One of the most highly anticipated products to be released later this year has been Apple’s upcoming high-end laptops, which are now believed to be dubbed the “MacBook Ultra.” Despite ongoing rumors of potential pushbacks due to the ongoing memory chip crisis, it looks like we now have new hopes.
According to a new report from Omdia, we could see the MacBook Ultra sooner than originally expected. The source indicates that Samsung will produce the two display sizes for the aforementioned laptop, so it expects the machine to launch in the third quarter of 2026, which is anywhere from July to September.
However, I would doubt it, and here’s why. Based on Apple’s history, the company usually doesn’t announce new Mac hardware in either July or August since Apple has had its back-to-school promotion at that time. Generally, Apple announces new iPhones in September, and we expect the foldable iPhone Ultra to be announced then. Because Apple wouldn’t want to take the spotlight away from the iPhone Ultra, it would make sense for Apple to announce the MacBook Ultra in October, which could give the company the opportunity to update its Mac desktops then.
As previously implied, the report claims that the MacBook Ultra could come in both 14.3” and 16.3” sizes. The current models come in both 14.2” and 16.2” sizes. So whether that’s a rounding error or a marginal increase in screen size remains to be seen. Still, the displays on the MacBook Ultra are going to use tandem OLED technology, and we’ve already seen the benefits on the M4/M5 iPad Pro models with two OLED panels stacked together to provide higher brightness levels and better contrast ratios while improving energy efficiency and overall longevity, which could give the MacBook Ultra comparable battery life yet with a thinner design, but we’ll see what the final design will be.
All in all, this MacBook Ultra looks very promising, and it’s going to influence other high-end PC laptops.
