'MacBook Ultra' Coming Soon With These 12 New Features
Apple's first high-end MacBook redesign in five years is expected to arrive in the near future, bringing a run of firsts to the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the laptop to arrive between late 2026 and early 2027, with the later window now looking more likely owing to the global memory chip shortage. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects mass production to begin by late 2026. Apple last redesigned the MacBook Pro in 2021 with the M1 Pro and M1 Max models, so this would be its first new high-end laptop design in at least five years. Here is everything rumored about the device so far: "MacBook Ultra" branding: Apple has reportedly decided to market two new "Ultra" products over the next year, the foldable iPhone and this laptop, which would establish a tier above the MacBook Pro for the first time. The name is not confirmed and Apple theoretically could still use "MacBook Pro" branding, but for now, "MacBook Ultra" seems highly likely. OLED display: The MacBook Ultra is expected to be the first Mac with an OLED display, replacing the mini-LED backlighting used in current MacBook Pro models. It should deliver richer colors, a higher contrast ratio with true blacks, greater brightness, and improved power efficiency, since individual pixels switch off rather than dim. The laptop will reportedly use hybrid OLED technology combining an oxide TFT backplane with a tandem two-stack OLED structure, the same approach used in the iPad Pro, offering a longer panel lifespan. Touch screen: The device is expected to be the first Mac to support touch input directly on the display, ending years of Apple resistance to the idea. Kuo first claimed the panel would support touch, Gurman corroborated it, and the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital" says the feature is now confirmed. Apple is apparently not positioning the machine as a touch-first device like the iPad, instead letting customers move between touch, trackpad, and keyboard interchangeably, in what Gurman describes as "touch-friendly, not touch-first." The laptop is said to remain a conventional clamshell, with the keyboard and trackpad retained and no detachable or convertible design. Touch-optimized macOS: Apple is reportedly reworking macOS so that controls adapt to the input method being used. Tapping a menu bar item would apparently surface a larger set of touch-optimized controls, and the system is said to gain iPad-style gestures including pinch-to-zoom and fast scrolling. Touch-based options would be integrated throughout the operating system rather than confined to a handful of apps. Reinforced hinge: Apple likely plans to add a reinforced hinge so the display does not wobble when it is tapped. The current MacBook Pro hinge moves easily and does not tilt especially far back, both of which could be a problem on a machine designed to be prodded. Hole-punch camera: The "notch" is expected to disappear, replaced by a far smaller hole-punch camera at the top of the display. The change was first indicated by a roadmap from research firm Omdia and has since been corroborated by Bloomberg. Losing the notch would add visible screen area and free up the menu bar space it currently intrudes upon, taking the design a step closer to an uninterrupted, edge-to-edge display. Dynamic Island: The cutout is expected to digitally expand into an iPhone-style Dynamic Island. It would be interactive and expand contextually based on the app or Mac feature in use, surfacing items such as Siri, low battery alerts, and AirPods connection indicators in the area surrounding the camera. M5 Pro and M5 Max chips: The laptop is now expected to ship with the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips already found in the current MacBook Pro, rather than the "M6 Pro" and "M6 Max." Apple has apparently scrapped the M6 Pro and M6 Max altogether, accelerating instead to M7 Pro and M7 Max chips said to be optimized for intensive AI workloads with upgraded neural accelerators, graphics improvements, and increased memory bandwidth. A second-generation model with those chips is reportedly planned for late 2027. Thinner design: The MacBook Ultra is expected to be noticeably thinner and lighter than the current MacBook Pro. Moving away from mini-LED backlighting should itself help slim down the lid. There has so far been no indication that Apple intends to remove ports such as HDMI, MagSafe, or the SD card slot to achieve it, which was a deeply unpopular decision the last time around. Two display sizes: The laptop is expected to be offered in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, mirroring the current MacBook Pro lineup, with the two models reportedly code-named K114 and K116. Slimmer bezels: Research firm Omdia claims Samsung Display will supply 14.3-inch and 16.3-inch panels, marginally larger than the 14.2-inch and 16.2-inch screens on current models, which would suggest thinner bezels around a slightly bigger display. A February report from Bloomberg indicated that overall screen sizes are not expected to change compared to the MacBook Pro. Built-in cellular: Apple has reportedly at least considered built-in cellular connectivity for future Macs, which would be a first for the platform. If the plan goes ahead, the MacBook Ultra would likely use Apple's existing C1X modem or its next-generation C2 modem for 5G and LTE. This is seemingly the most uncertain feature on this list. There are already signs of the touchscreen MacBook in Apple's software. macOS 27 Golden Gate hints at the machine in at least three ways: it adds direct touch input to Sidecar, allowing users to tap and interact with macOS elements with a finger on an iPad; it introduces iPhone-style pull-to-refresh across apps including Safari, Mail, News, Podcasts, and Calendar; and its new "Search or Ask" Siri interface in Spotlight adopts a dark, pill-shaped design that would sit naturally around a Dynamic Island. There is some awkwardness for buyers. The first MacBook Ultra looks set to pair Apple's most ambitious Mac redesign in years with silicon that has already been on sale for months, but a successor with much more advanced chips could follow less than a year later. Pricing is the remaining unknown, but it is likely to be high. Apple raised prices across its Mac lineup in June, and the 14-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1,999, rising to $2,499 with the M5 Pro chip, while the 16-inch model starts at $2,999. The MacBook Ultra is expected to sit above all of them.Tag: MacBook UltraThis article, "'MacBook Ultra' Coming Soon With These 12 New Features" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
