Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro could launch as early as this month. The redesigned laptop, which is expected to bring an OLED display and touch support, is now tracking for a fall release after months of talk that it might slip into 2027. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman shared the timing in the first episode of his new weekly podcast, Power On with Mark Gurman. He said Apple should introduce the laptop in October, and that it could slip to November.
Apple Is Already Testing the Touchscreen MacBook Pro on macOS 27.2
Gurman said Apple is testing the laptop internally on macOS 27.2, a beta that has already gone out to developers in recent weeks. He added that “this thing is approaching.” Apple seeded macOS 27.2 Golden Gate Beta 2 to developers on September 22, and the final release is expected toward the end of October. Apple’s OLED MacBook Pro models were already running macOS 27.1 inside Apple in mid-September. That means the internal software has gone up a full version in about two weeks. The October window is a change from earlier expectations. An April report pointed to a 2027 launch tied to memory shortages, and Gurman himself had cautioned that the laptop could slip into early 2027. His latest comments put it back on a fall schedule.
Apple’s Mac Launch Would Follow a Busy October 13 Home Lineup
Apple is rumored to launch a new Apple TV 4K, HomePad and HomePod mini on October 13, with Macs following in late October or early November. That matches Apple’s habit of releasing new Macs in that window. The full list of rumored products is in our October product roundup. Gurman’s other reporting points to several Apple products launching within a few weeks of each other, which would make this one of the busiest stretches of the fall. The iPhone Duo sits in the middle of that run, with its release date set for October 23. The fall calendar currently looks like this:
- October 13: new Apple TV 4K, HomePad and HomePod mini (rumored)
- October 23: iPhone Duo ships
- Late October to early November: touchscreen MacBook Pro, with Gurman naming October as the earliest and November as the fallback
The laptop is also being called the MacBook Ultra in some reports, a name Apple has not confirmed. Earlier reports said Samsung Display will be the exclusive supplier of OLED panels for the MacBook Ultra, and our MacBook Ultra guide collects the rumored features, chips and price in one place. Apple has not announced an event for any of these products.
Our Take
A touchscreen MacBook Pro is the Apple product I am most excited about this fall. October looks plausible with the macOS 27.2 testing, though I would still expect November given how much the launch has moved around this year. I hope Apple gets touch right on macOS, since that is the part that will take the most work, as the company has been historically against such a change.
