Your next MacBook Pro could be "significantly lighter" than ever before, claims expert

Apple's anticipated MacBook Pro update could happen in the next couple of weeks, with new details pointing to a significant change in design.

According to Mark Gurman on Bloomberg, the new MacBook Pro – also dubbed the "MacBook Ultra" by many – will be "significantly lighter". This is said to have been achieved by reengineering the laptop's interior and miniaturising parts.

The current 16-inch MacBook Pro weighs 2.14 kg, while the MacBook Air is 1.51 kg for the 15-inch version, so there's plenty of weight to be lost here.

That's as far as the news goes for the future MacBook Pro, although we're previously heard that it's ushering a controversial new feature too – a touchscreen OLED display.

It might come as a surprise that Apple hasn't yet offered the MacBook Pro with an OLED screen, but a shift to the tech should give a richer and higher quality result, albeit paired with a higher price.

But, it's the addition of a touchscreen that's more controversial. Back in 2010, Steve Jobs specifically said that touch didn't work on a laptop, because of the ergonomics. In the meantime, both Windows and Chromebook has offered touchscreen models at a full range of prices.

Subsequently, Craig Federighi doubled down on the position of not offering touch, saying that touching the screen was fatiguing. Adjacent to Apple's anti-touch position, the iPad Pro has repeatedly be positioned as a laptop alternative.

We could be in for a significant shift in position for the MacBook however, with macOS 27 expected to have a number of adaptations to support touch when the new model appears.

It's also thought that the MacBook Ultra will be offered with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, rather than expanding the M6 – with a move in early 2027 to the M7 family instead.

That could see the launch of the new MacBook Ultra as a watershed moment ushering in a new design that's lighter, a new screen technology and a new method of interaction. Over time, it's expected that some trickle down will occur, but given the high price of components, the biggest surprise could be the price.

Currently, it's predicted that there will be a 20% price hike over the existing MacBook Pro model, with prices according to Forbes expected to land in the $3,000 / £3,000 price range.