Apple appears to be preparing one of its most significant MacBook Pro redesigns in years, reportedly working on a model that combines a touchscreen, an OLED display, and a much lighter chassis. The changes could make the next-generation MacBook Pro feel less like an incremental update and more like a rethink of what Apple wants its professional laptop to be.
A touchscreen MacBook Pro that is finally getting lighter
According to the latest PowerOn newsletter from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the biggest change is, unsurprisingly, the touchscreen. Apple is reportedly preparing its first Mac with a touch-enabled display, alongside a move to OLED technology. OLED should bring sharper contrast and deeper blacks, while the touchscreen could fundamentally change how users interact with macOS. Apple is also reportedly making changes to macOS Golden Gate to support touch input.
But the more interesting part of the redesign may be what Apple is doing underneath the display.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the new MacBook Pro will be significantly lighter. Apple is said to be reengineering the laptop internally, miniaturising components and rearranging them to reduce the overall weight. That could address one of the biggest practical differences between the Pro and Air lineups.
For perspective, the current 16-inch MacBook Pro weighs as much as 4.8 pounds, while the 15-inch MacBook Air weighs around 3.3 pounds. Apple apparently wants to close some of that gap without turning the Pro into a less capable machine.
That matters because adding a touchscreen and OLED panel could easily have gone in the opposite direction. Instead, Apple appears to be using the redesign as an opportunity to make the MacBook Pro more portable at the same time.
Apple is changing more than just the screen
The touchscreen and lighter body are part of a broader overhaul rather than isolated upgrades. The OLED panel, redesigned internals, and touch-enabled version of macOS suggest Apple is preparing the MacBook Pro for a different style of interaction.
For users, the lighter design could be the more meaningful everyday change. A MacBook Pro that retains its professional hardware while becoming easier to carry would make more sense for people who regularly move between offices, homes, studios and airports.
The timing is also notable. The new MacBook Pro models are reportedly already being tested with macOS 27.2, with Gurman expecting them to arrive as soon as next month.
Apple has spent years keeping the MacBook Pro firmly in the traditional laptop camp. This redesign suggests that is finally changing. The question now is whether Apple can make touchscreen macOS feel genuinely useful rather than simply putting a touch layer on top of a conventional Mac.
If it gets that balance right, the next MacBook Pro could be more than Apple’s first touchscreen Mac. It could be the beginning of a much more portable Pro generation.
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