After years of insisting that Macs and touchscreens do not mix, Apple may be about to change its mind. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, as reported by MacRumors on October 25, Apple plans to announce new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with touchscreen OLED displays on Wednesday, October 28.

Apple has not confirmed anything, so treat all of this as reporting rather than fact until the company makes it official. But Gurman has a strong track record on Apple launches, and the details he shared paint a clear picture of what is reportedly on the way.

How Apple is expected to announce it

There is no big keynote planned, according to the report. Apple is expected to announce the new laptops through a press release on its Newsroom website. The company has also scheduled a “Pro and tell” experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, which will likely give media and creators a first hands-on look.

What’s reportedly new

Here are the key changes Gurman expects:

  • **Touchscreen OLED displays.** The headline feature. Both the 14-inch and 16-inch models are expected to get OLED panels that support touch.
  • **A Dynamic Island.** The notch at the top of the display is reportedly being replaced by a Dynamic Island, the interactive cutout iPhone users will recognise.
  • **Lighter designs.** The new models are said to be lighter than the current versions.
  • **The same chips.** The laptops are expected to keep the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips that launched in March, so this update is about the display and design rather than raw performance.

A macOS that adapts to your finger

The software may be the most interesting part. Gurman reports that macOS Golden Gate will feature a “dynamic interface” that changes depending on whether you are using touch or a trackpad. Tap the screen and menus will reportedly appear around your finger with larger targets, while the Dock and Menu Bar will be optimised for touch.

Importantly, touch is expected to be an additional way to use the Mac, not the main one. The keyboard and trackpad stay at the centre of the experience. Gurman says Apple will position touch as something customers can use when it makes sense, alongside the keyboard and trackpad.

What it might cost

The current 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip starts at $2,499, and the 16-inch model starts at $2,999. Gurman says the new OLED versions could cost up to $500 more. Apple is also expected to keep selling the existing mini-LED MacBook Pro models for now, before eventually discontinuing them, which would give buyers a cheaper option in the meantime.

More Apple hardware on the way

The touchscreen models may not be the only new products this fall. Gurman has also reported that Apple plans to release a base 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M6 chip, a new iMac and an OLED iPad mini before the end of the year.

Should you wait?

If you are shopping for a high-end Mac right now, it makes sense to hold off for a few days. Even if you have no interest in touch, a launch usually brings clarity on pricing and which older models stay on sale. On the other hand, if you are happy with mini-LED displays and want to keep costs down, the current models may become better value once their touchscreen successors arrive.

A few questions are worth thinking about before you buy:

  • **Do you actually want touch on a laptop?** If you mostly work with a keyboard and trackpad, touch may be a nice extra rather than a reason to upgrade.
  • **Is OLED worth the premium?** OLED offers deep blacks and strong contrast, but a price increase of up to $500 is significant.
  • **Are you due for an upgrade?** Since the chips are reportedly unchanged, owners of recent M5 models may not gain much in performance.

The bottom line

If the report is right, Wednesday could mark one of the biggest shifts in Mac design in years. A touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro with a Dynamic Island and a touch-aware macOS would answer a question fans have asked for over a decade. We should know for sure very soon.

Image: US keyboard on MacBook Pro 15-inch 2018 by Syced via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0