Apple MacBook Pro OLED (2026) Review: The Best Comes at a Cost

The champion laptop show ever made, barroom none. The notch is gone! Having a touchscreen is occasionally useful. Much lighter to carry. Somehow, adjacent amended speakers. Glowing Apple logo returns.

Touchscreen implementation feels half-baked. High terms for the aforesaid show arsenic past year’s model.

Apple doesn’t change its caput precise often. Its past is 1 of sticking to its guns, adjacent erstwhile pressed connected definite plan oregon exertion decisions. And yet, I’ve been moving connected a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen for the past fewer days—a instrumentality I ne'er thought would travel into being.

Ignoring the (very reasonable) arguments about the mediocre ergonomics of touchscreen laptops made successful the past, Apple has brought specified a show to the MacBook Pro successful the astir un-Apple mode I could person imagined. I’m not definite wherefore it’s here, but it is.

I bash know, though, that I emotion the caller “PROLED XDR” screen. Combine that with a hole-punch cutout for the webcam and the instrumentality of the light-up Apple logo connected the lid—and it's capable improvements to telephone this a large upgrade implicit the rest of the MacBook lineup. But compared to a likewise specced MacBook Pro from a twelvemonth ago, the OLED exemplary costs astir $1,000 much by comparison.

Small Touches Add Up

With the accomplishment of the OLED MacBook Pro, Apple present offers 2 flavors of its flagship premium laptop. The modular Mini-LED enactment present comes with the M6 processor with improved graphics and artillery life, but different looks mostly the aforesaid arsenic before.

The OLED MacBook Pro, however, is the biggest alteration since 2021. You won’t announcement it instantly connected the outside. Color options are inactive conscionable Silver and Space Black. You inactive person a prime betwixt 14- and 16-inch. Ports are the same. Open it up, and you’ll spot the acquainted keyboard and trackpad. It’s each determination arsenic you’d expect.

The lone ocular denotation that you’re utilizing thing antithetic is the glowing Apple logo connected the lid. As a diagnostic lone disposable successful the precise costly OLED MacBook Pro, it’s a pure, unabashed presumption symbol. And I emotion it. It adjacent matches the display’s brightness, truthful it doesn’t distract successful a acheronian room.

Another discernible quality successful the OLED MacBook Pro is thing you’ll announcement with your hands alternatively than your eyes. The 16-inch exemplary I tested present weighs conscionable 4 pounds, good implicit fractional a lb lighter than the non-OLED equivalent. Most of the value savings travel from OLED, which uses overmuch thinner, lighter layers (more connected OLED later). This is simply a precise ample laptop, but the value simplification makes it overmuch easier to transportation astir successful a bag.

And the notch is gone! No Apple plan diagnostic has bothered maine much than this ample cutout astatine the apical of the screen, which houses the webcam and sensors (it remains successful the non-OLED model). The punch-hole camera is simply a immense improvement. As idiosyncratic who recovered the notch a implicit eyesore since it was introduced, this mightiness beryllium the alteration I’ve been astir excited about. Like connected newer iPhones, the MacBook Pro is besides getting Dynamic Island, which makes the punch-hole camera much useful. It tin amusement interactive Live Activities, specified arsenic timers oregon currently-playing music. I ideate it won’t beryllium utilized excessively often, though it does its occupation by hiding the punch-hole and showing disconnected those constrictive bezels.

There are immoderate subtler tweaks. The rubber feet connected the bottommost person softer, rounded edges. The bezels astir the surface are somewhat smaller.

Even Brighter OLED

It’s been implicit 2 years since Apple archetypal brought its tandem OLED displays to the iPad Pro. In that time, MacBook Pro users person been patiently utilizing the aforesaid Mini-LED display. Nevertheless, the OLED MacBook Pro has yet arrived, and Apple has pushed the tandem OLED sheet further than ever before. This is the brightest laptop show I’ve ever tested, susceptible of reaching up to 1,000 nits successful SDR. That’s connected mundane contented passim the operating strategy and crossed each apps. The surface can, however, crank retired 2,000 nits of brightness—but lone successful circumstantial circumstances.

For example, nether precise agleam airy oregon outdoors, the ambient airy sensor built into the webcam module volition observe those conditions and tune the show beyond the 1,000-nit precocious limit. Combine that with the optional nano-texture screen, and you person what is undoubtedly the champion laptop for moving outside. That’s particularly awesome considering glare is simply a large occupation with emblematic OLED laptop screens. (You’ll request to crook connected the “Automatically set brightness” setting, which I typically don’t.) Apple sent maine the OLED with modular solid for testing, which comes with an anti-reflective coating that the institution calls “ground-breaking." Next to the non-OLED M6 MacBook Pro, it looks astir arsenic reflective. If you truly privation to usage this happening outside, the nano-texture upgrade is good worthy it.

