For more than a decade, Apple treated the touchscreen laptop as a kind of joke, arguing that a Mac should not be asked to do what an iPad already does well. Now a reliable Apple reporter says the company is quietly building that very thing, a conventional MacBook Pro with a finger-responsive OLED display, perhaps arriving around 2025. It is a reminder that corporate principles are often sturdy only until the market and the tools around them shift, and that a firm's past certainties can become its most awkward footnotes. Whether this becomes a new chapter or another rumor will depend on what Ap
Apple Reportedly Developing Touchscreen MacBook Pro, Reversing Years of Public Opposition
A conventional MacBook Pro whose screen responds to a finger.
Mark
Why does this story land so hard? Touchscreen laptops aren't new.
Mimi
Because of who is reversing. Apple spent years arguing against this, with Jobs calling it ergonomically terrible and Cook warning about compromises in 2018.
Mark
And what changed since then?
Mimi
Two things the article points to. macOS now runs iPad and iPhone apps, which suits touch. And the Mac now earns more than the iPad, so cannibalization matters less.
Luke
Let me slow us down. Where does all this come from?
Mimi
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who is considered reliable. Apple hasn't said anything.
Luke
Right, so it's a report, not a confirmation. The 2025 date is also only a possible timing. And the reasons for the shift, like competitive pressure, are the outlet's interpretation of why Apple would do it.
Mark
Is the design settled?
Mimi
Only in outline: a touch OLED display and an otherwise traditional laptop design. It would run macOS, so the iPad stays separate.
Luke
The battery life claim is also speculation. The piece says Apple silicon may deliver longer life than Intel machines. That hasn't been tested on a touch Mac.
Mark
So what's solid?
Mimi
That a credible report exists, and that Apple's past statements were strongly against it. Everything else waits on Apple.
The Pulse
- Apple's long-mocked stance against touch Macs is reportedly collapsing, and Tim Cook's and Steve Jobs' old remarks now read like a contradiction waiting to be quoted back.
- Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says a touchscreen MacBook Pro with an OLED panel is in development, a claim that stirs debate because his track record on Apple is strong.
- Rivals like Dell, HP and Lenovo have offered touch laptops for years, and Apple's late arrival puts pressure on it to prove the idea is worth the wait.
- macOS now runs iPad and iPhone apps built for touch, giving Apple the software groundwork to make finger input feel natural on a Mac.
- The launch window is still distant, perhaps around 2025, and everything hinges on whether Apple confirms the device or quietly abandons the plan.
For more than a decade, Apple treated the touchscreen laptop as a kind of joke, arguing that a Mac should not be asked to do what an iPad already does well. Now a reliable Apple reporter says the company is quietly building that very thing, a conventional MacBook Pro with a finger-responsive OLED display, perhaps arriving around 2025. It is a reminder that corporate principles are often sturdy only until the market and the tools around them shift, and that a firm's past certainties can become its most awkward footnotes. Whether this becomes a new chapter or another rumor will depend on what Apple chooses to confirm.
For years, Apple's position on touchscreen laptops was almost a punchline. The company compared 2-in-1 machines to a refrigerator merged with a toaster, and the late Steve Jobs reportedly called touch on a Mac "ergonomically terrible." Now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who has a reliable record on Apple, reports that the company is developing exactly that: a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen.
According to the report, the machine could arrive around 2025. It would carry a touch-enabled OLED display but keep a traditional laptop design. This is not a tablet hybrid or convertible, but a conventional MacBook Pro whose screen responds to a finger.
The reversal is sharp when set against Tim Cook's 2018 remarks, which argued that merging the Mac and iPad would bring compromises and that users did not really want such a merger. Meanwhile, Dell, HP and Lenovo have sold touch laptops for years, and Windows makers are pushing toward ever more experimental all-screen designs. macOS can now run iPad and iPhone apps built for touch, which makes the Mac far more ready for finger input.
Bloomberg also notes that the Mac now earns more revenue than the iPad, easing the old fear that a touch Mac would cannibalize tablet sales. Apple's own chips may give it an edge too, possibly delivering longer battery life than Intel-powered rivals. For now, though, the plan rests on reporting rather than any announcement. What to watch is whether Apple confirms the device and how it reconciles touch with the Mac's design and its own earlier arguments.
For years, Apple's position on touchscreen laptops was close to a punchline. The company likened 2-in-1 machines to merging a refrigerator and a toaster, and the late Steve Jobs reportedly called touch on a Mac "ergonomically terrible." Now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a reporter with a reliable record on Apple, says the company is developing exactly that: a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen.
According to the report, the machine could reach the market by 2025. It would use a touch-enabled OLED display but otherwise keep what Bloomberg describes as a traditional laptop design. In other words, this is not a tablet hybrid or a convertible. It is a conventional MacBook Pro whose screen responds to a finger.
The reversal is stark when set beside what Tim Cook said in 2018, as reported by Laptop Mag. Cook argued that Apple did not believe in watering down one product for the other, that both the Mac and the iPad were incredible because each had been pushed to do what it does well, and that merging them would mean trade-offs and compromises. He added that he did not think the merger some people were fixated on was what users wanted. As Tom's Guide puts it, users' wants have apparently changed.
Several pressures help explain the shift. Dell, HP and Lenovo have sold touchscreen laptops for years, some as ordinary clamshells and others as convertibles that double as tablets. Windows makers are also pushing further toward all-screen designs, including the foldable Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED and the dual-screen Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. Apple, by comparison, would be arriving late.
The software has also changed. macOS can now run iPad and iPhone apps, which were built for touch, so the Mac is better suited to finger input than it once was. The first touchscreen Macs would likely run macOS, which means the iPad would remain a separate device rather than being folded into the laptop line.
There is a financial dimension too. Bloomberg notes that the Mac now brings in more revenue than the iPad, which may ease Apple's old worry that a touch Mac would cannibalize tablet sales. Tom's Guide adds a broader observation: consumers who grew up with touchscreens tend to assume everything they use will have one.
In the nearer term, Apple appears focused on refreshing its current lineup. The latest rumors point to a 2023 update of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with new M2 Pro chips.
Apple's own silicon may be its best card in a late entry. Tom's Guide suggests that chips designed in-house could let the company deliver touchscreen Macs with considerably longer battery life than Intel-powered rivals. For now, the plan rests on Bloomberg's reporting rather than any Apple announcement, and the 2025 window is a long way off. What to watch is whether Apple confirms the device, and how it squares touch with the Mac's design and its own earlier arguments.
Notable Quotes
We don't believe in sort of watering down one for the other... if you begin to merge the two... you begin to make trade offs and compromises.— Tim Cook, 2018, as reported by Laptop Mag
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