MacBook with Touch: analyst expects it by the end of 2026
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo firmly expects a Touch MacBook. This is the next step in Apple's efforts to bring the Mac and iPad closer together.
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Future MacBook models will have a touchscreen for the first time. This is according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has his sources in Apple's supply chain in Asia. According to him, a MacBook Pro with an OLED display, which Apple plans to release at the end of 2026, will be the first device to be able to be operated with a finger.
Speculation about touch operation for the MacBook dates back to 2023. Even then, the link to the introduction of OLED was made. The discussions whether this is a sensible or necessary expansion go back even further. In 2016, Apple introduced the Touch Bar, an additional display above the keyboard that at least enabled software-generated controls instead of function keys. However, the concept was not well received and was eventually discontinued.
Rapprochement between Mac and iPad
The optimism of observers who nevertheless expect a touchscreen is based primarily on developments in software. Mac and iPad have become increasingly similar in recent years. More advanced window management has recently been introduced with iPadOS 26. The Mac menu bar has also found its way onto the tablet, and the mouse pointer, which initially resembled a touch surface, has been replaced by a classic Mac-like graphic.
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Kuo suspects that the boundary to the iPad is becoming even more blurred. Apple's observations of iPad user behavior have indicated that touch controls could improve both productivity and the overall user experience in certain scenarios. However, there are also critics of such an idea. They fear that operation could become very unergonomic.
Affordable MacBook initially without touch
In his X-Post, Kuo also discusses the allegedly planned cheaper MacBook, which is to be powered by an iPhone processor. This device will go into mass production this year, he writes. However, it will not have a touch panel. However, Apple's medium-term plans envisage that the second generation could be equipped with touch support. At least this is being discussed. However, this is not expected until 2027.
(mki)
