Apple is gearing up for a packed first half of 2026, with a slate of new hardware that builds on its existing lineup. Expect M5-powered 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, potentially arriving earlier than the typical fall window, alongside an iPhone 17e boasting an A19 chip in a familiar design. The entry-level iPad will see a refresh, while 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models upgrade to the M4 processor. A new Mac external monitor, the first since the 2022 Apple Studio Display, rounds out the releases. While this wave echoes the busy first half of 2025, these updates focus on incremental improvements—think chip upgrades and spec bumps—rather than groundbreaking redesigns.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
Here’s what’s on deck for the first half of 2026:
• M5-based MacBook Pros in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. Apple’s new high-end laptops usually roll out in the fall, but the company is considering a release during the early part of 2026. This could mirror the timing of the M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pro launch in early 2023.
• An iPhone 17e, indicating that Apple — at least for now — is locking into an annual release cadence for its “e” line. That’s a shift, considering the iPhone SE was only updated twice after its 2016 debut. Expect a near-identical design to the iPhone 16e, but with the A19 chip to match this year’s iPhone 17 lineup.
• An entry-level iPad to replace the current $349 model.
• New 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models that will trade in the M3 chip for the M4 processor.
• A fresh Mac external monitor, the company’s first new model since the Apple Studio Display launched three years ago.
This product flurry mirrors the wave of launches seen in the first half of 2025. It’s a lot of new stuff, but make no mistake: These are just modest iterations on existing products. Few devices are being meaningfully redesigned. For the most part, we’re talking about swapping chips and bumping up specifications. The days of major annual hardware overhauls are still in the rearview mirror.
There could be an exception, though. Apple is still preparing a smart home display, vaulting it into a new category. But that product is now more than a year late by Apple’s own internal timeline. And even if it does launch, it would still trail similar products from Amazon.com Inc., Google and others by several years.
MacDailyNews Take: The iteration conveyor belt keep rolling.
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The original reporting was kinda sloppy. MacBook Pro’s have been updated for nearly a decade, in November/December. This is so small business folk can purchase in the calendar year, so they can have it as an expense, and thus not pay taxes on that amount.
They won’t launch in 2026 unless something has badly slipped. Otherwise, new M5 MacBook Pro’s will be shipping in December 2025.
The M2 MacBook Pros were announced in January 2023. If Apple’s release schedule ever took small business expenses into account that era ended a long time ago and it’s irrelevant to their production timelines today. Releases are tied to their long-term sales strategy, R&D, manufacturing and supply chain realities and will change accordingly.
They lost me with the monitor. I just ordered a BenQ 27 inch, 5K model to pair with my Mac Mini. It’s a quality monitor and I have a set of Edifer speakers that I’ve never used. It’s just so much cheaper than what Apple is offering