Apple is widely expected to release a new touchscreen MacBook Pro as soon as this month. This will mark the first-ever touchscreen Mac, and Apple is laying the groundwork in macOS 27.2 to accommodate touch gestures.
Apple released macOS 27.2 beta 3 to developers today, and it includes new references to upcoming support for touchscreen interactivity. As discovered by Aaron Perris for MacRumors, there are “gesture recognition tools” for several stock Apple apps:
- Photos adds “PXGTouchDwellGestureRecognizer”
- Notes adds “ICTouchPressGestureRecognizer”
- Safari adds “a touch sentinel recognizer”
- Quick Look adds a “dragTouch feature”
macOS 27.2 beta 3 also adds a new long-press animation for the Dock, which could also be a hint at the forthcoming touchscreen MacBook Pro:
Apple has gradually made a number of changes to macOS 27 in preparation for touchscreen support, including pull-to-refresh support for the first time. macOS 27 also added touch input to Sidecar, a feature that lets you use your iPad as a secondary display for your Mac.
Bloomberg has also reported on Apple’s work to optimize macOS for the impending touchscreen MacBook Pro. For instance, tapping a button or control will prompt macOS to dynamically display relevant touch options. Similarly, tapping the menu bar will automatically enlarge controls for easier touch navigation.
In addition to a touchscreen, the new MacBook Pro will reportedly have an OLED display and be “significantly lighter” than the current models.
Apple is expected to introduce the new MacBook Pro (or MacBook Ultra?) as soon as this month, though Bloomberg has cautioned it could slip to November.
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