Apple Plans 'Ultra' MacBook Tier
Apple is reportedly preparing a new, more expensive "Ultra" MacBook tier with an OLED display and touchscreen, which would sit above the current Pro line. This move to further segment the laptop market comes as the company is also retiring 15 legacy devices in a major lineup shake-up, signaling a rapid push towards a refreshed and more stratified product ecosystem.
This move reflects a broader product segmentation strategy, creating more distinct price tiers to capture a wider market, a shift from mono-segment to a multi-segment approach under CEO Tim Cook's leadership. When Apple introduced OLED displays to the iPhone X and iPad Pro, it raised prices by approximately 20%, a precedent that suggests a significant price increase for the "Ultra" MacBook. The rumored "Ultra" models, codenamed K114 and K116, would represent a break from long-standing Apple design philosophy. Steve Jobs famously called touchscreen laptops "ergonomically terrible," so the inclusion of a touchscreen signals a strategic pivot to align with a changed competitive landscape. Additional reports suggest the notch could be replaced by a Dynamic Island and the inclusion of a Face ID module for the first time in a Mac. This new tier isn't just about external features; it's enabled by architectural shifts in Apple Silicon. The March MacBook refresh introduced new SoIC-MH 2.5D packaging technology from TSMC, allowing the separation of the CPU/NPU from the GPU. This departure from a monolithic design improves manufacturing yield and allows Apple to scale CPU and GPU cores independently, creating more powerful and differentiated SKUs. A more powerful chip is central to Apple's on-device AI strategy. The Unified Memory Architecture and an advanced Neural Engine in next-generation Apple Silicon are designed to run complex AI models locally, ensuring privacy and performance for features within "Apple Intelligence". [cite:
