Apple's OLED, touchscreen MacBook Pro upgrade could be arriving sooner than we expected

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Apple's OLED, touchscreen MacBook Pro upgrade could be arriving sooner than we expected News By David Nield published 17 January 2026

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• The OLED MacBook Pro could arrive way before the end of 2026
• Mass production has apparently already started on the displays
• The upgraded screens are rumored to be touchscreen-capable too

Rumors have long been swirling that Apple is going to give its MacBook Pro line-up of laptops an OLED display upgrade in the not-too-distant future, and now it seems that the upgraded models could be appearing sooner than we thought.

According to well-known tipster Yeux1122 (via 9to5Mac), Samsung has now started mass production of its latest 8.6-th generation OLED panels – and Apple's OLED MacBook Pros are being tipped to be the first beneficiaries.

These panels weren't expected to hit the mass production stage until the second quarter of 2026 (April, May, or June), and so it follows that the laptops themselves might make an earlier-than-expected appearance sometime later this year.

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Previous predictions pointed to a launch window around the end of 2026, but if the timetable can be shifted forward, perhaps there's scope for an unveiling sometime around September or October. However, this is all pretty speculative for now.

Touchscreen capable too

The new display may share certain characteristics with the one on the M5 iPad Pro (Image credit: Apple)

As well as carrying OLED technology – which in theory offers a superior viewing experience to the LCD displays currently used in MacBooks, with deeper blacks and excellent contrast – these panels are also touchscreen-capable.

Your mileage may vary on whether or not a touchscreen MacBook is something that you're interested in. What we can certainly say is that it'll blur the lines between MacBooks and iPads even further, if both are able to use touch input (and perhaps the Apple Pencil).

If previous rumors are correct, however, only the top-tier MacBook Pros will get the OLED upgrade: those running the as-yet-unannounced M6 Pro and M6 Max chipsets. The less expensive options are apparently going to stick with the current display tech.

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Before the M6 revolution starts, we think there will still be room for M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros to be unveiled – perhaps even this month or next month – following on from the refreshed M5 Apple laptops launched last year.

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Today's best Mac dealsApple MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 (2025) SG$2,199ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices TOPICS Apple David NieldSocial Links NavigationFreelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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