Apple's First OLED MacBook Tipped For A Touchscreen Display And It's About Time
Apple's strategic stubbornness to avoid slapping a touchscreen display on its MacBook laptops is coming to an end, and not a moment too soon. At least, that's the word from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a positive (though not spotless) track record when it comes to these sort of things. In a post on X, Kuo said Apple is planning on releasing a MacBook Pro with an OLED display, and it will be the first MacBook to feature a touch panel.
What's taken so long? Apple isn't always at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies. For example, Samsung is several generations into offering Galaxy phones with folding displays, while Apple has stuck to traditional, single flat panel designs. Apple was also late to the party in offering larger displays on its iPhones when so-called phablets started to gained momentum.
From the outside looking in, Apple's penchant for not always being first is partially because it can afford to do so, with brand loyalty helping to drive immense sales. To Apple's credit, it also takes its time to offer refined experiences and polished products. Remember the first Galaxy Fold? Samsung's CEO at the time admitted he "pushed it through before it was ready" and called it an "embarrassing" launch, after complaints of broken displays quickly surfaced. That was six years ago.
The same or similar risks don't really apply to a touchscreen MacBook. Instead, Apple's hesitation up to this point is likely rooted in wanting to maintain product separation between its MacBook and iPad devices. Offering a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen panel will undoubtedly cannibalize some iPad Pro sales.
Even so, if Kuo's prediction bears fruit, Apple will finally bring touchscreen parity to the overall laptop market, as that's a feature that's been available on Windows laptops for over a decade at this point.
MacBook models will feature a touch panel for the first time, further blurring the line with the iPad. This shift appears to reflect Apple’s long-term observation of iPad user behavior, indicating that in certain scenarios, touch controls can enhance both productivity and the…
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) September 17, 2025
According to Kuo, the OLED MacBook Pro will go into mass production in late 2026. That would likely mean a holiday season launch or early 2027, supposing no setbacks between now and then.
It's. About. Time. Even outside of the touchscreen aspect, we've been hearing about an OLED MacBook for several years now. Apple's timing may also be the result of OLED finally becoming less expensive than it has been in years past. That's also driven a large uptick in OLED gaming monitors, which used to be few and far between.
