In today’s edition of the Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported a new key detail for the launch of the redesigned MacBook Pro model, slated to launch between late 2026 and early 2027.
Apple is largely expected to redesign the MacBook Pro for the first time since 2021 quite soon. Said redesign will feature an OLED display with touch support, marking a large jump from miniLED, as well as a thinner chassis, potential support for 5G, and possibly more of a Dynamic Island cutout than a notch.
The company currently offers three MacBook Pro models. A base 14-inch model with an M5 chip, a higher end 14-inch model with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, and a 16-inch model with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. Outside of performance, the low end and high end 14-inch are largely identical.
The key difference outside of the chipsets is the fact that the base model only offers a single fan, versus two fans on the Pro and Max models.
Nonetheless, Apple offers the entry level M5 model for $400 less than the M4 Pro model, offering a value option for customers who don’t need best-in-class performance.
Base M6 MacBook Pro
While one could’ve reasonably assumed that the base model 14-inch MacBook Pro wouldn’t receive a redesign at the same time as the high end models (after all, Apple excluded the Touch Bar from the base model 13-inch MacBook Pro up until 2019, despite the Touch Bar’s debut in 2016) – Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is now reporting as such:
In the first half of the year, Apple plans to roll out new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, as well as an M5 MacBook Air.
The middle of the year will bring the M5 and M5 Pro Mac mini, in addition to M5 Max and M5 Ultra versions of the Mac Studio. Toward the end of the year, expect the debut of the M6 chip and the introduction of a new low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro.
He referred to these updates as “evolutionary, not revolutionary.” Then, later on, established the following:
But two Macs on the road map do mark major shifts. I previously wrote about the first one: a revamped M6 Pro and M6 Max MacBook Pro with an OLED display, thinner chassis and touch support. That’s slated to arrive between late 2026 and early 2027.
In short, likely don’t expect a redesign or OLED on the base model MacBook Pro. At least as of now, it seems that Apple wants to get at least one more year out of the existing design language on the entry level model.
So, if you want the redesign when it debuts as early as next year, you’ll need to buy a higher end MacBook Pro with an M6 Pro or M6 Max chip.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
Follow Michael: X/Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
