Apple’s first touch-screen MacBook to feature M5 Pro and Max chips

Apple has spent the better part of a decade telling everyone that touchscreens on laptops are a bad idea. That stance is apparently about to change. The company is preparing to launch its first touch-screen MacBook featuring M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with a release window targeting late this year or early next year.

The move would mark one of the most significant design philosophy reversals in Apple’s recent history. Steve Jobs famously dismissed the concept of touch-screen laptops. Tim Cook’s Apple held that line for years, even as competitors like Microsoft built entire product categories around the idea with its Surface lineup.

What we know about the hardware

The M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are already shipping in the current MacBook Pro lineup, which Apple launched on March 3, 2026. Those models came with some genuinely impressive specs: up to 4x AI performance compared to their predecessors, Wi-Fi 7 support, Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, and battery life stretching to 24 hours.

Storage baselines got a bump too. The M5 Pro starts at 1TB, while the M5 Max comes with 2TB out of the box. Pre-orders opened on March 4, with general availability following on March 11.

Here’s the thing, though. None of those current M5 Pro or M5 Max MacBook Pro models shipped with a touchscreen. Not one. So whatever Apple is cooking up for this touch-enabled version represents a distinct new product rather than a simple refresh of what’s already on shelves.

The touch implementation is reportedly described as “touch-friendly” rather than a full reimagining of macOS as a touch-first operating system.

The analyst perspective and the leaker trail

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have both pointed to Apple’s exploration of an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro.

Recent leaker claims have gone further, describing the touchscreen feature as “100% confirmed.”

Some analyst predictions have suggested the touchscreen model could be paired with future M6 chips, potentially arriving in late 2026 or early 2027. That timeline overlaps with the reported M5 Pro and M5 Max touch-screen MacBook window, which creates some ambiguity about exactly which silicon generation will power the first touch-enabled model.

The distinction matters. If Apple ships a touchscreen MacBook with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, it would be leveraging existing silicon in a new form factor. If it waits for M6, the product becomes a more complete generational leap, combining new chips with new input methods.

Why this matters beyond the spec sheet

The OLED display technology reportedly in development for this product adds another dimension. Current MacBook Pro models use Liquid Retina XDR displays, which are based on mini-LED backlighting. A shift to OLED would deliver deeper blacks, better contrast ratios, and potentially thinner display assemblies. It would also bring the MacBook Pro’s display technology closer to what Apple already uses in the iPhone and Apple Watch.