The MacBook is going touchscreen, sixteen years after Steve Jobs said no

"Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical." In 2010, on stage, Steve Jobs explained why Apple didn't offer a touchscreen Mac: according to him, the company had done "tons of user testing" and concluded the experience was "ergonomically terrible," because after a while, "your arm wants to fall off" (Fortune). Sixteen years later, Apple is reportedly preparing its first touchscreen MacBooks. That's according to Mark Gurman, Bloomberg's Apple reporter, who says they will arrive next month. Apple has not confirmed anything so far.

1. What Bloomberg reports

In his October 5 report (GSMArena, via Bloomberg), Gurman describes 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with a touchscreen OLED display, expected in November. They would be "significantly lighter" than current models thanks to a new internal structure, run on an M6 chip, and are reportedly being tested on macOS 27.2, a version still in development. Gurman has also mentioned a Dynamic Island, the iPhone's black pill, replacing the notch found on MacBook screens since 2021 (Tom's Guide). The same report also mentions an iPad mini moving to OLED.

What OLED brings, in one sentence: on a conventional screen, a backlight illuminates the whole panel, whereas with OLED each pixel produces its own light and can switch off completely. That allows deeper blacks, higher contrast and thinner displays, which helps make the machine lighter.

2. What has changed since 2010

For fifteen years, Apple kept a clear separation: keyboard and trackpad for the Mac, touch for the iPad (Digital Trends). Apple has not publicly explained what would motivate this change, but the context has evolved. Since 2021, the iPad Pro has used the same chip families as the Mac, bringing the two lineups closer together. On the PC side, touchscreen Windows laptops have existed for more than a decade: some users appreciate touch for occasional gestures, others still find it unnatural on a vertical screen, and Jobs's ergonomic critique is still regularly cited.

According to reports published in February, Apple would not position this Mac as an iPad replacement: touch would be an input method complementing the keyboard and trackpad, and macOS would adapt certain elements depending on how you interact, with easier-to-tap menus when using a finger and the usual interface when using the pointer (AppleInsider). The key question will be whether that adaptation is enough to make a system originally designed for a precise pointer comfortable to use by touch.

3. What we know, what's likely, what's still unclear

Reported repeatedly by Gurman: a touchscreen OLED MacBook in 14 and 16 inches, lighter, due by the end of the year. Likely: a higher price. In March, Gurman described this model as a "MacBook Ultra" sitting above the current MacBook Pros rather than replacing them, and considered an increase of around 20% plausible, as when the iPhone X and iPad Pro moved to OLED (MacRumors). That's an estimate based on those precedents, not an announced price. Still uncertain: the final name, since the October report says "MacBook Pro" and the March one "MacBook Ultra." The unveiling date is uncertain too: MacRumors points to a Mac-focused event at the end of October, based on anonymous sources, which AppleInsider files under its lowest confidence tier (AppleInsider). The announcement expected on October 13 would instead cover the smart home: Apple TV, HomePod mini and Home Hub.

4. What to know before buying a Mac

Another factor comes into play. In June, Gurman reported that Apple would not produce M6 Pro and M6 Max chips and would move straight to the M7 Pro and M7 Max in 2027, designed primarily for AI running on the device (MacRumors). If the touchscreen MacBook does arrive in November with an M6 chip, the high-end chips aimed at the most demanding workloads (8K video editing, 3D, local AI) would therefore come with the following generation. One question remains open: which chip would power the 16-inch model, a size usually associated with Pro and Max versions. The right time to buy therefore depends on each person's needs: those interested in touch or OLED will be able to judge for themselves in a few weeks if the timeline holds, while current MacBook Pros remain available and the heaviest professional workloads should see their next generation of chips in 2027.

The takeaway: according to Bloomberg, Apple is preparing to bring touch to the Mac, sixteen years after Steve Jobs set the idea aside. Based on the leaks, the goal would not be to turn the Mac into an iPad, but to complement the keyboard and trackpad, with an OLED display, a lighter machine and a likely higher price. Nothing is official at this stage: the name, price, chip and date have yet to be confirmed by Apple, possibly within the next few weeks.

1. What Bloomberg reports

2. What has changed since 2010

3. What we know, what's likely, what's still unclear

4. What to know before buying a Mac

Sources

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