Apple’s OLED MacBook Pro could get a touch-sensitive screen, after all

Apparently, it was the iPad that inspired Apple to consider a touchscreen for MacBooks.

By Nadeem Sarwar Published September 17, 2025

A person running Steam on the M4 MacBook Pro. Rocket League is up on the screen — Chris Hagan / Digital Trends

Apple has historically shirked the idea of a touch-sensitive MacBook, even though the company pushed the idea of a button-less smartphone into the mainstream. But it seems the winds have changed course, and the highly anticipated MacBook Pro overhaul with an OLED panel will land a touchscreen, after all.

What’s happening?

The prediction comes courtesy of TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who reports that Apple will enable touch controls on a future MacBook Pro model to enhance productivity and experience. In the Windows ecosystem, touchscreen has been a staple for years on laptops and continues to grow.

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“The OLED MacBook Pro, expected to enter mass production by late 2026, will incorporate a touch panel using on-cell touch technology,” Kuo mentioned in a post on X.

Apparently, Apple was inspired by the behaviour of how iPad users interact with the machine, which offers up to a 13-inch screen and pairs it with a fully decked out keyboard accessory.

Apple’s historical stance

“Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It gives great demo, but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. It doesn’t work,” Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs said back in 2010.

Jobs added that touchscreen on laptops is an “ergonomically terrible” idea, and after testing, Apple concluded that it was a terrible idea. Yet, if you look at the iPad Pro and its increasingly macOS-like software approach, you will realize that the idea is not so terrible, after all.

The OLED MacBook Pro is rumored to bring a massive design overhaul, as well. However, it will most likely arrive in 2027, while the M5 generation MacBook Pro models fill the gap next year.

Managing Editor

Nadeem is the Managing Editor at Digital Trends.

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