MacBook Ultra: All the rumors at a glance

Apple is apparently planning a completely new MacBook class above the MacBook Pro. The so-called MacBook Ultra is expected to be the first MacBook with an OLED display and touchscreen – a device unlike any other. Estimates for the likely market launch now vary – ranging from as early as fall 2026 to early 2027.

The MacBook Pro was last updated in March 2026 with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Externally, little has changed since the 2021 redesign. However, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple is simultaneously working on a completely new laptop that is not intended to replace the MacBook Pro, but rather to surpass it.

Gurman calls the device "MacBook Ultra" - a name that would fit with the existing Ultra branding of Apple Watch Ultra, CarPlay Ultra, and the M Ultra chips. Whether Apple will actually choose this name is not yet confirmed. Gurman himself acknowledges that Apple "could retain the traditional MacBook Pro name," but considers the Ultra name more likely.

One thing is certain: this MacBook will be fundamentally different from all previous Macs. We've already categorized the existing MacBook models in our comparisons MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro 2026 and MacBook Pro M5: 14 vs. 16 inch. The MacBook Ultra would be a completely new category.

Key Facts at a Glance

Detail	Expectation
Product	New top-tier MacBook above the MacBook Pro
Name	"MacBook Ultra" (not confirmed)
Display	OLED (tandem), first time touchscreen
Chip	M5 Pro and M5 Max (instead of the previously expected M6 generation)
Design	Thinner, lighter, Dynamic Island instead of Notch
5G	Possible via Apple C2 modem
Release	Autumn 2026 or early 2027 (forecasts differ)
Price	Significantly more expensive than the current MacBook Pro, estimated to start at €3,000.

Positioning: Four MacBook lines

With the MacBook Ultra, Apple would be offering four MacBook tiers for the first time:

Model	Starting price	Target group
MacBook Neo	699 €	Beginners, students
MacBook Air	from €1,199	everyday life, mobile users
MacBook Pro	from €1,899	Professionals, creatives
MacBook Ultra	from ~3,000+ €	High-end professionals, creatives

The MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max will remain available for purchase. The Ultra does not replace it, but rather complements it – similar to how the Apple Watch Ultra exists alongside the Series.

Gurman speculates that Apple might deliberately introduce the OLED model as a new high-end variant. Such a strategy would have two advantages: It would spread demand across two price segments, thus easing the tight supply of components. At the same time, Apple could achieve higher margins without raising the entry-level price of the MacBook Pro.

Display: OLED and touchscreen

First OLED in a MacBook

The MacBook Ultra is expected to use a tandem OLED display – the same technology Apple introduced in the iPad Pro in 2024. Two superimposed OLED layers provide extreme brightness, deep blacks, and a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1. Samsung Display is expected to be the exclusive panel supplier.

The current MacBook Pros use Mini-LED (Liquid Retina XDR). Switching to OLED offers better color accuracy, a thinner design, and higher energy efficiency – at the cost of a higher price.

Samsung Display has now perfected its manufacturing process to such an extent that yields are consistently above 90 percent – individual process steps even reach 95 percent. In the industry, this is considered the "golden yield" and marks the threshold at which economically viable mass production becomes possible. Panel deliveries to Apple are scheduled to begin in mid-2026 – according to the latest industry report, starting in July; around two million panels are planned for this year, distributed across 14- and 16-inch variants. According to the same report, the panels could also be slightly larger than previously assumed – 14.3 and 16.3 inches are mentioned, presumably due to narrower bezels. Samsung Display is currently operating one of two Gen 8.6 lines; the second could be activated if needed, doubling capacity. This gives Apple a flexible scaling path should OLED demand pick up faster than expected. Remarkably, any potential later market launch would therefore not be due to the displays – the display side is ready for production.

First touchscreen in a Mac

The MacBook Ultra would be the first Mac with touchscreen support. Apple has insisted for years that touchscreens don't belong on laptops – this stance has changed. Reports indicate that Apple is working on a reinforced hinge design to minimize screen wobble when typing.

