Apple is reportedly working on the hybrid Mac we all want–and it could arrive in 2028

Macworld

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, 2027 will be a big year for Apple, with a couple of dramatic new iPhone designs, smart glasses, AI servers and Apple Intelligence developments, camera-equipped wearables, and a tabletop robot. But it’s the year after that when we may finally see a product a lot of Apple customers have been asking for.

Gurman reported that Apple is working on a “product that will cross a foldable iPad with a touch-screen Mac” that could be revealed in 2028. That’s the only thing Gurman says about the product, but based on past reports, we can piece together what this device is so far.

The major hurdle to a touchscreen Mac is the macOS user interface, which is not designed with touch targets in mind. However, it’s been reported that at WWDC this June, Apple will introduce major interface changes in macOS 16. These changes will reportedly take cues from visionOS, which will likely make the UI less cursor-centric. It’s also rumored that iPadOS 19 will become more Mac-like with multitasking and window management. So if this 2028 device is to be a hybrid Mac-iPad, WWDC will be where it all starts.

As for the hardware itself, Gurman reported over two years ago that Apple was preparing a touchscreen Mac to be released in 2025. Since Gurman’s latest report is short of details, it’s not known if that 2023 project is the same one Gurman now projects for a 2028 release. And just over a year ago, Apple was granted a patent for a device that describes a Magic Keyboard-like tablet accessory, but within the patent were illustrations of a tablet with a macOS-like interface. There have also been numerous rumors about a folding iPad.

So it’s clear that Apple has been working on this project for a while, and based on Gurman’s description here and past developments, it could be a while longer before it arrives. However, Apple also has big plans for the MacBook in 2026, which include a display upgrade to OLED, a 2nm M6 chip, and a thinner design.