John Ternus teases touchscreen MacBook Pro launch hours before Apple’s reveal

Apple CEO John Ternus has teased the company’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro hours before its expected launch. In a post on X, Ternus shared a short video of an Apple logo projected onto a dark wall against a nighttime city skyline. The clip doesn’t name a product, but MacRumors says it comes just a few hours before Apple is expected to announce new MacBook models with touch-enabled OLED displays.

The timing lines up with Apple’s “Pro and tell” experience in Los Angeles. Apple invited selected tech reporters and content creators to the event at 10am Pacific Time today, which is 9pm in the UAE and 8pm in Saudi Arabia. MacRumors expects pre-orders to open at 10:10am Pacific Time. For reference, Apple has already announced the iPad mini, iMac and 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro this week, and Tom’s Guide reports those open for pre-order at 10:10am PT on October 28 with a November 6 ship date. AppleInsider reports the touchscreen models could also start sales on November 6.

What Apple is rumoured to announce

Everything below is rumour until Apple confirms it. MacRumors lists these as its final expectations for the 14-inch and 16-inch models.

The hinge is the detail to watch. MacRumors reports Apple has reportedly developed reinforced hinge and screen hardware so the display doesn’t bounce back when touched, an issue that plagues existing touch PCs. On the software side, According to MacRumors, five system assets found in macOS 27 resemble the information shown in the iPhone’s Dynamic Island.

A reversal, with a safety net

Apple has spent years arguing against this product. Macworld notes that ever since the iPad debuted in 2010, Apple has been telling us touchscreens don’t belong on laptops. Apple’s last brush with touch on a Mac was the OLED Touch Bar, which was discontinued after a lukewarm reception.

This time, Apple is expected to hedge. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said, as relayed by MacRumors, that Apple will position touch as an additional input method, used when it makes sense alongside the keyboard and trackpad. He also reported that the existing mini-LED MacBook Pro models will stay in the lineup for now, but will eventually be discontinued. So the touchscreen models would sit above the current range rather than replace it.

Chips and pricing

The chip choice is unusual for a launch week built around M6 products. MacRumors says Apple is expected to stick with the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and reportedly plans to skip an “M6 Pro” and “M6 Max” for M7 Pro and M7 Max versions.

On price, MacRumors expects US pricing to start at or above $2,899 for the 14-inch model and at or above $3,399 for the 16-inch. AppleInsider, citing Bloomberg’s sources, reports Apple mulled a $2,899 starting price for the 14-inch model with an M5 Pro chip. Macworld puts that at a $400 premium over the current M5 Pro model. That would follow Apple’s broader price increases across its range.

Why this launch is a Ternus moment

The teaser is also a signal about who’s fronting Apple. Ternus took over as CEO from Tim Cook, and this is a product he’s promoting personally on X. His first staff memo had already flagged a big launch, and he has since talked up Apple’s foldable direction in an interview we covered when the iPhone Duo neared pre-orders in the UAE.

We’ll update this story with official specs and any UAE pricing once Apple publishes them.