Apple was still expected to release a larger, ‘Ultra’ MacBook Pro refresh this year

This week, Apple introduced MacBook Pro models powered by the newly announced M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. New Macs now available for pre-order and went on sale in stores on Wednesday, March 11. That’s why it may come as a surprise that Apple is still expected to release a major MacBook Pro update in 2026.

MacBook Pro with touch screen and OLED will be released in 2026

Following last week’s official M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro announcement, Mark Gurman reports in his report. Power On newsletter for Bloomberg Today, “touchscreen and OLED high-end MacBooks will be available by the end of the year.”

This machine will be the first Mac with both touch and OLED display. Both are currently hardware features of the iPad Pro, not the Mac.

The MacBook Pro update is also rumored to run on the M6 ​​Pro/Max chip. Apple just announced the M5 Pro/Max chip in an otherwise simple MacBook Pro update.

However, this it won’t be the first time Apple has released two new M-series chip upgrades to the MacBook Pro over the course of a year. Still, Apple could cut it closer than it did last time.

Apple has upgraded the MacBook Pro twice in 2023

January 17, 2023. Apple opened M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pro. 286 days later Apple announced M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro on October 30, 2023.

If Apple announced the M6 ​​Pro/Max MacBook Pro on the same schedule, we would have an announcement on December 14th this year. Historically, Apple has announced a series of Macs that were released in December at the beginning of the year. The 2019 Mac Pro, 2017 iMac Pro and 2013 Mac Pro come to mind.

But even if Apple gets creative and calls the first touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro something new, like the MacBook Ultra, and charges more for it, it’ll still be the new and improved MacBook Pro. The higher starting price, coupled with the use of OLED and touch, means the new Mac won’t replace the model launched this week.

Gurman actually addresses this in today’s newsletter:

“…these upcoming laptops will likely sit above the current M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models, rather than replace them. While Apple may retain the traditional MacBook Pro name, the “MacBook Ultra” tag will make their position at the top of the lineup clearer. One thing’s for sure: Apple is still firmly on the rise.

So despite announcing new MacBook Pro releases, it doesn’t seem out of the question for Apple to break its record of 286 days and possibly announce in November, assuming the high-end MacBook Pro is ready by then.

There’s always the possibility that things can change between now and then, and this new car will be a 2027 product launch. Fortunately, this is not the expectation for now.