iOS 27 validates rumors of iPhone Fold and Touchscreen MacBook

When will they arrive?

Users online have been noticing the new features in iOS, macOS, and iPadOS 27 that make it seem extremely likely that an iPhone Fold is set to launch soon, along with a touchscreen MacBook. This has mainly come in the form of updates to Sidecar and iPhone Mirroring on macOS 27.

In the new and improved macOS 27 Sidecar, you now finally have the option to use touch on the extended display! For years now, ever since Apple released Sidecar way back in 2019, the input options were limited to Apple Pencil, and later mouse and keyboard control on the main display. For whatever reason, Apple decided to limit the use of iPads with macOS and not let users control their Macs with touch.

Then, the next year, with the update of macOS 11 Big Sur, the updated design with larger, more touch-friendly icons suggested that a touchscreen MacBook may finally be on the horizon. Long story short, while the design and user-friendliness of that update have carried over into the macOS that we now know, a touchscreen MacBook has still not yet been released.

More recently, over the past few months, information has surfaced that Apple is indeed working on a touchscreen MacBook, possibly named MacBook Ultra. While it is very true that the information has been pointing to its release, nothing nearly as concrete as this has come out. With macOS 27's inclusion of touch support in Sidecar, it is more apparent than ever that Apple plans to introduce a touchscreen MacBook in the coming months.

It is important to note, however, that these features are not only still in beta, but also that new features are not verified proof that new products are coming. While it makes the evidence more concrete, it is still not 100 percent true that a touchscreen MacBook is coming.

The other major product rumor that has evidence in iOS 27 pointing to its release is the rumored iPhone Fold. This product is definitively more likely to release soon than a touchscreen MacBook, as supply chain leaks have stated that an iPhone Fold may come between now and later next year, as delays still push it back.

In macOS 27, iPhone Mirroring has been updated to now allow users to fully resize the iPhone screen window to any shape, even in the more squared, landscape view that an iPhone Fold would take on. This is the first real indication of possible support for iPhone Fold features from Apple, though again, these features are not a guarantee of its release.

There is truly no way to know what Apple will do, as you should always take these leaks with a grain of salt. Personally, I believe that, while it is likely that Apple will release these products, Apple is a multi-trillion dollar company, and they do not release features for no reason. They have proven, especially recently, that they will withhold features until the time is right to do so, and product-specific software features like this are usually always withheld until the actual product release.

Especially with this past WWDC26, events have been growing shorter and shorter. It's clear that if Apple wanted to add or showcase something about their operating systems, they would have, since they have the extra time now to do so, now that the events are so short. If Apple added these features now, it may be because there is no reason to release them specifically in the fall.

Either way, these new features in iOS, macOS, and iPadOS 27 are very interesting and definitely show that Apple has some very exciting products in the works. We will have to wait and see what Apple does soon.