Apple Unveils MacBook Ultra With Six Major Upgrades

Big changes are brewing for Apple’s laptop lineup. While the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro were just refreshed with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips last month, a more dramatic shift is reportedly on the horizon. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning a major redesign for its higher-end MacBook Pro models by early 2027, and the company may adopt the “MacBook Ultra” branding for these devices. If so, the MacBook Ultra would sit above the MacBook Pro as a premium, higher-priced option at the top of the MacBook family.

So far, rumors point to up to six significant upgrades. These include an OLED display, touch-screen capabilities, a Dynamic Island cutout, M6 Pro and M6 Max chips built on TSMC’s advanced 2nm process, a thinner chassis, and built-in cellular connectivity. The exact launch window remains uncertain, but Gurman recently indicated that early 2027 now looks more likely than late 2026 due to a global memory chip shortage. Apple’s constrained supply of RAM could push the release back.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with the standard M6 chip is not expected to inherit most of these changes. Apple last overhauled the MacBook Pro design in 2021, when the M1 Pro and M1 Max models debuted. That means the MacBook Ultra would mark the first major redesign in at least five years, a model many customers have been waiting for.

Here’s a breakdown of the rumored MacBook Ultra features.

OLED Display Whether Apple uses the MacBook Pro or MacBook Ultra name, these are widely expected to be the first MacBooks with OLED screens. Current MacBook Pro models use LCD panels with mini-LED backlighting. Switching to OLED would deliver richer colors, higher contrast ratios, and true blacks, significantly improving image quality. Every iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad Pro model Apple currently sells (excluding refurbished units) already features OLED technology.

Touch Screen Beyond the OLED upgrade, the MacBook Ultra’s display is rumored to include touch-screen functionality. This would let users interact with the Mac using both their fingers and traditional input methods like a keyboard, mouse, or trackpad. Steve Jobs famously argued that a touch-screen Mac would cause arm fatigue, but that was years ago, and Apple has been known to change its stance over time.

Dynamic Island Another display-related change involves a hole-punch camera, which would replace the current notch and pave the way for a Dynamic Island on the MacBook Ultra. This design move would bring the laptop closer to a true edge-to-edge display with thinner bezels. Similar to the iPhone, the Dynamic Island could show alerts like low battery warnings and AirPods connection status in the area around the camera at the top center of the screen.

M6 Pro and M6 Max Chips An obvious but critical upgrade: the MacBook Ultra is expected to run on Apple’s next-generation M6 Pro and M6 Max chips. These processors will likely be manufactured using TSMC’s advanced 2nm process, promising greater year-over-year gains in both performance and efficiency compared to usual. For context, the current M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are built on TSMC’s third-generation 3nm process.

Thinner Design The MacBook Ultra is rumored to feature a thinner profile than the current MacBook Pro. The shift from LCD with mini-LED to OLED would contribute to this slimmed-down form factor, along with other potential design tweaks. So far, there’s no indication that Apple plans to remove ports like HDMI, MagSafe, or the SD card slot to achieve the thinner look, but that remains to be seen. The last time Apple made such a move, it proved highly unpopular.

Cellular Connectivity Macs can already tap into cellular networks via the Personal Hotspot feature on a nearby iPhone or iPad. However, Apple has reportedly considered adding built-in cellular connectivity to future Macs. If these plans go through, the MacBook Ultra could be equipped with Apple’s C1X or future C2 modem for 5G and LTE support.