The touchscreen MacBook Pro OLED is coming with a 'new interface' — and it could be the biggest upgrade in years

MacBook Pro 14-inch 2023 — (Image credit: Future)

Apple's MacBook Pro M6 with an OLED touchscreen is shaping up to be the company's biggest refresh in years, and it's now reportedly set to get the iPhone's Dynamic Island.

The long-rumored touchscreen MacBook Pro, set to arrive at the end of 2026, will feature Dynamic Island with a hole-punch cutout instead of the usual notch, as found on the MacBook Pro M5 and MacBook Air M4. This comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, detailing sources with knowledge on the matter.

What's more, with the MacBook Pro with OLED coming with touchscreen capabilities, Apple is planning to introduce a new dynamic user interface that incorporates touch controls along with the usual point-and-click input. With all the iPhone-like features it's now expected to boast, FaceID is strongly hinted to make an appearance — something that's been sought after for years. Let's dive into it all.

Dynamic Island coming to MacBooks

MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Since the MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max was released in 2021, Apple has kept the design of its most powerful laptops unchanged, with the notch at the top center of the display trickling down to the MacBook Air. That includes the upcoming MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max, tipped to arrive at the Apple March event.

Now, the revamped MacBook Pro M6 with an OLED touchscreen is looking to take a page from the iPhone by bringing Dynamic Island into the mix. As expected, Gurman states that it will be for the laptop's camera. However, unlike the pill-shaped size found on Apple's recent smartphones since the iPhone 14 Pro, it's set to be smaller in size.

This backs up rumors of the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max also getting a redesigned Dynamic Island, meaning Apple may be planning to make this a uniform design change across its upcoming product lineup.

Dynamic Island coming to MacBooks has been rumored for years, but there are clear signs that the MacBook Pro M6 will finally make it happen. Along with Gurman's sources, Apple's latest macOS Tahoe offers features that Dynamic Island is made for. This includes Live Activities on Mac, which currently pop up in the Menu Bar.

On the latest iPhones, Live Activities live in Dynamic Island, allowing you to track deliveries, see which music or podcast you're playing, view real-time sports scores and more while taking up less screen space. With this in mind, it makes sense to see this come to Macs, too.

This will result in a long-awaited shift in design for MacBooks, but there's another reason why it makes sense to introduce Dynamic Island onto Macs.

Made for touch (and click)

MacBook Pro M5 — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

As we've heard, the MacBook Pro M6 is expected to have an OLED touchscreen. Gurman notes that Apple is planning to use the same OLED display tech used on the iPhone, meaning we should see the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models get the same touch capabilities.

Interestingly, since tapping on Dynamic Island on iPhones opens the app, whether it be from Apple itself or from a third party, the upcoming MacBook Pro will likely get the same feature. This plays into Gurman stating the MacBook Pro will have a redesigned user interface for touch and point-and-click.

While it's expected to have a touch interface, Apple isn't planning for this to replace the iPad. Instead, as sources in the report claim, the MacBook Pro M6 will be optimized for both touch or point-and-click — ready for users to switch between the two as much as they want. That's similar to the best 2-in-1 laptops we see today.

As for what the touch interface may look like, Gurman indicates that when users touch a button or control, a new menu will pop up around the user's fingers, allowing for easy access to relevant options. Alongside this, when touching an icon in the menu bar, a set of controls will appear enlarged for users to easily access.

With so many iPhone-like capabilities, this gives Apple the chance to finally bring a feature that's been missing on MacBooks since, well, forever: FaceID.

Is Face ID finally coming to Mac?

It's been a long time coming, and while Gurman's sources don't note any facial recognition features with the changes coming to the MacBook Pro M6 with an OLED touchscreen, bringing Dynamic Island onboard gives Apple a means to make Face ID happen.

While Face ID uses Apple's TrueDepth camera system on iPhone to scan a user's face, MacBooks have yet to receive this feature. However, with the new Pro model having a camera built around this Dynamic Island, this leaves room to offer a Face ID upgrade.

Currently, both MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models use Touch ID on the power button for fingerprint scanning to securely unlock the laptop. The iPhone lineup no longer has this, with the last being seen on the iPhone SE (2022) via the Home Button. The iPad Pro also comes with Face ID, and even that uses an M-series chip.

It's about time MacBooks followed suit, considering Windows laptops have been using facial recognition via Windows Hello for years now. With the big revamp expected to be on the way, it's a big opportunity for Apple to introduce Face ID to MacBooks. Here's hoping that change finally comes.

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Darragh is Tom’s Guide’s Computing Editor and is fascinated by all things bizarre in tech. His work can be seen in Laptop Mag, Mashable, Android Police, Shortlist Dubai, Proton, theBit.nz, ReviewsFire and more. When he's not checking out the latest devices and all things computing, he can be found going for dreaded long runs, watching terrible shark movies and trying to find time to game

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