Rumors about Apple's work on a touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro started in 2023, when Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said there would be a MacBook Pro with an OLED display and a touchscreen, but OLED rumors date back even further.
We heard a lot about the new Mac over the last few years, and we thought we'd take a look back to see what was right and what was wrong.
OLED
- 2016 - In 2016, ETNews said Apple was considering OLED displays for future MacBooks.
- 2019 - The Elec said Apple was in talks with Samsung about OLED displays for a future 16-inch MacBook Pro.
- 2021 - The Elec said a future MacBook would use an OLED display with a two-stack tandem structure, which is what Apple announced today.
- 2023 - ETNews claimed Apple was sourcing OLED panels in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes for the MacBook Pro, which turned out to be accurate.
- 2023 - Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple would release the first MacBook with an OLED display by the end of 2024 at the earliest, which was incorrect.
Touch
- 2023 - Bloomberg's Mark Gurman was the first to report on a touch display. In January 2023, he said Apple was working on an OLED MacBook Pro with a touchscreen.
- 2025 - Kuo said in September 2025 that the OLED MacBook Pro would have touch sensors integrated into the display panel's top layer, which was correct.
No Notch/Dynamic Island
- 2024 - Omdia said in December 2024 that Apple would remove the notch from the MacBook Pro "in a few years," replacing it with a hole-punch camera. The hole-punch aspect wasn't quite correct.
- 2025 - In August 2025, Omdia said an OLED MacBook coming in 2026 would have an iPhone-like Dynamic Island cutout instead of a notch.
- 2025 - In October 2025, Gurman said the OLED MacBook Pro would have a "so-called hole-punch design" with a "display area around the sensor" similar to the Dynamic Island.
- 2026 - In February 2026, Gurman described the Dynamic Island as interactive and able to contextually expand based on the app or Mac feature in use.
Hinge
- 2025 - Gurman was the first to mention a reinforced hinge that would keep the display from moving when touched.
Design
- 2024 - In November 2024, Gurman said the MacBook Pro would have a thinner design, which was accurate.
- 2026 - In October 2026, Gurman said he didn't expect the MacBook Pro would be "significantly thinner," tempering expectations.
- 2026 - In October 2026, he said the MacBook Pro models would be "significantly lighter."
Chips
- 2025 - In October 2025, Gurman predicted the OLED MacBook Pro models would use M6-series chips, and in November, he specified M6 Pro and M6 Max chips.
- 2026 - In June 2026, Gurman said there would be no M6 Pro or M6 Max chips, and the OLED MacBook Pro would instead use M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.
- 2026 - In September 2026, Omdia said the OLED MacBook Pro would have an M5 Ultra chip option, which was wrong.
Pricing
- 2026 - In March 2026, Gurman said the OLED MacBook Pro models would be more expensive and would be above the mini-LED MacBook Pro models, which was correct.
- 2026 - Just a day before the MacBook Pro models were announced, Gurman accurately predicted the $2,899 and $3,399 pricing.
Naming
- March 2026 - Gurman suggested Apple was working on a "MacBook Ultra," but he did hedge and say Apple might not use the Ultra naming.
- April 2026 - Macworld claimed Apple would release a MacBook Ultra in late 2026 or early 2027.
- October 2026 - MacRumors' Joe Rossignol speculated that Apple could call the new MacBook the "MacBook Studio," but that didn't happen.
Launch Timing
- 2021 - In March 2021, DigiTimes said Apple would release MacBook Pro models with an OLED display in 2022, which was not accurate.
- 2021 - In November 2021, The Elec said an OLED MacBook Pro would launch in 2025, but also suggested the launch could be postponed.
- 2023 - When Gurman first reported on the OLED MacBook Pro, he said it would launch in 2025.
- 2023 - In March 2023, display analyst Ross Young accurately predicted Apple would launch an OLED MacBook Pro in 2026, but he also incorrectly claimed an OLED MacBook Air would come first in 2024.
- 2024 - In November 2024, Gurman updated launch timing to "probably" 2026.
- 2025 - In August 2025, Dealsite.co.kr said Apple would launch a MacBook Pro with OLED in late 2026, which was accurate.
- 2025 - In September 2025, The Elec also said the OLED MacBook Pro would launch in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- 2025 - In October 2025, Gurman updated his launch timing prediction to late 2026 or early 2027.
- 2026 - In February 2026, Gurman said the MacBook Pro would launch in 2026, though in April he went back to 2026 to 2027 and said the touchscreen MacBook Pro launch timing could slip to the end of his predicted window because of the chip shortage. By September, he updated timing to "later this year," and he mentioned a November 6 launch on October 15.
Not Rumored
Some features in the new MacBook Pro were never rumored and came as a surprise.
- Illuminated Apple logo
- Up to 16TB storage
- Revamped speakers
- PROLED XDR naming
Wrap Up
Most of the rumors about Apple's OLED MacBook Pro were right, and Gurman scored a win being the first to suggest it would also have a touchscreen. Launch timing was harder to pin down, partly because Apple's plans shifted over the years, and more recently, because of the ongoing RAM shortages.
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