Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook could debut on November 6: here’s what to expect

After more than a decade without having adopted touchscreens on its range of Mac laptops, Apple will finally launch its first touchscreen MacBook on November 6, after having announced it on October 27.

Of course, rumors are rumors – even though virtually every reputable source has lined up on the idea that the MacBook Pro will get touch support very soon. Apple even left a few hints in macOS 27: tap support in Sidecar, pull to refresh support, and slightly larger menu bar items.

You could call it all a simple coincidence, but that’s probably exactly what it sounds like. Either way, here’s what the first touchscreen MacBook will have to offer.

OLED, dynamic island

On the display panel side, the redesigned MacBook Pro will come with a Tandem OLED display. This will be similar to the iPad Pro, which is often touted as one of the best mobile displays on the market. Tandem OLED features stacked OLED panels, enabling incredible colors, strong contrast and increased brightness.

Reports also suggest that it will come with a Dynamic Island, and it will be a bit smaller than the iPhone’s. However, it will not support Face ID.

Software optimizations

According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple will make special optimizations for the first touchscreen MacBook Pro, beyond what is already visible in the macOS 27 beta versions:

“For example, if users touch a button or control, the interface will bring up a new type of menu around their finger, providing more relevant options for touch controls.

The software will also display the most appropriate set of controls based on prior user interaction. And if a person taps an item in the menu bar at the top of the screen, the set of controls will expand to be more easily selectable with a finger.

M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

Despite early reports suggesting we’ll see the debut of the M6 ​​Pro and Max in the redesigned MacBook Pro, Apple is now ignoring the release of these chips to speed up the M7. This means that the first iteration of 2nm chips will not be available on the redesigned MacBook Pros, but will instead offer the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

There won’t be a base model version of this computer yet, although rumors suggest Apple will release a base version of the redesigned MacBook Pro with an M7 chip as early as next spring.

Slightly thinner chassis, significantly lighter

One rumor regarding the new MacBook Pro’s design is that it will be slightly thinner and lighter, although it’s unclear how significant that will be. The latest iteration of the MacBook Pro made computers look quite bulky, so a little progress here would probably be welcome – as long as it doesn’t involve compromises on thermals.

Bloomberg also reported that these computers will be “significantly lighter”, thanks to the re-engineering of internal components.

Release date

According to the Power On newsletter, Apple will potentially launch these new MacBook Pro models on November 6, making four consecutive weeks of new Apple launches with the iPhone Duo, HomePod mini 2, new MacBook Pro and HomeView + Apple TV 4K.

As of now, there is no Apple release planned for November 6, so it would make sense that it would be the new MacBook Pro:

Now I have a little more to share: Apple plans to conduct a “reset” at its retail stores on the evening of Thursday, November 5 through Friday, November 6, which involves new signage and products being placed on store tables. Given that this Friday falls a week after the Mac announcements (around the time Apple typically releases products), it would make sense that this is the date when at least some of the new items will be available to customers.

My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:

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