HDR contented is the 2nd concern successful which the surface tin beryllium cranked up to 2,000 nits of highest brightness. Here, the thought isn’t to blast your eyes with brightness; it’s astir details. In HDR-rendered photos, videos, movies, and games, 2,000 nits would beryllium agleam capable to present unthinkable extent of item and color. I’ve ne'er seen HDR similar this connected a laptop, and you truly person to acquisition it to truly get it. In my HDR testing, my OLED MacBook Pro ne'er rather reached 2,000 nits, maxing retired astatine 1,849 nits. But amazingly, it tin adjacent nutrient this successful a 25 percent window, and 1,025 nits with each pixel lit up. The lone spot you’ll find brighter OLED is successful the precise latest OLED TVs.

Now, this is really lone 12 percent brighter than the Mini-LED MacBook Pro, which I retested to marque this comparison. But erstwhile you brace a brighter OLED surface with the heavy blacks it tin produce, you person perfectly stellar HDR, giving the contented a scope of extent ne'er earlier seen connected a laptop.

I watched a fig of nonrecreational HDR footage, side-by-side with the Mini-LED MacBook Pro. That quality is precise noticeable. Is it thing lone TV nerds and videographers volition attraction about? Maybe. The Mini-LED MacBook Pro is already a large laptop for watching movies on. All I tin accidental is the OLED exemplary is noticeably better. And for those who enactment professionally with HDR footage, this should unfastened up caller possibilities. My anticipation is that, arsenic these HDR-capable devices proliferate, we’ll spot much HDR video produced—even conscionable for the web.

The speakers besides marque the OLED MacBook Pro an ever amended movie-watching device. Apple says the six-speaker dependable strategy has “50 percent deeper bass.” That’s hard to measure, but similar the screen, you announcement a quality erstwhile you comparison it side-by-side with the previous-gen model. The bass truly does basal retired more, giving you a fuller dependable some for music-listening and movie-watching. And conscionable to beryllium clear: Apple already had the champion speakers successful the game.

Like an iPad

In the clip I’ve had with the touchscreen MacBook Pro truthful far, I tried to punctual myself of its caller powers. But erstwhile I’m heavy successful work, I wholly hide the touchscreen. It conscionable has nary spot successful my workflows. That doesn’t mean it’s not ever useful, though. Sometimes, swiping distant a notification with a digit feels intuitive. Or if you’re lounging connected the sofa and usage your thumb to scroll done your Instagram provender arsenic you would connected an iPad, it works. But those times are fewer and acold between. I’m surely not going to beryllium poking 3 fingers up astatine the surface to swipe betwixt Spaces erstwhile I could bash that connected a trackpad without adjacent lifting my hand.

I’ve noticed the aforesaid inclination when I usage an iPad Air oregon iPad Pro connected to the Magic Keyboard. It’s conscionable easier and faster to support your hands wherever they are. The quality present connected the MacBook Pro is the software. The interface doesn’t precisely gully you successful to interaction it. Everything that could click you tin present touch, but tapping tiny icons and controls with your digit feels clumsy, arsenic it ever has. It’s the aforesaid occupation successful Windows 11. To beryllium fair, Apple has enactment successful much effort than Microsoft ever has, tweaking macOS to optimize for touch—not dissimilar iPadOS.

One of my favourite optimizations happens erstwhile you pat connected the model controls (the 3 buttons to close, minimize, oregon fullscreen). After you tap, it pops retired and lets you prime 1 of the 3 much precisely. The drop-downs successful the paper barroom are besides much spaced out, and you tin pat and resistance your digit to prime options much easily. These ocular touches are handy, and immoderate of Apple’s apps person recovered ways to marque definite tasks touch-based.

I admit I don’t payment overmuch from a touchscreen laptop, but Apple besides hasn’t made immoderate hardware changes to marque touching the surface consciousness much natural. Would Apple ever enactment a 180- oregon 360-degree hinge connected a MacBook? I would person thought no—then again, I ne'er thought a MacBook would person a touchscreen successful the archetypal place. Not adjacent the Apple Pencil is supported present (not that it would ever beryllium comfy to usage astatine an angle).

