Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago2 min read
Apple Unveils Touchscreen MacBook Pro With PROLED XDR Display Starting At US$2,899
“making this primarily an upgrade to the display, design and how users interact with their Mac.”
“The touchscreen models mark a major evolution of Apple's traditional MacBooks that rely on keyboards, computer mouses, or trackpads for input.”
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14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with touchscreen OLED PROLED XDR debut, starting at $2,899. Thinner, lighter chassis with M5 Pro/Max processors.
Apple’s touchscreen MacBook Pro
Apple unveiled the redesigned MacBook Pro with a touchscreen, calling it the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, and it arrives in 14- and 16-inch sizes with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Johny Srouji described the device as a “monumental step forward for the Mac,” and John Ternus introduced it on stage after taking over from Tim Cook last month. Apple’s 14-inch touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at US$2,899, while the 16-inch model starts at US$3,399, and a fully maxed-out configuration with 16 terabytes of storage and 128 gigabytes of memory costs US$14,549.
Apple also built the first Mac with OLED for the Mac lineup, and it added Dynamic Island as the screen element familiar to iPhone users. The touchscreen models are powered by M5 Pro and M5 Max chips and include Dynamic Island cutout in the screen, similar to recent iPhones.
Pricing, preorders, and specs
The touchscreen MacBook Pros are available for preorder on Wednesday and will officially launch on November 6, with the 14-inch model starting at $2,899 and the 16-inch model starting at $3,399. Apple’s PROLED XDR display delivers up to 2,000 nits peak HDR and an “industry-leading” 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and the new models use tandem OLED technology. “PROLED XDR is the world’s best laptop display,” and touch is low-latency because the touch sensor is built directly into the display.
The screen can run at a 120Hz refresh rate or down to 10Hz to help save on power, while Apple’s touch gestures include swipe, pinch, and double-tap. The new touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 and the top-of-the-line model with every possible upgrade costs around $14,549, with preorders opening October 30 and availability beginning November 6.
From Jobs to Ternus
Apple had to overcome deep-seated opposition for almost two decades, including Steve Jobs calling touchscreen Macs “ergonomically terrible.”
“After an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. It doesn't work. It's ergonomically terrible.”
Tim Cook compared combining a laptop and a tablet to fusing a refrigerator and a toaster, and other company executives laughed at the idea in interviews.
Cook and Ternus became advocates of abandoning past orthodoxy about four years ago, and the touchscreen shift was framed as a way to give the Mac a new boost and increase revenue with higher prices driven by higher-end features.
Touch is standard across the new range, and Dynamic Island is one of the biggest changes alongside a smaller and lighter enclosure and a new 16TB maximum SSD option on M5 Max configurations.
Apple created the product years after Jobs argued touch screens were better suited for tablets and phones, and it quoted Jobs: “After an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. It doesn't work. It's ergonomically terrible.”