The Touchscreen Mac That Jobs and Cook Disliked May Soon Be Made by Apple
Should You Wait Before Buying a New MacBook Pro?
If you’re planning to purchase a MacBook Pro, it might be worth holding off.
While the just-released M5 MacBook Pro is essentially unchanged aside from the chip update, Apple’s true leap forward seems set for next year — potentially the most significant shift for the MacBook Pro in years.
▲ Image credit: Engadget
This could be the biggest design and feature upgrade since the original Apple I, breaking with Steve Jobs’ long-standing design principles and diverging from Tim Cook’s earlier strategies.
Key takeaway: Next year’s MacBook Pro is expected to feature a touchscreen.
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A Thinner, Lighter, and Touch-Enabled MacBook Pro
Current Design Achievements
Since the M1 Pro in 2021, the same chassis design has spanned five generations — widely praised for:
- Rounded, more ergonomic body
- Return of multiple ports for practical workflows
- M-series performance combined with exceptional power efficiency
Bloomberg's Insights: Next Design Shift
Bloomberg reports that the next MacBook Pro will be entirely redesigned:
- Thinner and lighter than current models
- Pursuing Apple’s long-standing goal — ultra-light yet ultra-powerful
> The 2016 redesign pushed toward this vision by removing MagSafe and legacy ports for USB-C, but Intel’s heat and performance issues slowed progress for half a decade.
Apple repaired its reputation with M-series chips and reintroduced ports in 2021, but weight remains an issue — e.g., the 16-inch MacBook Pro still weighs 2.14 kg, similar to other high-performance laptops.
Why Thinner Matters
A more portable MacBook Pro brings additional competitive advantages over PCs, beyond battery life. Windows laptops are already slimming down, so Apple’s move is strategic.
Thinness challenges extend beyond the chassis — even MacBook Air screens have notable thickness. This is where OLED becomes transformative:
- Reducing display thickness while improving color depth
- Likely matching iPad Pro’s dual-layer OLED for better brightness and efficiency
- Using on-cell touchscreen tech for enhanced touch precision
Notch update: The iconic notch is gone, replaced with a pill-shaped punch-hole, potentially integrating Dynamic Island in macOS 26.
▲ Punch-hole MacBook Pro concept
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Engineering a Touch-Ready Mac
Bloomberg notes Apple is strengthening hinges and display structures to avoid screen bounce during touch use — a known issue in other touchscreen laptops.
Expected downside:
- Higher production cost
- Price may be hundreds of dollars above current models
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Touchscreen Mac vs. iPad Pro
Apple's Historical Reluctance
- Steve Jobs: Vertical touch on laptops is ergonomically flawed
- Tim Cook: Merging laptops and tablets is like combining a toaster with a refrigerator
▲ Tim Cook offered a “toaster+fridge” at the China Development Forum in 2017
Fragility Concerns
MacBook displays are high-quality yet prone to scratches — finger interaction adds wear risk, even today.
Shifting User Expectations
Many premium laptops already have touchscreens, and younger users expect them. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests Apple avoided touch to protect iPad sales.
> Yet, adding trackpad and keyboard to an iPad doesn’t replace a MacBook — likewise, adding touch to a MacBook enhances, rather than replaces, its core experience.
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Strategic Reasons Behind Touch Integration
Ming-Chi Kuo cites specific creative workflows that benefit, such as:
- Precise zoom/rotation in images
- Video timeline adjustments
- Potential Apple Pencil support
macOS will adapt for finger-friendly interaction, potentially echoing earlier innovations like the Touch Bar.
The gap between iPad and Mac is already narrowing — macOS runs iPad apps, while iPadOS is becoming more “Mac-like.”
▲ iPadOS increasingly mirrors macOS — Source: Apple Insider
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Market Landscape & Apple’s Incentives
- Mac shipments surged 21.4% YOY in Q2, hitting 6.2 million units (IDC)
- Global Mac market share grew to 15% (StatCounter)
- iPad shipments remain higher overall but driven by entry-level models; iPad Pro sales are weaker
Why invest in Mac innovation?
M-series chip R&D costs are immense — spreading these chips across Macs, iPads, and Vision Pro maximizes returns, but Macs show the strongest growth.
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Convergence: Mac and iPad in the Future
Apple’s lighter, thinner M6 MacBook Pro hints at design-converging with the iPad Pro. In biology, this is akin to “convergent evolution” — once disparate species evolving similar traits.
▲ Microsoft Surface, an early 2-in-1
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Possible Foldable Hybrid Device
Ross Young reveals Apple is developing an 18-inch foldable device — potentially delayed to 2029+ due to engineering challenges.
Its final identity? Could be an iPad. Could be a Mac. Or perhaps, in the future, only the OS name distinguishes them.
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For Creators and Innovators
In this era of device convergence and touch-based workflows, creators can leverage platforms like AiToEarn官网 to:
- Generate AI-powered multimedia content
- Publish across Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, and X (Twitter)
- Analyze performance and rank AI models
- Monetize creativity efficiently — ideal for exploring next-gen MacBook touch UX workflows
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Bottom line:
If portability, touchscreen functionality, and cutting-edge design matter to you, waiting for next year’s MacBook Pro could pay off. It’s shaping up to be the most significant MacBook overhaul in years — and potentially the start of a new era where Mac and iPad lines converge.
