Now that the annual and predictable iPhone 17 launch and release dates have passed, it’s the turn of the Mac community to look at what’s on deck for the rest of the year and see what delights the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops may have on offer.
If the news from the supply chain is correct, the pickings will be slim for the upcoming generation.
Apple is expected to start the refresh on the MacBook lineup with M5-powered MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models during the first quarter of 2026. The M5 laptops will deliver an increase in performance and battery life, but should be seen as a mid-cycle upgrade rather than a full refresh.
If you are looking for a true upgrade, a closer look at details behind the headlines reveals Apple’s major plans for the MacBook will skip the M5 generation and arrive in late 2026 or early 2027… a new chipset, an improved display and new connectivity options
One of the most obvious improvements over the M5 MacBook Pro is the upgrade to the M-Series Apple Silicon. While the release schedule of Mac hardware has been irregular at best, the upgrade cycle on the M-Series chipsets has seen a more predictable tempo - in part because you’ll find M-Series chips inside the iPad Pro upgrades.
The M5 chipset has yet to be officially launched, but is expected to start shipping first inside the iPad Pro by the end of the year and the MacBooks in the following quarter. Apple will no doubt use the M5-series chips for the MacBooks released throughout 2026. The laptop portfolio is not expected to be ready to support a major upgrade to the MacBook Pro until 2027.
One quirk to watch for here is the potential for Apple not to wait on the new M6 series, instead using premium versions of the M5 series (such as the M5 Ultra) for the major MacBook upgrade.
No matter the labelling, each generation of Apple Silicon has been able to deliver a performance lift between 15 and 25 percent, and an associated boost in battery life. That is likely to remain the case as we wait for the major upgrade to the MacBook Pro.
Two features are glaringly absent across the MacBook range, despite being present in Windows laptops for nearly ten years. Apple is strongly opposed to the introduction of both OLED and touchscreen technology to MacBook displays.
The addition of OLED to the MacBook Pro would bring three notable advantages over the existing LCD displays. Because pixels are individually lit or unlit with OLED (rather than an expansive always-on backlight across the whole display), black pixels can be a much deeper black. Conversely, colors can be much more vibrant and vivid in some cases while offering more accurate colour spaces in others. It’s always worth noting that OLED displays are more power-efficient compared to equivalent LCD displays.
Then there is the touchscreen. It’s become commonplace on Windows laptops, and there is an inherent familiarity with it on smartphones and tablets. It’s the latter that many think is the real reason behind Apple’s reluctance to add this to macOS: running a touchscreen on a large display is the unique selling point of the iPad and iPad Pro (at least in Apple’s closed ecosystem). With iPadOS and macOS drawing ever closer in terms of design, functionality, and cross-app compatibility, Tim Cook and his team are squeezing themselves into a corner where the only answer will be to reach out and touch your laptop.
Finally, there is 5G connectivity, offering the ultimate “road warrior” package. You do find cellular connectivity in Windows laptops, but it is not as prevalent as you might think. Where you do see it as an option are in the more portable devices, such as the Surface Pro or other premium 2-in-1 tablets.
Much as Apple has never added touch to the MacBook, it has never added cellular connectivity to its laptops. It has offered both of these features in the iPad Pro. At some point, both touch and 5G will have to arrive on the Mac platform, and today it appears that both are planned for the MacBook following the upcoming upgrade.
Apple’s MacBook range, especially the MacBook Pro, has somewhat faded into the background since the revolutionary launch of the Apple Silicon M-Series devices in 2020. While the Apple Silicon has seen three updates so far (and a fourth is expected in the next few months), there has been one largely cosmetic redesign, including tweaks to the dimensions and surface coating, as well as the introduction of a 15-inch MacBook Air.
If all you want is more power, then there’s a new MacBook Pro around the corner. If you’re looking for genuinely new features that meet the specifications of professionally focused Windows laptops, you’ll need to wait a bit longer.
Now read the latest MacBook Pro, iPhone and AirPods headlines in Forbes’ weekly Apple news column…