Skip to main content

Apple may finally fix the worst things about the MacBook Pro

Someone using a MacBook Pro M4.
Chris Hagan / Digital Trends

Future MacBook Pro models may trade in Apple’s now signature notch design for a hole-punch camera motif.

A component road map from research firm Omdia details that Apple has plans to make changes to the display of its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that will be released in 2026.

Recommended Videos

MacRumors noted that it is still unknown whether Apple would bring its Dynamic Island feature, which is popular on the iPhone line, to the MacBook Pro series. The feature allows the notification tab to expand and show necessary icons when a user needs them; otherwise, only the camera module is visible. Even without Dynamic Island, the hole-punch design may include some benefits, such as added space for the MacBook Pro menu bar and an uninterrupted aesthetic. The road map also includes the MacBook Air, which will maintain its notch until at least 2028.

Omdia’s road map aligns with prior reports that suggest Apple has plans for a major design overhaul of its MacBook Pro line in 2026, when the brand could introduce an OLED display to its professional laptops. The 2026 major refresh would be the first since 2021, when Apple notably introduced the notch to the MacBook Pro as a housing area for its 1080p webcam. Now, reports indicate the OLED display may support the laptop having a thinner chassis. It is also expected to have a high-performance M6 chip based on the 2nm process.

The current M4 series MacBook Pro features a mini-LED display. Meanwhile, next year’s M5 MacBook Pro is also expected to maintain similar specifications, with slight upgrades that have analysts suggesting consumers wait for Apple’s 2026 laptop model before upgrading.

Many experts are certain that Apple’s OLED MacBook Pro is on the way, but it’s just a matter of timing. OLED displays are known for improved performance, color, and energy efficiency. This display type is also an increasingly popular option across the computing industry. Never one to recklessly follow the crowd, it makes sense that Apple wouldn’t introduce its own OLED display until the component itself was a staple feature in the industry.

Fionna Agomuoh
Fionna Agomuoh is a Computing Writer at Digital Trends. She covers a range of topics in the computing space, including…
Apple’s next Pro Display XDR may use this high-end TV tech
Apple Pro Display XDR WWDC 2019 Hands On

CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants Ross Young recently revealed that Apple's M4 MacBook Pros are using quantum dot technology for the first time -- and now he's predicting that the Pro Display XDR 2 will use it too.

Apple didn't announce the switch from KSF to quantum dot itself, but the expert consultant firm confirmed the change by using a spectrometer on the new M4 MacBook Pro.

Read more
5 laptops to buy instead of the M4 MacBook Pro
The Dell XPS 14 and MacBook Pro side by side on a white desk.

The M4 MacBook Pro is pretty stellar. Apple made it far better than the previous generation -- without increasing the cost. That includes bumping up the memory of the base configuration to 16GB, improving the webcam, and unlocking the max brightness of the screen.

But maybe you don't love macOS. Or maybe you're just an Apple hater. Either way, I feel ya. Fortunately, there are some good choices these days that make for a solid alternative to the M4 MacBook Pro.

Read more
MacBook Pro 16 vs. MacBook Pro 14: here’s which M4 you should buy
The MacBook Pro 16-inch on a table.

MacBook Pros are some of the best laptops money can buy. With the M4 chip now onboard, these laptops have never been so powerful, and the update brings some interesting upgrades, such as the improved 12-megapixel webcam and brighter screen. They're the best MacBooks that have ever been made, and it's a perfect time to pick one up based on upgrade timing.

But just because the entire MacBook Pro lineup is better now, that doesn't mean it's any easier to choose between the two size options that are available. Despite the fact that they include many of the same features, the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro feel like entirely different systems due to their contrast in size.

Read more