The bigger occupation is that third-party apps person to optimize for touch. Even though click-to-touch volition enactment successful each apps close retired of the box, not each developers volition enactment successful the effort. Also, I’ve noticed immoderate apps translated done Rosetta (which lets Intel-based bundle tally connected Apple silicon, specified arsenic Steam) don’t enactment immoderate features, similar the zoom-in model controls. I can’t spot myself adjusting my behaviour erstwhile you can’t reliably expect consistency crossed these apps.

Apple has been selling the OLED MacBook Pro’s interaction capabilities to originative pros—the benignant of idiosyncratic who would usage this laptop. The ideas are mildly interesting, whether it’s drafting straight connected the surface with Pixelmator Pro oregon applying brushwood textures onto 3D models successful ZBrush. I’m not an artist, but I usage Logic Pro. You tin present interaction the surface to play drums close connected the screen, oregon gully automations into Remix FX. But that’s wherever I started to deliberation these are much gimmicks than existent features creatives volition really payment from. Even amateur musicians volition ever person a carnal MIDI keyboard, and playing philharmonic instruments connected the laptop keyboard (a Logic diagnostic that’s been astir forever) feels much earthy than tapping the screen. I’ll hold for Adobe to beryllium maine wrong.

Here’s the thing: In each my discussions with Apple astir the touchscreen, I ne'er got the content that interaction was expected to regenerate the keyboard and trackpad arsenic the superior input method. That’s a safe, astute play if the extremity is to not stone the vessel excessively much. For truthful galore years, Apple sat backmost and watched Microsoft fumble its ain interaction implementation done the catastrophe that was Windows 8. It’s surely existent that successful today’s world, it feels unusual that you can’t power a MacBook surface with your fingers. As idiosyncratic with kids, my MacBook is harmless from their fingerprints. This feels much similar a “catch-up” diagnostic we’ve agelong been without, but I anticipation Apple commits much to interaction and engineers a much unsocial mode to integrate it.

The Same M5 Max

The 2026 OLED MacBook Pro uses the aforesaid chips arsenic the erstwhile generation: the M5 Pro and M5 Max. This is the archetypal clip Apple has done this since introducing Apple Silicon successful 2020. Each caller mentation of immoderate Mac has ever travel with an updated chip. Either Apple’s gait is slowing down, oregon the institution thinks the OLED touchscreen volition beryllium a beardown capable gully to person buyers to refresh.

To beryllium fair, the M5 Max and M5 Pro were already astatine the apical of their game. Even compared to caller Nvidia RTX Spark laptops similar the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra, the M5 Max dominates successful wide power. Time to remainder connected their laurels, I suppose. Rumor has it that Apple volition skip the M6 Pro and M6 Max altogether, redeeming those much almighty configurations for the M7 generation. Again, that would beryllium a archetypal for Apple Silicon since its introduction.

On the different hand, Apple claims the OLED MacBook Pro internals person been wholly redesigned to enactment the PROLED XDR display. The extremity is show parity with the non-OLED M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro—nothing more. And successful my testing, that’s precisely what I saw. Scores were precise akin to the previous-gen MacBook Pro successful Cinebench 2026, arsenic good arsenic successful the games I tested. I won’t spell excessively in-depth here—check retired my reappraisal of the erstwhile M5 Max MacBook Pro if you privation much show analysis.

If you already ain an M5 Pro oregon M5 Max MacBook Pro, it’s precise hard to warrant upgrading to the OLED version, adjacent if you’re capable to merchantability it for a decent price. Unless you person a circumstantial usage lawsuit for the OLED display, I tin spot galore radical wanting to hold until adjacent twelvemonth for the show upgrade. On the flip side, if you privation to upgrade from an M1 Max oregon M2 Max, you look a tricky determination betwixt the OLED and non-OLED MacBook Pro. For now, Apple is inactive selling some models successful its lineup.

The OLED exemplary costs $400 more, which is steep for a show upgrade. This is connected apical of the terms summation from earlier this year, which already added an other $500 to the M5 Max MacBook Pro. The 14-inch OLED MacBook Pro starts astatine $2,899, portion its 16-inch sibling starts astatine $3,399—startling pricing to beryllium sure.

For my review, Apple sent maine a souped-up 16-inch exemplary with the M5 Max with an 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, a modular solid OLED (nano-texture is an optional $150), 128 GB of unified memory, and 2 TB of storage. This configuration costs $7,399, and it’s not adjacent the astir expensive!

There’s small anticipation prices volition travel down anytime soon, arsenic the representation shortage continues to tighten. If the OLED touchscreen is what draws you to these devices, the 14-inch M5 Pro is the mode to go. Just cognize that you’re leaving a decent magnitude of show connected the array by not choosing the M5 Max.