Tech
What to expect from Apple’s ‘Pro and tell’ event
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Published 10/24/2026 9:15:00 AM
What to expect from Apple’s ‘Pro and tell’ event
Apple’s long-rumored touchscreen MacBook Pro, an OLED iPad Mini, and more.
Apple’s long-rumored touchscreen MacBook Pro, an OLED iPad Mini, and more.
It feels like Apple’s Welcome Home event just happened. And the iPhone Duo announcement isn’t all that far in our rearview mirror, either. Yet, the company is back with another launch, focused on the MacBook Pro, it looks like. Its “Pro and tell” event is scheduled for October 28th at 1PM ET. While obviously nothing is confirmed yet, it sure seems like we’re finally going to get that long-rumored touchscreen MacBook Pro.
Beyond that? There could be an OLED update for the iPad Mini, plus M6 updates across other devices, following the M6 debut with the Mac Mini in August.
A touchscreen MacBook Pro
A MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen has been a fixture of the rumor mill since at least early 2023. But now, in late 2026, it may finally come to fruition. The name MacBook Ultra has been floating around, but Apple is unlikely to rebrand its flagship laptop line.
This will be the first touchscreen laptop and the first OLED laptop from Apple. It will supposedly feature an iPhone-esque Dynamic Island, but don’t expect a dramatic revamp of the macOS interface — The touchscreen MacBook isn’t going to be some sort of iPad hybrid. It may include a few flourishes, like a magnification effect when you touch the screen or new gesture controls in native apps. But that’s it.
It’s also going to stick with the M5 series of chips for the time being — specifically, the M5 Pro and M5 Max. There might not be an M6 Pro or Max, even. Instead, Apple may wait to upgrade its higher-end processors until it introduces the M7 next year.
M6 MacBook Pro
That doesn’t mean there won’t be an M6 MacBook Pro, however. The base model of the MacBook Pro could be getting a bump from the M5 after the M6 debuted in the Mac Mini earlier this year. It might also get a slight redesign, including a hole-punch-style camera. Unfortunately, they’re also expected to come with a price increase as component shortages reverberate through the Apple lineup.
M6 iMac
The iMac is also expected to get an M6 update, nearly two years after its last revision. Apple’s all-in-one desktop appears like it’s going to skip right over the M5. Don’t expect any real changes beyond that, though. But at least we might get some new color options, just like we did with the M4 model.
OLED iPad Mini
Another long-rumored device that might finally be making its debut on Wednesday is the OLED iPad Mini. Other than the iPad Pro, the tablet lineup has stuck with LCDs until now. The new OLED iPad could kick off a broader transition for the product line. The screen upgrade may add $100 to the cost, though. Otherwise, it likely won’t be a significant redesign, but expect a processor upgrade from the aging A17 to the A20 that debuted with the iPhone 18.
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The company is reportedly fast-tracking on-device AI processing that will arrive with the M7 series in 2027.
The company is reportedly fast-tracking on-device AI processing that will arrive with the M7 series in 2027.
Apple is expected to shake up its usual Mac silicon release strategy, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reporting that there won’t be Pro or Max versions of the upcoming M6 chip. Instead, Apple wants to “fast-track technologies that it originally planned to release later” with the M7 launch next year.
The Cupertino company will reportedly only release a base model M6 chip “as early as this year,” with the base M7 chip set to launch sometime in the first half of 2027. The M7 Pro and M7 Max are then expected to follow “as early as the end of 2027.” That could leave the most powerful Macs in a lurch since Apple’s base chips are typically aimed at entry-level MacBook, Mac minis, and iMacs. The upcoming M5 Ultra will likely be the only near-term upgrade opportunity for Apple’s higher-end devices.
This would mark the first time that Apple hasn’t released Pro and Max variants of its silicon processors, which, until now, had accompanied every new version since the M1. Apple is still wrapping up its M5 lineup — the M5 Pro/Max were released in March, and the flagship M5 Ultra chip is slated to launch “as early as this year,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, as part of a new Mac Studio.
The M7 lineup, which is reportedly designed around “major advancements to on-device AI processing,” would be the next series to include Pro, Max, and Ultra variations that power Apple’s most powerful devices. The M7 Ultra is on track to release sometime in 2028, Bloomberg reports.
