Apple has a habit of naming its launches with a wink, and “Pro and Tell” is not exactly subtle. The company has confirmed that a second wave of products arrives on Wednesday 28 October, and the name points straight at the MacBook Pro. What makes this one interesting is that, if the reports are right, it could be the biggest change to the Mac laptop in years: an OLED screen and, for the first time on a Mac, a touchscreen.
A quick but important note before we go further. Apple has confirmed the date, not the products. Everything below about specific devices is based on reporting and rumours, mainly gathered by MacRumors, and I have labelled it that way. Nothing is official until Apple publishes it.
How the Apple October 28 Event Will Work
Do not expect a keynote stream. Like the “Welcome Home” announcement on 13 October, “Pro and Tell” is not a traditional Apple event. Some members of the media have been invited to Los Angeles for hands-on time with the new devices, and everyone else will find out through press releases on the day.
According to MacRumors’ preview of the October 28 launch, those releases could land at 10 AM Pacific, when the media sessions begin, or earlier, around 9 AM Eastern, which is when Apple often publishes announcements. For readers in Europe, 9 AM Eastern is 1 PM in London and 2 PM in Paris and Berlin, because the US will still be on summer time that week.
Personally, I miss the old live events. A press release is efficient, but it does not have the same sense of occasion. Still, the products are what matter.
Expected: The OLED, Touchscreen MacBook Pro
This is the headline rumour. Higher-end MacBook Pro models are expected to get two firsts for the Mac line.
OLED and Touch
OLED should bring better contrast, richer colour and some power savings, and the reports say it will be available on both the 14-inch and 16-inch models. The touchscreen is the bigger story. macOS 27 is reportedly being updated with touch gestures, and touch is expected to be an extra option alongside the keyboard and trackpad rather than a replacement. If you do not want to put fingers on your screen, you presumably will not have to.
To stop the display wobbling every time you tap it, Apple is said to be adding a sturdier hinge. That detail tells me Apple has thought about the classic complaint against touchscreen laptops, the screen that bounces when you poke it.
Design Changes
The rumoured redesign is subtle. The new models are expected to be lighter, sizes are not expected to change, and the notch is reportedly being replaced by a Dynamic Island, the pill-shaped cut-out familiar from recent iPhones. There had been talk of the OLED model being called “MacBook Ultra”, but MacRumors now reports Apple is sticking with the Pro name.
Chips and Price
Here is the part that may surprise people. The OLED models are expected to use the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the MacBook Pro models introduced in March. According to the report, Apple is skipping the M6 Pro and M6 Max, and the M7 Pro and M7 Max will not be ready until late 2027. So this would be a screen and design upgrade, not a performance leap.
No prices have been announced. OLED panels and touch modules are expensive, though, so it is widely expected that these models will cost more than today’s MacBook Pro, and Apple may keep selling the current models alongside them as a cheaper option.
Expected: An M6 Entry-Level MacBook Pro
The basic 14-inch MacBook Pro is rumoured to move from the M5 chip, which it got in October 2025, to an M6 chip. No design changes are expected. That creates an odd situation where the cheapest MacBook Pro might have a newer generation of chip than the most expensive one, even if the Pro and Max chips remain more powerful overall.
Expected: An M6 iMac
The 24-inch iMac is also expected to get the M6 chip, with no external changes. If you have been waiting on an iMac, this is the kind of quiet spec bump that is easy to miss but worth knowing about before you buy the current model.
Expected: iPad mini 8 With OLED
The iPad mini 8 may be the sleeper hit of the day. It is rumoured to get an OLED display, which would make it the first iPad other than the iPad Pro to use the technology. It is also expected to get a vibration-based speaker system that removes the speaker holes, which could make it more water-resistant, and possibly the first iPad with an official IP rating.
Other reported changes include the A20 Pro chip from the iPhone 18 Pro models and a front camera moved to the landscape edge. It is still unclear whether the refresh rate stays at 60Hz or moves to 120Hz ProMotion. All of this comes at a cost: MacRumors suggests it could be around 200 dollars more than the current 599 dollar model in the US. Treat that as an estimate, not a price.
Release Date and Should You Wait?
The reports suggest pre-orders could open on 28 October, with devices launching as early as 6 November. Again, that is a prediction until Apple confirms it.
My take is simple. If you are about to buy a MacBook Pro, iMac or iPad mini, wait one more week. Even if you have no interest in OLED or touch, new models tend to shuffle prices and deals on older stock. If your current machine is working fine, there is no rush to replace it at all. Our guide to the clear signs it is time to replace a device is written about phones, but the same logic applies to laptops: battery health, updates and whether it still does what you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Apple October 28 event?
Apple’s “Pro and Tell” launch is on Wednesday 28 October 2026. It is expected to be a press release launch with hands-on sessions for invited media in Los Angeles, not a streamed keynote.
Will the new MacBook Pro have a touchscreen?
That is the rumour. Reports say the high-end OLED MacBook Pro will be the first Mac with a touchscreen, working alongside the trackpad and keyboard. Apple has not confirmed it.
Will the OLED MacBook Pro have an M6 chip?
Reportedly not. It is expected to use the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 24-inch iMac are the models rumoured to get M6.
When will the new Macs and iPad mini be available?
Reports suggest pre-orders on 28 October and availability as soon as 6 November, but Apple will confirm the exact dates.
