Apple MacBook Ultra: What is known so far
According to reports and rumors, Apple’s next MacBook Pro might not even be a MacBook Pro at all. Instead, it could be something entirely new and more exciting – an Apple MacBook Ultra, positioned as the new top-of-the-line model above the Pro. This suggests that the current M5 Pro and M5 Max models will remain available even after the launch.
The Apple MacBook Ultra would be the latest Apple product to bear the “Ultra” name, which already applies to the Apple Watch Ultra and CarPlay Ultra (not to mention Apple’s high-end chips designated “Ultra”). This is likely to result in a significantly higher price for the new devices. It aligns with a broader trend at Apple, where the company is striving to offer more models across different price points, such as the new MacBook Neo priced at €699/$599.
Below we have listed the expected features of the Apple MacBook Ultra, which is expected to launch either at the end of this year or in early 2027. Currently, the later date seems more likely due to the global shortage of memory chips.
Apple MacBook Ultra with OLED display
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo report that Apple is preparing OLED technology for the Apple MacBook Ultra, and industry reports confirm these claims. Samsung Display is expected to manufacture the panels and has invested heavily in an 8.6-generation OLED production line in South Korea. The line recently reached a key milestone for mass production.
The MacBook Pro will use hybrid OLED technology, similar to that used in Apple’s latest iPad Pro. This display technology combines a glass substrate with thin-film encapsulation and offers improved brightness, higher contrast, and greater energy efficiency compared to current MacBook Pro models, which use LCD displays with mini-LED backlighting.
Touchscreen
The new Apple MacBook Ultra is expected to be the first Mac to support touch input directly on the display. This represents a notable departure from Apple’s long-standing stance of not integrating touchscreen functionality into the Mac.
Apple experimented with touch controls via the OLED Touch Bar on previous MacBook Pro models but discontinued the feature due to lukewarm reception. Instead of positioning the MacBook Pro as a touch-centric device like the iPad, Apple reportedly plans to allow users to seamlessly switch between touch and traditional trackpad or mouse input throughout the entire system.
This requires updates to macOS to improve touch interaction. Users will then be able to tap or click elements on the screen, and the controls will adapt to the input method. For example, if a user taps a menu bar item, additional touch-optimized controls will appear.
Apple MacBook Ultra Design
Gurman reports that Apple is working on a significantly thinner OLED version of the MacBook Pro. This is part of the company’s plan to create “the thinnest and lightest products in their respective categories in the entire technology industry” – the latest iPad Pro and iPad Air are also two of the thinnest devices the company has ever made. Accordingly, the next MacBook Pro model, thanks to the combination of an OLED display and a thinner design, is highly likely to represent a fundamental redesign of the MacBook.
The MacBook Pro became significantly thicker and heavier with its last update in 2021. A key feature was the reintroduction of several ports that had been removed in previous versions to allow for a thinner chassis. The big question now is how Apple plans to make the redesigned MacBook Pro thinner without sacrificing the recently reintroduced features.
Dynamic Island
According to Bloomberg, Apple’s highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro could replace the current notch with a display cutout, possibly similar to the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. Such a move would reflect Apple’s iPhone evolution, as the iPhone’s notch evolved into the current Dynamic Island starting with the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2022.
As with the iPhone, the dynamic menu bar of the Apple MacBook Ultra will be interactive and expand contextually depending on the app or Mac function being used. This change is intended to address long-standing user complaints about the notch that physically protrudes into the macOS menu bar.
Apple MacBook Ultra chipsets
The redesigned MacBook Pro models are expected to be equipped with M6 Pro and M6 Max chips, which may feature a completely new design based on TSMC’s 2nm process, allowing for tighter integration of components such as CPU, GPUs, DRAM and Neural Engine.
Given the future development of the industry, it is likely that Apple will primarily market the processors as optimized for AI workflows.