The extent to which touch functionality is now considered certain is demonstrated by an unusually clear statement from the supply chain: Leaker Instant Digital, known for his accurate predictions, declared on Weibo that the MacBook display supports touch input "100 percent confirmed." Such an absolute statement is rare even for leakers and is likely based on concrete evidence from the manufacturing process. While official confirmation from Cupertino is still pending, the indications of a touch-enabled Mac are mounting. This assessment is further supported by reports that Samsung is close to manufacturing the touch-sensitive display panels – when a supplier starts panel production, development is usually well advanced.

macOS 27 is expected to bring system-wide touch support: When you touch an element on the screen, macOS will dynamically adapt and display larger, touch-optimized controls. Pinch-to-zoom and faster scrolling will also be supported.

The notch disappears: It is replaced by a Dynamic Island, as known from the iPhone. This creates more display area and enables context-sensitive ads directly on the screen.

Three tracks in macOS 27

Beyond general touch support, macOS 27 "Golden Gate" includes several smaller features that can be interpreted as preparation for new hardware. First, Sidecar - the feature that uses an iPad as a second Mac display - now allows direct touch input: macOS elements can be tapped and interacted with using a finger. Second, the pull-to-refresh gesture familiar from the iPhone is coming to the Mac; a swipe refreshes content in apps like Safari, Mail, News, Podcasts, and Calendar - on a touchscreen, the same gesture would be a natural fit. Third, the new "Search or Ask" feature in Spotlight, powered by the revamped Siri, appears as a dark, pill-shaped surface that would be fitting for a display with Dynamic Island. Individually, these are minor details, but taken together, the three points in the same direction. macOS 27 is currently available as a developer beta, with a public beta following in July and the final version expected in September.

Chip: surprisingly M5 Pro and M5 Max

There has recently been a surprising turn of events regarding the chip. For a long time, the OLED MacBook was considered the device that would usher in Apple's next generation of chips – with an M6 Pro or M6 Max. A recent report by Mark Gurman reverses this expectation: The top-of-the-line model is said to be released with the already known M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

The reason lies in a change to Apple's Mac roadmap. According to this plan, Apple will release the M6 this year only as a base chip for the entry-level class, but will discontinue the M6 Pro and M6 Max, postponing the next high-performance models to the M7 series, which is specifically designed for AI and graphics workloads. An M6 Pro or M6 Max simply no longer exists in this plan. For the top-of-the-line model, Apple will therefore initially stick with its existing high-end chips, which are still manufactured using the 3-nanometer process.

This results in a paradoxical situation: The separate, more affordable entry-level MacBook Pro with the regular M6 – without OLED and without a touchscreen – would be Apple's first Mac built on the more modern 2-nanometer process, while the significantly more expensive top-of-the-line OLED model uses the older 3-nm chips of the M5 generation. Apple is therefore launching a completely redesigned premium MacBook that runs on the same chip level as the current MacBook Pro.

Apple is expected to close the gap between design leaps and chip stagnation with the successor: This is rumored to be launching with the upcoming M7 Pro and M7 Max chips, is reportedly in an advanced testing phase, and is not expected before the end of 2027. The M7 series is specifically designed for AI tasks – with improved neural accelerators, a more powerful graphics unit, and higher memory bandwidth.

Design: Thinner, lighter, new casing

The MacBook Ultra is expected to be the first complete redesign of the MacBook Pro since 2021:

Thinner casing – inspired by the M4 iPad Pro
Lighter, without compromising on ports or battery
Dynamic Island instead of Notch
The 14-inch and 16-inch models will remain – internally, the two variants are codenamed K114 and K116
Narrower display bezels thanks to flexible OLED panels

According to reports, Apple has developed a reinforced hinge technology to keep the touchscreen stable. The casing remains a classic clamshell design – not a convertible, not a hybrid.

5G connectivity

The MacBook Ultra could be the first Mac with cellular connectivity. Apple introduced its first proprietary cellular modem (C1) in the iPhone 16e and the C1X in the iPhone Air. The MacBook Ultra is expected to use the C2 modem – the same chip rumored to be used in the iPhone 18 Pro.

