Apple's software is tipping its hand again: macOS 27.2 beta 3 carries fresh evidence that a touchscreen MacBook is close.
In the third developer beta of macOS 27.2, released this week, clicking and holding on a Dock app icon makes the icon grow slightly larger. That is the same animation iOS and iPadOS use when you long-press an app, and its arrival on the Mac is the latest in a string of touch-gesture additions in this beta cycle. Apple is reportedly readying higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models - some reports call them "MacBook Ultra" - with touchscreens, M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a thinner-and-lighter design, and a Dynamic Island. A launch is expected as soon as October or November, possibly alongside Apple's own C1X or C2 modem for built-in cellular.
Apple has spent over a decade insisting touchscreens don't belong on a Mac. Software tells you what hardware is coming before marketing does, and these UI details matter more than another leaked render because they show Apple's own engineers building for a touch target, not just rumor sites guessing. If this ships, it's the clearest sign yet that Apple is finally conceding a point a decade of competing Windows laptops already made.
Microsoft has sold touchscreen laptops since 2012; Apple just needed fourteen years and an OLED upgrade to agree it was a good idea.