Apple may be working on a MacBook series with a touchscreen, likely to launch it by 2025

Apple is developing a series of MacBooks with touchscreens, as per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman claims in a tweet that a touchscreen MacBook Pro may appear as early as 2025. Furthermore, Gruman mentions that new OLED technology may be used in place of the mini-LED displays that are currently used in the 14-inch and 16-inch variants of the MacBooks.

Gruman says his source claims that the project appears to be in its early phases, with engineers “actively involved” in figuring out some basics of touchscreens.  Gurman claims that there are now no firm plans for the release of touchscreen Macs and that these plans are always subject to change. According to Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, the company has previously abandoned projects and produced prototype touchscreen Macs that were never released.

The anticipated MacBook Pro, according to Gurman, would include more improvements but would essentially keep its existing form factor. You would only be able to tap and gesture on the screen. 

It would be a significant new direction for Apple, if this product were to appear on retail shelves. Despite the success of iPadOS, Apple has infamously refrained from including touchscreens in its macOS computers (and as it brought apps meant for touchscreens to its desktops). When launching the iPad, Steve Jobs notoriously called out touchscreen computers and gadgets that employ styluses, calling them “ergonomically horrible.”

Instead of adding touchscreens to laptops, Apple added a Touch Bar for Macs from 2016 until starting to phase it out with the release of redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros in 2021.

But since then, the technology has spread to numerous Windows computers, and an abundance of iPad add-ons have essentially transformed the tablet into a MacBook. 

Although laptops with touchscreens tend to be useful in many instances, not having the feature isn’t exactly a dealbreaker for anyone. Having said that, macOS is likely to require a significant update if it is to be used with a touchscreen.