. As things stand, the latter time frame now seems more likely, due to the global shortage of memory chips.
OLED screen
BloombergMark Gurman and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claim that Apple is preparing OLED technology for these models, and industry reports support their claims. Samsung Display would manufacture the panels and the supplier has invested heavily in an 8.6 generation OLED production line in South Korea. The line recently reached a key milestone for mass production.
The MacBook Pro will use hybrid OLED technology, similar to that used in Apple’s latest iPad Pro. This display technology combines a glass substrate with thin-film encapsulation, providing improved brightness, contrast and power efficiency compared to current MacBook Pro models, which use LCD displays with mini-LED backlighting.
Touch screen
The new MacBook Pro is expected to become the first Mac to support touch input directly on the screen. This is a notable change from Apple’s long-standing stance against introducing touchscreen functionality to the Mac.
Apple previously experimented with touch controls via the OLED Touch Bar on previous MacBook Pro models, but the feature was ultimately abandoned following lukewarm reception. Rather than positioning the MacBook Pro as a touch device like the iPad, Apple reportedly intends to allow users to seamlessly switch between touch and traditional trackpad or mouse input throughout the system.
This will require updates to macOS to make it more user-friendly, and users will be able to tap or click items on the screen, and controls will change depending on the input method. If a user taps an item in the menu bar, for example, it will display a larger set of controls optimized for touch.
Slimmer design
Gurman reported that Apple is working to make the MacBook Pro OLED significantly thinner, as part of the company’s plan to create “the thinnest and lightest products in their class in the entire technology industry.” (Think of the latest iPad Pro and iPad Air – two of the thinnest devices the company has ever made.) Indeed, the reporter said there’s a good chance the next MacBook Pro model will represent a “real overhaul” for the laptop, thanks to the combination of the OLED display and a slimmer design.
Notably, the MacBook Pro became thicker and heavier with its most recent redesign in 2021. A major highlight was the reintroduction of several ports that had been removed in previous iterations in favor of making the chassis thinner. The big question is how Apple will make its redesigned MacBook Pro thinner without removing features it reintroduced fairly recently.
Dynamic Island
Apple’s highly anticipated MacBook Pro OLED could ditch the current notch for a screen cutout potentially similar to the iPhone’s Dynamic Island, according to Bloomberg. Such a move would reflect the evolution of Apple’s iPhone, as the iPhone notch became the current Dynamic Island starting with the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2022.
As with the iPhone, the Mac Dynamic Island will be interactive and expand contextually based on the Mac app or feature being used. The change should address long-standing user complaints about the notch, which physically penetrates the menu bar in macOS.
M6 processor architecture
The redesigned MacBook Pro models are expected to feature M6 Pro and M6 Max chips, which could adopt all-new packaging based on TSMC’s 2nm process that allows components such as the CPU, GPUs, DRAM and Neural Engine to be more closely integrated.
Terms such as “3nm” and “2nm” describe generations of chip manufacturing technologies, each with its own set of design and architectural rules. As these numbers get smaller, they generally indicate smaller transistor sizes. Smaller transistors allow more to be packed onto a single chip, which generally results in increased processing speed and improved power efficiency.
Depending on where the industry is headed, Apple will likely heavily market the processors as optimized for AI workflows.
