Apple solved budget laptops with MacBook Neo — now a touchscreen MacBook Ultra could be next

Apple is currently playing a high-stakes game of “cover the spread.” Right now, we’ve got the MacBook Neo for the budget-conscious users — putting Chromebooks and Windows laptops on notice. But next up (according to a report by Mark Gurman), the Cupertino giant is turning its gaze back to the stratosphere.

The rumored MacBook Ultra suggests that Apple isn’t content with just being “Pro” anymore, and this new higher tier could represent a massive pivot. For years, the line between iPad and Mac was a church and state affair, but the Ultra could break that wall down with an OLED panel and (finally) a touchscreen.

What to expect from the MacBook Ultra?

Well, it’s in the name! Expect it to be the “ultra” interpretation of an Apple laptop. Gurman reports that this notebook will sit above the MacBook Pros, rather than replace them. That (in my mind) is the best course of action, because there’s a whole lot of Pro fans (me included) who don’t need the features a potential Ultra could be touting, and that subsequent price increase.

So to top the beastly Pros, the Cupertino crew’s going to have to go big. And that may mean two key things: OLED and touchscreen capabilities. This would be a huge change from keeping the iPad and Mac distinct in the way you use them, but could be huge for creators.

Now, figuring out where the pricing will go, you can take a look at what happened in other moments where Apple brought an OLED to the party. The iPhone X launched in 2017 with this display tech, and the iPad Pro with Tandem OLED in 2024. In both situations, the price went up by roughly 20%.

Of course, this isn’t taking into account any RAM price crisis-based shenanigans later in the year, but this is the kind of uplift you can expect from a MacBook Ultra. Also, given the anticipation that this notebook lands closer to the fall, I’d expect these to come with an M6 chip — using a new “chips on a system” architecture that you already see in M5 Pro and M5 Max.

Going all-ultra

But this isn’t the only Ultra device that’s set to come. Gurman does suggest two other products may sport this moniker:

• iPhone Ultra: this could very well be the first foldable iPhone Apple makes with a price tag over $2,000.
• AirPods Ultra: these could be the rumored AirPods with a built-in camera to fuel real-time visual intelligence and run the new Siri we’re expecting to see more of at WWDC 2026.

So one thing is becoming clear — Apple’s hitting both the budget and premium prices hard with a wider range of devices to suit all bank balances. The MacBook Neo is going to be a nightmare for Chromebooks and budget Windows laptops, while this rumored MacBook Ultra will gun straight for the luxury market.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this all plays out over the course of 2026.

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