Touch Screen MacBook Pro Reportedly Lands Oct 28: My Honest Wait-or-Buy Advice

I honestly didn’t expect to write this post. Apple spent years telling us Macs don’t need touch screens, and now Mark Gurman says a touch screen MacBook Pro is coming this Wednesday.

He posted it on X on Sunday, October 25: “Apple’s touch-screen MacBook Pro will arrive on Wednesday, marking the tech giant’s latest major reversal.” The details are in his Bloomberg Power On newsletter.

Keep one thing in mind while you read. Apple has confirmed an event, and that’s all. The invite is for a “special Apple Experience” in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, at 10 a.m. Pacific, which is 1 p.m. Eastern (9to5Mac). Apple hasn’t said a word about a touch screen. Everything below about the new machine is a report, and I’ll say so each time.

I’m writing this on October 26, 2026. After the event, this page becomes my price-and-specs page for the new MacBook Pro, and I’ll update it with the real numbers.

What Gurman reports about the touch screen MacBook Pro

Here’s what Gurman reports, as summed up by MacRumors:

• 14-inch and 16-inch models with OLED screens you can touch.
• A Dynamic Island at the top of the screen instead of the notch.
• The same overall look as today’s model, but lighter.
• The same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips Apple already sells. Those came out in March.
• Touch is added on top. The keyboard and trackpad stay.
• A price “significantly higher” than the current high-end models, which start at $2,499.
• Today’s mini-LED MacBook Pro stays on sale for now.

The software part sounds the most interesting to me. Gurman says macOS Golden Gate changes its controls depending on whether you’ve been touching the screen or using the trackpad. Touching a button can bring up a menu around your finger. The Dock and the menu bar have been adjusted for touch.

MacRumors expects a press release and hands-on sessions, not a big keynote stream. iClarified’s summary says earlier retail preparations pointed to November 6 for availability. Apple hasn’t announced any sale date.

The left column of that table comes from Apple’s spec page, which I checked today. The 14-inch with M5 Pro weighs 1.60 kg (3.5 pounds). The 16-inch weighs 2.14 kg (4.7 pounds). Gurman says the new one is lighter, but I haven’t seen a number.

One thing stood out to me. The chips don’t change. If the reports are right, the touch screen MacBook Pro won’t be any faster than the model you can buy today. The extra money goes to the screen, the touch input and the weight.

Apple said no to touch Macs for 16 years

This is why the news feels so strange. People at Apple said no to touch Macs again and again, in public.

In October 2010, Steve Jobs said “touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical.” He added that after a while, your arm wants to fall off (Wired).

In April 2012, Tim Cook was asked about merging the iPad and the Mac. His answer started with “You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator,” and his point was that users wouldn’t like the result.

In June 2018, Craig Federighi told Wired that lifting your arm up to poke a screen is “a pretty fatiguing thing to do.”

Then, in January 2023, Gurman reported that Apple was working on a touch screen Mac anyway (Ars Technica).

Bloomberg’s headline talks about two decades of resistance. I only counted the public quotes I could check myself, and those go back 16 years.

Gurman also reports that Tim Cook and John Ternus pushed for touch, while Apple’s industrial design team was against it. I can’t check that part. It’s his reporting.

What the touch screen MacBook Pro might cost

Gurman doesn’t give a price. He only says it’ll be “significantly higher” than $2,499.

Here are the current US starting prices. I checked them on apple.com today.

Current MacBook Pro	US starting price
14-inch M5	$1,999
14-inch M5 Pro	$2,499
16-inch M5 Pro	$2,999
14-inch M5 Max	$4,099
16-inch M5 Max	$4,399

The only concrete number I found comes from an analyst. David Naranjo of Counterpoint Research estimates the 14-inch OLED model at $2,799 to $2,999. That’s $300 to $500 more than today (Tom’s Guide). MacRumors also says it could be up to $500 more. Both are guesses, not leaks from Apple.

So what does the premium buy? Based on the reports, you’d pay for an OLED screen, touch, the Dynamic Island and a lighter body. You wouldn’t be paying for a faster chip.

That matters if you buy a Mac for work like video editing or running local AI models. Speed comes from the chip and the memory, and the chip is reportedly the same. I went through memory sizes for local AI in my guide on buying a Mac now or waiting.

I wouldn’t count on a price cut for the current model either. No report I read says one is coming. Apple raised Mac prices in June because of memory costs, which I covered in that same guide.

Touch screen MacBook Pro: wait or buy now?

The event is about two days away. For most people, waiting costs almost nothing.

Wait if you want OLED or touch. That one’s obvious.

Wait if you were about to buy an M5 Pro or M5 Max anyway. Even if you end up buying the current model, you’ll see Apple’s full lineup and prices first.

Wait if you were looking at the 14-inch M5. Gurman has reported an M6 version of that entry model, in the current design.

Buy now if you need a laptop this week. A Mac you can use today beats one that may ship in November.

Buy now if you want a Mac mini, Mac Studio or MacBook Air. They’re not part of these reports.

Buy now if you don’t care about touch and your budget stops at $2,499. The new model reportedly costs more, and the current one reportedly stays on sale.

If I were about to order an M5 Pro this week, I’d wait two days. I don’t need touch. I’d just want to see if Apple changes anything about the current model.

Thinking about a new phone too? I compared the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro Max last week.

What I’ll update after October 28

Once Apple announces it, I’ll add the confirmed details here:

• Official US prices for every model.
• Screen size, brightness and weight.
• Chip and memory options.
• Order and release dates.
• Whether the mini-LED model stays, and at what price.
• What touch actually does in macOS.

So bookmark this page if you’re shopping. It’ll be the touch screen MacBook Pro price-and-specs page after the event.

And if you already have a recent Mac, macOS 27 includes a free AI model you can run from Terminal. I wrote about the macOS 27 fm command.

FAQ

Has Apple announced a touch screen MacBook Pro?

No. Apple has only confirmed an event on October 28. The touch screen, the OLED and the price are all from Gurman’s reporting.

When is the event?

Wednesday, October 28, at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern) in Los Angeles. MacRumors expects a press release rather than a keynote stream.

How much will it cost?

Nobody knows yet. Gurman says “significantly higher” than $2,499. Counterpoint estimates $2,799 to $2,999 for the 14-inch.

Will it be faster than the current MacBook Pro?

Probably not. Gurman reports the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

Will the current MacBook Pro get cheaper?

I haven’t seen any report saying so. Gurman says it stays on sale for now.

Written October 26, 2026. US prices are from apple.com that day. Everything about the new model is from Mark Gurman’s reporting at Bloomberg and hasn’t been confirmed by Apple.