Bloomberg reports that Apple will launch new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with touchscreen OLED displays, and an OLED iPad mini, "on or around" Tuesday, Oct. 27. The Verge describes the laptop as Apple's first touchscreen MacBook.

Apple has not confirmed the date or any product. We could not open Bloomberg's report directly, so this story relies on how five outlets describe it. The photo above shows Apple's current 16-inch MacBook Pro, not the rumored model.

What Bloomberg reportedly plans

  • MacBook Pro: 14-inch and 16-inch touchscreen models with OLED displays, and a Dynamic Island for the first time (9to5Mac).
  • Chips: M5 Pro and M5 Max in the OLED models, which 9to5Mac and Engadget both expect. Engadget notes an earlier report that Apple would not make pro-level M6 chips.
  • iPad mini: an OLED display, a FaceTime camera moved for landscape video calls, and a "revamped speaker system" (MacRumors, 9to5Mac).
  • Entry models: a 14-inch MacBook Pro and an iMac with the M6 chip, which Bloomberg says will "look like their current versions" (9to5Mac).

Context from the current lineup

  • Launch type: 9to5Mac says Bloomberg likens the launch to Apple's October 2024 Mac launch, which also gave press hands-on time. It is "geared toward creative professionals who work in video production, photo editing and music production" (9to5Mac).
  • Entry Mac today: the 14-inch MacBook Pro runs an M5 chip and the iMac an M4 (Engadget). Apple's spec pages list the same chips for both (Apple MacBook Pro, Apple iMac).
  • iPad mini today: last refreshed in 2024 (The Verge). Apple's iPad mini page lists the current model.
  • Current weight: the 16-inch MacBook Pro weighs 4.7 pounds with M5 Pro or M5 Max (Apple spec page; Tom's Guide gives the same figure).

Name

  • Bloomberg: places the OLED models in the MacBook Pro family, per MacRumors.
  • MacRumors: says some rumors had called it the MacBook Ultra, but Bloomberg suggests MacBook Pro.
  • Engadget: says the touchscreen laptop is "potentially called MacBook Ultra."
  • Tom's Guide: says "it's either the Ultra or an OLED MacBook Pro."

Thinner or lighter?

The reports disagree on size. MacRumors says Bloomberg describes the new MacBook Pros as "thinner and lighter" than current models. 9to5Mac says "significantly lighter."

Gurman then replied on X: "I don't think it'll be significantly thinner in the end." MacRumors and Tom's Guide both report the reply. Tom's Guide reads it as a walk-back, and says he still expects the laptop to be lighter.

Timing

Bloomberg says both the Oct. 13 and Oct. 27 launches will include an online video presentation and an in-person component for the press. MacRumors reports, citing multiple sources, that Apple plans to unveil additional products in the final week of October (MacRumors).

Apple has announced an Oct. 13 "Welcome home" event; 9to5Mac and MacRumors expect it to bring a smart home hub, a HomePod mini and an Apple TV 4K, which Apple has not confirmed. When we checked Apple's events page on Oct. 9, it listed the Oct. 13 event and no Oct. 27 event.

Why it matters

A touchscreen MacBook Pro would change how Apple's laptops take input, and OLED would change the panel. The size change is the part buyers would weigh, and it is the part the reports now dispute. Until Apple gives the size, price and chips, a reader deciding whether to wait has a date window, not a product.

What is not known

None of the five outlets reports a confirmed price. Tom's Guide expects a price increase, but that is its own estimate. None gives a date beyond "on or around" and none confirms a product name. Engadget says the touchscreen model could be called MacBook Ultra, but that is an unconfirmed name.