Apple is reportedly working on a touchscreen MacBook Pro

Apple is reportedly working on touchscreen MacBooks. Although the plans are not yet final, BloombergApple’s sources say touch-friendly Apple laptops could arrive in 2025.

For a company that has said touch is better on a product like the iPad, a touchscreen MacBook would be a big change — but don’t expect a wild departure from traditional Apple laptop design. The alleged touchscreen MacBook Pro would “probably” still run macOS and include a standard trackpad and keyboard. But like Windows laptops and 2-in-1s, it would include screen taps and gestures. Apple may expand touch input to other Mac models over time, according to the report, but it doesn’t currently plan to combine macOS and iPadOS. (One can assume that fear of cannibalizing iPad sales may have been a factor in keeping it going for so long.)

In addition, the report reiterates that Apple is shifting its Mac displays to OLED as part of a wider MacBook Pro overhaul. Current Macs have LCDs, while iPhones (except the iPhone SE) and Apple Watches use OLED screens.

Apple launched the Touch Bar in 2016 as a half measure to full touchscreen capabilities on MacBooks. The strip above the keyboard contained system and in-app shortcuts, spelling suggestions, and other touch-friendly inputs. But it was never embraced by developers or Apple’s most loyal customers, and it was removed from Apple’s 2021 MacBook Pro redesign.

While much attention has been paid to Steve Jobs’s insistence that touchscreens have no place on Macs, this wouldn’t be the first time the company has evolved in a way that goes against “Steve’s gospel.” For example, he mocked large iPhones, small tablets and iPad styluses; today Apple is happy to sell you an iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPad mini and Apple Pencil. While Jobs’s vision is deeply ingrained in the company’s DNA, the computing world has changed somewhat since 2011.