This would make 5G internet access directly on the MacBook possible for the first time – without a hotspot or tethering. However, it's not yet certain whether 5G will actually be included in the MacBook Ultra or postponed to later models.

Release: Autumn 2026 or early 2027?

The greatest uncertainty lies in the market launch. Gurman had originally projected a launch for the second half of 2026, with a likely announcement in October or November 2026. However, on April 19, 2026, he revised his outlook, now considering early 2027 more probable – although late 2026 remains the optimistic end of his timeframe and is therefore not off the table. A recent industry report from the market research firm Omdia has now reopened the discussion, even suggesting a launch in the third quarter of 2026 is possible. Both scenarios are plausible – for different reasons.

What speaks in favor of a start in autumn 2026?

The displays are ready. Samsung is scheduled to deliver the OLED panels to Apple starting in July 2026; production is running at stable yield rates exceeding 90 percent. Any potential delay would therefore not be due to display issues.
Autumn is Apple's classic MacBook Pro window. Major new MacBook Pro releases traditionally arrive towards the end of the year – the M1 Pro and Max were released in October 2021, the M3 series in late October 2023, the M4 series in late October 2024, and the M5 in October 2025. A market launch in October or November 2026 would therefore be in line with the usual pattern, while a purely September release would be rather unusual.
The new Ultra line could alleviate the shortage. By introducing the OLED model as an additional, higher-priced tier, Apple is spreading demand across two price segments – thus relieving pressure on the limited supply of components.
Two Mac generations per year are nothing new. The fact that the M5 Pro and M5 Max models only appeared in March 2026 doesn't rule out another high-end Mac in the same year. Apple already demonstrated this in 2023: Back then, the MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max arrived in January, and the models with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max in October – two MacBook Pro generations within a single calendar year, even though both were from the same product line. With the MacBook Ultra, the second launch would even be in its own, higher class, which makes a double release in 2026 even more plausible.

What speaks in favor of early 2027

The global memory chip crisis. The shortages of RAM and SSD storage are affecting not only desktop Macs like the Mac Studio M5, but also Apple's premium notebooks. Gurman cites precisely this delay caused by the memory shortage as the main reason for his correction – even Apple, with its long-term supply contracts, cannot escape the worldwide scarcity.
Gurman's assessment carries significant weight. As the most reliable voice on Apple products to date, he still considers early 2027 more likely than late 2026 – even in his most recent reports.
September doesn't fit with Mac logic. Omdia's Q3 release window would mathematically mean September – traditionally the month for iPhones and Apple Watches. A brand-new high-end notebook in this already crowded window would be unusual, which is why several observers are skeptical of Omdia's early release date.

One detail unites both sides: software is not the bottleneck. The adjustments for the new touchscreen in macOS 27 are scheduled to be completed in fall 2026 as planned. However, the notebook itself cannot be shipped until sufficient components are available – and that is precisely what will determine whether it ultimately arrives in fall 2026 or early 2027.

Price: Premium is getting more expensive

Gurman points out that Apple raised prices by around 20 percent when it introduced OLED displays in the iPhone X (2017) and the iPad Pro (2024). A similar price increase for the MacBook Ultra is likely.

For comparison: The current 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max starts at €4,199. A MacBook Ultra could start at €3,000 to €3,500 for the 14-inch model and cost well over €5,000 in its top configuration.

For whom is the wait worthwhile?

The MacBook Ultra isn't an upgrade for everyone – it's a product for users who want the best and are willing to pay for it. HDR video editing on an OLED display, direct touch interaction on the screen, and 5G on the go – that's the target audience.

Anyone who has just bought a MacBook Pro with M5 Pro or M5 Max doesn't need to worry: These devices will remain on sale and are more than sufficient for the vast majority of professional workflows.

However, anyone who's already waiting for a new high-end MacBook and has the budget should keep an eye on the coming months: Depending on which scenario unfolds, the MacBook Ultra could be released as early as fall 2026 or not until early 2027. This timeframe is manageable – and if Apple takes more time, there should be enough stock available at launch to meet demand. The MacBook Ultra could be the biggest leap in MacBook history.

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