Apple’s Touchscreen MacBook Pro Is Finally Here, and It Looks Surprisingly Conventional
Apple has ended its long opposition to touchscreen laptops with the release of MacBook Pro models featuring a new PROLED XDR display. The 14-inch and 16-inch versions support scrolling, swiping, pinching, and other direct touch interactions, with the touch sensor integrated into the screen panel.
The display is a tandem OLED design that Apple says can reach 2,000 nits of peak brightness, supports a 120Hz refresh rate, and offers a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Reviewers have generally praised its rich color, deep blacks, and high brightness, although they note that its most remarkable feature may be how little it changes the familiar MacBook Pro experience. The 14-inch model weighs as little as 3 pounds and also brings back the illuminated Apple logo on its lid.
Despite the long-awaited feature, Apple has not fundamentally redesigned macOS around touch. Most touch functionality will live within individual apps rather than in major operating-system changes. Two highlighted uses are accepting AirDrops and controlling music playback, while the iPhone-inspired Dynamic Island will appear on the new laptops.
The announcement represents a notable change in Apple’s product philosophy. The company once dismissed touchscreen laptops on ergonomic grounds, with Steve Jobs calling them “ergonomically terrible” in 2010 because prolonged use on a vertical display could cause arm fatigue. Those concerns have not disappeared, and early hands-on impressions suggest the feature is more of a useful supplement to the keyboard and trackpad than a complete replacement for them.
Pricing starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch version. Preorders opened at the “Pro and Tell” event ahead of a November 6 release date. Apple separately introduced M6-based updates to other MacBook Pro and iMac models, while the touchscreen configurations are reported to use M5 Pro or M5 Max chips.
Overall, the touchscreen MacBook Pro is less of a reinvention than the name suggests. It combines an excellent OLED screen with optional touch input while retaining the established MacBook Pro design and much of the existing macOS workflow.