Apple 'Pro and Tell' event live — OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro rumors plus all the latest from LA

It's time for a vote!

Okay, we've filled you in on the rumors, so now it's time to get a temperature check on your thoughts — are you interested in buying a touchscreen MacBook Pro? Let us know in the poll below...

The Dynamic Island could be a dark horse

I’m a fan of the Dynamic Island on my iPhone 16 Pro, and despite its awkward name, it feels like a genuinely useful addition to my phone. It's a rumored addition to the new OLED MacBook Pro, and I’m intrigued to see how it plays out on a Mac.

Over the years, many developers have built their own versions of the Dynamic Island for macOS, and most of them have added handy functionality in one way or another. Now it’s Apple’s turn to show us its own take on the concept.

But really, all the Dynamic Island needs to be is an upgrade over the useless notch, which won’t be difficult. That alone could be enough to convince Mac fans of its utility, even if it doesn’t blow anyone away.

Apple has gone full Hollywood

TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff is in LA for Apple's event today and is feeding me his first photos and thoughts.

As you can see, Apple's event is very much in the heart of Hollywood. The event's building has a lot of history too — CBS Columbia Square was built in 1938 and served as the home of CBS radio and television until 2007.

Passes are being handed out, we're just waiting to head inside...

OLED MacBook Pro: a pricing headache?

The MacBook Pro M6 is already expensive, starting at $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,199. So how much can we expect to pay for a touchscreen OLED model with an M5 Pro or M5 Max chip?

The latest speculation from Bloomberg suggests the 14-inch version (with M5 Pro) could cost $2,899, which would be the highest-ever starting price for a new MacBook model. The 16-inch version, meanwhile, is tipped to cost at least $3,399.

Of course, those are just starting prices, with extra like RAM upgrades taking the prices further skywards — Apple currently charges an extra $600 / £600 to double RAM from 24GB to 48GB, for example. In other words, we should expect this to be the premium iPhone Duo of the MacBook world...

OLED MacBook Pro: what can we expect?

Perhaps thanks to the legacy of Steve Jobs’ famous hatred of them, Apple’s never done a touchscreen laptop before. With a new one set to launch today, what should we be looking out for?

Obviously, there’s touchscreen functionality, and Apple is rumored to have built an updated version of macOS to accommodate touch gestures. We’re also expecting an OLED panel — likely dubbed Super Retina XDR by Apple — with a built-in Dynamic Island and thinner bezels.

There will likely be both 14-inch and 16-inch models and options for M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Whichever size you buy, the chassis could also come in slightly thinner than existing MacBook Pro devices.

All very impressive, but this is also likely to come at a serious cost...

What’s Apple announced so far?

The touchscreen MacBook Pro won't be the first device Apple has set loose on the world this week. Yesterday we saw the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro get a new version with the M6 chip that Apple says “delivers up to 30 percent faster graphics and up to 25 percent faster AI workloads” versus the M5. There’s also a new N1 wireless chip that enables Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

The iMac also got a spec bump with the same M6 and N1 upgrades as the MacBook Pro, and it can also support two external 4K displays at 165Hz instead of 144Hz.

Finally, Apple added AI features to its Creator Studio subscription, including Generate Fill in Pixelmator Pro and the addition of OpenAI models alongside existing Apple Intelligence options. Notably, Final Cut Pro got MotionVFX templates, graphics, transitions and more.

An impressive list, but Apple's biggest news is still likely to come...

A 'Ternus teaser'

Apple CEO John Ternus posted this Batman-style teaser two hours ago — and it doesn't reveal a whole lot.

The biggest social media theory is that it points to the return of the glowing Apple logo, which we haven't seen on a MacBook Pro for over a decade.

That glowing logo was more of a translucent cut-out rather than a separate LED, but it appears that Apple's found a way to bring it back without compromising its flagship MacBook's structural integrity.

It'd certainly give this probably-very-expensive laptop an extra bit of stardust over the rest of the lineup...

Welcome to our 'Pro and Tell' liveblog

Hello, Mark Wilson here (TechRadar's Managing editor of News, UK) and I'll be counting us down to Apple's big news today — which is expected to be an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro.

I've been a MacBook user for 20 years (yes, I'd paid extra for the matte black MacBook in 2007), so I have lots of thoughts on these surprising rumors. I'll also be bringing you the latest from our Editor at Large, Lance Ulanoff, who's in LA right now for Apple's event.

Bur first, let's it's time for a recap of what's happened so far and a closer look at those rumors, to help warm us up...