Thought the Mac Book Pro was expensive? Apple's rumored Mac Book Ultra could 'cost significantly more' | Tech Radar

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Thought the Mac Book Pro was expensive? Apple's rumored Mac Book Ultra could 'cost significantly more'

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Apple's incoming laptop with OLED touchscreen is set to be called the Mac Book Ultra, according to a source who spoke to Macworld

Packing M6 silicon, it's expected to sit above the existing Mac Book Pro M5

Macworld notes: "This new Mac Book will cost significantly more than the current Mac Book Pro and offer an entirely new feature set."

We've heard a bit more about the rumored Mac Book Ultra, a possible new model that Apple could have planned for its laptop range – and this Ultra branding could extend further than laptops, too.

Macworld claims it has a source who reckons that the rumored Mac Book with an OLED touchscreen won't be a Mac Book Pro (as was believed until recently), but that instead Apple will introduce a new category: the Mac Book Ultra.

You won't like the reason for this potential name change, mind, which is essentially that the Mac Book OLED will be seriously pricey, hence the need to recategorize it as a new even higher-end offering, placed above the Mac Book Pro.

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As Macworld states: "This new Mac Book will cost significantly more than the current Mac Book Pro and offer an entirely new feature set than the existing models."

Last month, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg (via Mac Rumors) also said the new top-end Apple laptop with OLED could be called the Mac Book Ultra.

As well as the touchscreen and OLED upgrades, the belief is that this Mac Book Ultra will run with M6 Pro and Max chips, and it'll be thinner than the Mac Book Pro (which would fit the idea of it being ultra-premium, as it were). The touchscreen in particular would change the Mac Book experience considerably, of course, or presumably that's the idea.

The expected launch window for this new Mac Book is the first half of 2027, we're told, though Apple has apparently pushed that back from late in 2026 due to the RAM crisis. All of this is rumored, of course, so grab some handfuls of salt.

Analysis: Ultra branding feels like a distinct possibility

It makes sense for Apple to try to clearly differentiate a model that goes above and beyond where the Mac Book Pro currently stands by adding an OLED touchscreen. After all, that's going to be a costly upgrade, and the suggestion of a new Mac Book Ultra name hints that it might be very pricey indeed. Of course, people won't just be paying for the hardware, but the cachet of owning an 'Ultra' device from Apple.

The branding also fits with Apple's existing scheme of things in terms of its processors, which have base models, then Pro and Max variants, followed by Ultra at the top.

I wouldn't bet against a Mac Book Ultra appearing, then, particularly as we've heard a few bits of chatter from the grapevine about such a laptop in recent times. It seems the idea might be to keep the Mac Book Pro M5 models in place, with the Mac Book Ultra M6 coming in on top, featuring something in the order of a 20% price hike, Gurman has speculated in the past.

The rumored touchscreen Mac Book Pro could still be missing this key feature

Apple's touchscreen Mac Book is rumored to be delayed due to the RAM crisis

Apple could defy the RAM crisis with rumored cheaper Mac Book

As mentioned at the outset, there could be a fair few more products carrying the Ultra name besides this Mac Book.

Macworld also believes that Apple is planning an i Phone Ultra, a foldable device that's been rumored elsewhere, and further theorizes about an i Pad Ultra, Mac Studio Ultra, and maybe even an Air Pods Ultra (with built-in cameras) that could be on the cards for the future. This might well be the case if Apple really wants to push the Ultra branding and give it a presence across a whole swathe of (more expensive) hardware.

➡️ Read our full guide to the best laptops

1. Best overall: Apple Mac Book Air 13-inch M5
2. Best budget: Apple Mac Book Neo
3. Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch
4. Best thin and light: Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i
5. Best Ultrabook Asus Zenbook S 16

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Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for Tech Radar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

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• Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards