A touchscreen MacBook could be announced as soon as next week, and The Verge reviewer Antonio G. Di Benedetto argues that Lenovo's Yoga 9n offers a useful model for what Apple should deliver. He wrote that after testing Nvidia's RTX Spark platform on the Yoga. Di Benedetto covers laptops for The Verge and spent more than 15 years in the photography industry before joining the publication as a deals writer in 2021.
The Yoga 9n is a 16-inch 2-in-1 convertible with a stylus. Di Benedetto noted that Nvidia's other RTX Spark laptops also have touchscreens, as most Windows laptops do, but they are conventional clamshell designs. RTX Spark, like the Apple silicon in modern MacBook Pros, is an Arm-based processor with a large integrated GPU and substantial unified memory.
The Yoga's hinge folds all the way back for tent and tablet modes, and the machine can be used in landscape or portrait orientation. Di Benedetto wrote that moving the keyboard out of the way suits watching movies, playing games with a controller, or fitting the laptop into a multi-monitor desk setup with a keyboard and mouse. The included stylus works on the OLED display for note-taking and drawing. It also works on the haptic trackpad, giving a Wacom-like experience without the hand blocking the screen. The stylus attaches magnetically to the lid, either alone or in its case, and charges over USB-C.
Di Benedetto wrote that he expects a touchscreen MacBook Pro to support Apple Pencil, which would help him return to stylus-based photo retouching in Lightroom Classic or Photoshop. He added that he hopes such a stylus would also work on the trackpad. He also wants the Apple Pencil to attach to the laptop for convenience and wireless charging, as it does on the iPad Pro.
Di Benedetto wrote that he does not expect Apple to build a standard convertible after holding out for so long. He said that simply matching Windows makers with a 2-in-1, or replacing the MacBook Pro's Mini LED display with a touchscreen OLED, would not seem very Apple. He pointed to Apple's own take on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, which brought the touchscreen forward rather than flipping it backward, or something entirely new.
He also cited hints in macOS 27 that Apple is updating to Golden Gate to make touch functions feel more natural than poking at controls built for a mouse cursor. He noted that desktop operating systems on 2-in-1 Windows laptops and Chromebooks can feel clunky with a finger or stylus. Di Benedetto wrote that his expectations are high because a touchscreen MacBook Pro is likely to be expensive. He also cited recent Apple design decisions he found questionable: the HomeView's lack of apps, what he called a messy iPhone Duo, and the butterfly keyboard failure that current MacBooks have helped put out of mind.
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