Laptop refreshes for editors can wait three weeks for Apple's touchscreen MacBook Pro

Say the request in the queue is for a 16-inch MacBook Pro, for the person who edits the company's video. According to Bloomberg, whose report 9to5Mac, The Verge and MacRumors all carried, the design that request would buy is due for replacement in both the 14-inch and 16-inch sizes ^[1][2]. MacRumors had already reported that Apple planned two rounds of product launches in October ^[7].

Bloomberg's line about creative professionals describes who Apple wants to sell to ^[11]. Whether it fits a particular editor depends on the work. A touchscreen helps an editor only if the software they spend the day in puts it to work, and the October 27 demo is the first place to check that. Weight is simpler. An editor who carries the machine to shoots will notice a body Bloomberg calls "significantly lighter" than the current models ^[3].

The chip lineup is less tidy. 9to5Mac's account of the report says the redesigned models are expected to use M5 Pro and M5 Max chips ^[9]. An entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro and a new iMac get the M6 instead, and will "look like their current versions" ^[4]. The M6 first shipped in the new Mac mini, according to The Verge ^[5]. On this reporting, the newest chip generation goes into the machine with the old look, and the touchscreen comes with an M5-generation chip ^[12].

The reports agree on the date and the sizes. They do not include a price or a ship date ^[10]. The date is Bloomberg's, too. Apple has publicly announced only its October 13 event, which The Verge says is rumored to focus on smart home products ^[6].

I'd hold any order that can slip the roughly three weeks The Verge put between the report and the debut ^[8]. The tradeoff is a delay tied to a date Apple has not confirmed, for a machine that cannot yet go into a budget request with a figure attached.

Two facts about each person sort the decision. One is whether their order can move into November. The other is whether their work depends on what Apple is reportedly changing, the screen and the weight, or mostly on processing power.

When the order can move and the screen or weight matters, wait and price the new model. Processing-bound work with a movable order should wait too, because the same launch reportedly brings both the M6 14-inch and the M5 Pro and M5 Max redesign to compare against the current machine ^[9][4]. A fixed deadline plus a travelling editor means buying now and expecting that editor to notice the lighter model within weeks. A fixed deadline for processing-bound work is the easy case: buy now, since most of what the reports describe is the body and the screen ^[2].