After years of rumors, Apple may be getting ready to introduce a new kind of MacBook – with a touchscreen.
According to a report in the latest “Power On” newsletter by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company is working on a high-end laptop that could sit above the current MacBook Pro lineup. Internally, it’s being described as a touchscreen MacBook with an OLED display, and it may carry a new name: MacBook Ultra.
If it arrives, the device would represent a shift in how Apple organizes its laptop lineup.
For years the MacBook Pro has been the company’s top-tier notebook. Gurman says this new machine wouldn’t replace those models. Instead, it would sit above the current M5 MacBook Pro, creating a new premium tier.
The idea is partly about features and partly about price.
OLED displays are widely expected to come to MacBook laptops around 2026, but Gurman suggests the first model to get the technology may not be branded as a MacBook Pro at all. Apple has historically raised prices when switching to OLED panels — something that happened with the iPhone X in 2017 and later with the iPad Pro when it adopted the technology.
A similar jump could happen with the MacBook line.
The new laptop is also expected to include touchscreen capability, something Apple has avoided on Macs for years while promoting the iPad as its touch-first device.
The potential “Ultra” branding would also mirror Apple’s recent naming strategy.
In the past few years the company has added “Ultra” to several of its most powerful products, including its top-tier desktop chips. Gurman notes Apple may extend that naming to other premium devices as well, with future products like a high-end iPhone Ultra or AirPods Ultra being explored internally.
At the same time, Apple appears to be widening its product range in both directions.
Just last week the company introduced a $599 MacBook Neo, designed to compete with lower-cost Windows laptops and Chromebooks. The rumored MacBook Ultra would move the opposite way, pushing the top of the lineup further into premium territory.
If development stays on schedule, Gurman says the new MacBook could arrive toward the end of 2026. However, Apple has not confirmed the device, and the final name is still uncertain.
Source: MacRumors, Bloomberg