Gurman expects Apple's first touchscreen MacBook Pro as early as October on M5 chips

For the IT lead with an approved order for 16-inch MacBook Pros waiting on a final signature, the reason to pause came from a podcast. Bloomberg launched a weekly show, "Power On with Mark Gurman," and Gurman gave the timing update in its first episode ^[1].

He hedged it himself. "Apple, I believe, will introduce its first touchscreen MacBook Pro this fall, as early as October," Gurman said ^[2]. "It could slip to November, but as early as October," he said ^[3]. On the internal testing, he added: "So this thing is approaching" ^[4]. MacRumors still describes the models as long-rumored ^[6]. The window fits Apple's habit, since new Macs often arrive between late October and early November ^[11], and 9to5Mac called the update "a great indication that the model is on track to launch soon" ^[12].

Separate what is being pitched from what a team would be buying. Everything new on the reported spec sheet is on the outside of the laptop: the screen, the thickness, the notch ^[6][10]. Inside, MacRumors lists Apple's existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips ^[10]. For a team buying machines to compile code or render video, I think the chip is most of the decision. The processor change in the reporting goes to the regular models, and not until next year ^[7].

Teams with staff on the road may want this to be the cellular Mac. The reporting is thinner than that. A few years ago Gurman reported that Apple was looking into Macs that connect to 5G or LTE without an iPhone hotspot, and MacRumors says some Apple fans hope the touch models get Apple's C1X or C2 modem ^[13].

Neither report includes a price. The name is open as well: MacRumors says it is unclear whether Apple keeps the MacBook Pro branding or picks something like MacBook Ultra ^[8].

I'd hold a purchase only where the screen is the reason for buying. Holding costs at least a few weeks without the laptops, and more if the launch slips to November as Gurman allows ^[3]. It also means a budget request for a tier that sits above the regular MacBook Pro ^[7] before anyone can quote it. MacRumors expects macOS 27.2, the build Apple is testing on, to ship toward the end of October ^[5][4]. If the laptop arrives with it, managed fleets get OS validation and new hardware in the same weeks.

Sort each pending request on two axes: whether the work needs more processor than an M5 Pro or M5 Max, and whether the people using the laptop need a touch OLED screen.

- Neither: buy now. The fall machine's reported changes are to the display and the body ^[10]. - Screen yes, chip no: wait for the October-or-November window ^[2][3], and budget for the higher tier. - Chip yes, screen no: this launch does not apply. The reported M7 Pro and M7 Max upgrade is on the regular line next year ^[7]. - Both: the reported roadmap splits them, with touch on M5 this fall and M7 on the regular models next year ^[10][7]. Buy for whichever need costs the team more today.