Touchscreen MacBook Pro rumors, Apple Card latest

Welcome to 95 Mac Daily for Wednesday, February 25th, 2026. I'm your host, Chance Miller. We are sponsored this week by BenQ. Leading off today, Apple is expected to make multiple product announcements next week, culminating in a special Apple experience for the press on Wednesday. A new low-cost MacBook is rumored to be among those new products. Today, a new report from Digitimes reaffirms Apple's work on a more affordable MacBook and explains how the company is battling increasing component cost. The report says that volume shipments for the new low-cost MacBook are expected to begin in March, aligning with a release that month. Supply chain sources estimate that Apple will ship between 15 and 16 million units of the Mac over the first two years. Apple has also battled delays in production of this new MacBook. The report says mass production was first slated to launch in late 2025, but was ultimately pushed to the first quarter of 2026. Furthermore, like most of the industry, Apple is also facing pressure from rising component costs. Digitimes emphasizes that this is particularly impacting memory prices and battery prices. It's hard to predict the price of unreleased Apple products, but the affordability of this quote-unquote budget MacBook is increasingly in question, according to DigiTimes. Early rumors pointed to a $599 price tag, but most estimates now place it at between $699 and $749. As we've outlined before, the new low-cost MacBook will be powered by the A18 Pro chip and will have a 12.9-inch screen, making it the smallest laptop Apple sells. According to Bloomberg Apple has tested multiple colors including light yellow light green blue pink classic silver and dark gray Again this is one of a handful of products expected to be announced by Apple next week In other news today, a new report from Bloomberg offers fresh details about what to expect from the major MacBook Pro update coming later this year. As we've talked about before, this refresh of the MacBook Pro is expected to bring a touchscreen as well as an OLED screen for better picture quality. In this report, Bloomberg outlines more details, including that part of the change will be the addition of the Dynamic Island on the MacBook Pro for the first time. On the iPhone, the Dynamic Island lets you view and interact with small pieces of information, such as a now-playing widget from the Music app or other audio apps, delivery times for orders from apps like Uber Eats, and sports scores from apps like Apple Sports. The dynamic island on the Mac will be built around a hole-punch-sized cutout for the front-facing camera, and it'll be smaller than the pill-shaped notch in the current iPhone. As for the MacBook Pro's touchscreen, Bloomberg says Apple is planning multiple software optimizations to accommodate this change. For instance, if users touch a button or control, the macOS interface will bring up a new type of menu surrounding their finger that provides more relevant options for touch commands. The goal is to give users the controls that make the most sense based on whether they're touching or clicking. The software will also display the most appropriate set of controls based on the user's prior interaction. And if a person taps an item in the menu bar at the top of the screen, the set of controls will enlarge to be more easily selectable with a finger. Other features like the menu for choosing emoji will also have a touch optimized interface, but there won't be a focus on touch-based typing on the Mac like there is on the iPad Again this major MacBook Pro refresh is expected this fall according to Bloomberg We are sponsored this week by BenQ the makers of Mac monitors designed to look just like your Mac. BenQ's Mac Colors technology makes the MA series look identical to your Mac's built-in display, with the same vibrancy, the same color accuracy, and no fiddling required. You also get USB-C 1 cable connectivity so your Mac charges and connects with a single cord, plus BenQ's DisplayPilot 2 software for quick control of brightness, volume, resolution. The stand is fully adjustable with height, swivel, tilt, and even a full 90-degree pivot, and the Nano Gloss panel delivers that premium glossy look that Mac users love. You can check out the full lineup, including the gorgeous MA27OUP, by hitting the link in the show notes. BenQ is also running a giveaway with no purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older and a resident of the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, or Canada, excluding Quebec. Full details are in the show notes. My thanks to BenQ for sponsoring the show. Rounding out today, earlier this year, Apple officially confirmed that JPMorgan Chase will take over Apple Card from Goldman Sachs. The transition is expected to occur in January of 2028. In new comments this week, Chase revealed why it thinks it will fare better at managing Apple Card than Goldman Sachs. As we've talked about before, Goldman Sachs lost billions of dollars on its Apple Card business. There are a few reasons for this, including that Apple Card is a no-fee card with consumer-friendly software interface. The primary reason for the losses, however, is that Apple Card has a dramatically higher subprime borrower rate than most credit cards. According to the Wall Street Journal Apple Card subprime rate is 34 which is higher than Chase at 15 and Capital One at 31 This also leads to a higher delinquency rate for Apple Card at 4 versus the industry average of 3 Goldman also has a 2.93% net charge-off rate, double that of Chase and Bank of America. Reports have also said that Goldman is less aggressive and less successful at recovering that charge-off debt than other banks. In comments this week during Chase's 2026 company update, CFO Jeremy Barnum elaborated on the bank's decision to take over the Apple Card partnership. He said, quote, Starting with Apple Card, we've received some questions about the relatively higher subprime percentage in that portfolio. This segment already makes up about 15% of our current portfolio, and given the relative size of Apple Card, we don't expect that number to increase meaningfully. The more important point is that we are not strangers to subprime, so we feel confident that we have the data, experience, and capabilities necessary to successfully integrate the portfolio. End quote. Reading between the lines, this seems like Chase reassuring investors that it won't lose billions on Apple Card like Goldman Sachs. It also seems as good of indication as any that it will raise the threshold required to be approved for Apple Card in the first place. And of course, there are also still questions about what other changes Chase might make to Apple Card. There are still a bunch of unknowns about the transition, so it remains to be seen whether Chase might nerf some of the biggest selling points of Apple Card in an attempt to turn a profit. That wraps up another episode of 9to5Mac Daily. As always, you can find all of the latest Apple news on 9to5mac.com. Follow along with me on threads at Chance H. Miller. and we'll be back tomorrow for a new episode of 9to5Mac Daily.