Apple still has one more product launch this month, and it’s a big one
Macworld ·
Macworld Apple sure has been busy, huh? The folding iPhone Duo is finally here (or at least available to pre-order this morning), the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are out, as well as the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 , and the AirPods 5 . Then Apple unveiled its HomeView home hub, updated the Apple TV 4K , and released the HomePod mini 2 . That’s a lot of stuff. But the day I’m looking forward to is less than two weeks away. On October 28, Apple is set to unveil its big guns: new Macs, including one Mac we thought we’d never ever see. It’ll be a momentous day in Mac history, one that Apple fans will need to pay close attention to. Here’s what we’re expecting to see. Touchscreen MacBook Pro This is the reason why Mac enthusiasts will remember this day. Apple used to say that touchscreen Macs are a bad idea , but times and Apple have changed. For whatever reason, Apple believes the time is right to release its first touchscreen MacBook Pro , and it’s expected to debut at the end of this month. It’s a major change for the MacBook. Along with the touchscreen, the new display will reportedly be based on OLED technology, which is also new to the MacBook Pro, replacing the Liquid Retina XDR (mini-LED) displays Apple currently uses. OLEDs offer better power efficiency and improved color quality, so it should be a notable improvement. The new laptop, which will reportedly run M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, is also expected to get a design that’s “significantly” lighter and a little thinner. Apple is now inviting some media to an all-day product launch experience on Oct. 28 in Los Angeles. This is for the touch-screen MacBooks, iPad mini, M6 Macs. https://t.co/6r4yyWiVr1 — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) October 15, 2026 Besides the hardware, it will be intriguing to see what Apple does with macOS to make it more friendly to touch input. The macOS 27.2 beta has touch-friendly elements to it, and these will be key to the success of the touchscreen MacBook Pro. Apple has refined macOS over the years to work with a cursor, so adding touch will require a change in thinking. M6 MacBook Pro Apple currently sells the M5 MacBook Pro , but now that the M6 has made its debut with the Mac mini, it’s time for an upgrade. If the M6 Mac mini benchmarks are any indication, we should see a 25 percent boost in multi-core performance and a 10 percent improvement in single-core speed over the M5. Apple is not expected to change the design of the M6 MacBook Pro. Foundry Apple places this 14-inch MacBook Pro with a base M-series chip between the MacBook Air and the higher-end MacBook Pro models. Apple isn’t expected to make any other changes to this laptop, which will make it an ideal “tweener” model. Learn more about the M6 MacBook Pro. M6 iMac The base M6 chip is also making its way into the iMac, replacing the M4 model released two years ago. Like the M6 MacBook Pro, this update is expected to be mainly a chip upgrade only, but it’s likely to get Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 with the N1 chip as well, like the M6 Mac mini. Will Apple offer new iMac colors? Foundry Don’t expect much more from the M6 iMac. Perhaps we’ll see new colors; the company has offered blue, green, orange, pink, purple, yellow, and silver since the M1 iMac. Wouldn’t it be cool if Apple made a burgundy iMac to match the iPhone 18 Pro ? Anything else? Apple still has one more little thing to release: the new iPad mini , which will get an OLED display and a chip upgrade to either the A19 Pro or the A20 Pro. And maybe Apple will also make some software announcements, but the Mac is what October 28 is all about.