Apple launches new MacBook Pro with touchscreen and OLED – starts at $2,899
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Apple finally has touchscreen laptops. At an event in Los Angeles, the company detailed its new MacBook Pros with OLED XDR displays that you can control with your fingers.
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are now available for pre-order and will be available on November 6. The 14-inch starts at $2,899, while the 16-inch at $3,399. The systems use Apple’s existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and go to 16TB of storage and 128GB of memory.
These systems also feature the first redesigns for the MacBook Pro since 2021, when the M1 Pro and M1 Max were launched in what has become a familiar design with a notch. These new models include the Dynamic Island around the webcam, similar to the iPhone, which can be used for real-time notifications. They also have illuminated Apple logos, which we haven’t seen on a MacBook Pro since 2016.
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The PROLED XDR display comes in 14.2- and 16.3-inch sizes, with ProMotion allowing refresh rates between 10 Hz and 120 Hz. Apple claims 2,000 nits of peak brightness and a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio for intensely deep blacks.
(Image credit: Apple)
The 14-inch MacBook Pro is 3 pounds, about half a pound less than the existing version, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro is 4 pounds, or 0.7 pounds lighter than it was before. Apple’s bezels are also less noticeable than before. The hinge seems to be a point of pride (this is the second time this month, after the iPhone Duo). In this case, it is that the screen is less prone to shake when you touch it.
The new laptops are only slightly thinner than their predecessors. Apple claims that the 16-inch model is “almost a millimeter thinner” and the 14-inch is “half a millimeter thinner.” Apple attributes these savings to the OLED display stack.
(Image credit: Apple)
Apple’s own apps are already set to work with touch out of the box, and the company says many other apps already work out of the box, including Notion, Canva, Zoom, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Lightroom, DaVinci Resolve, Blender, and more.
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Apple already had the best speakers in a laptop, and now it promises improvements: 50% deeper bass and new tweeters for clearer sound. There’s even dedicated audio tuning for people who want to use the speakers with their laptop lid closed.
The significant change to Mac is another in a flurry of launches for new CEO John Ternus, who also recently introduced the iPhone 18 Pro; the foldable iPhone Duo; Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4; HomeView; and a new iPad Mini, also with an OLED panel.
The devices follow a long resistance against touchscreen laptops from Apple. Former CEO Steve Jobs, at an event where Mac OS X Lion was introduced in 2010, called laptops with touchscreens “ergonomically terrible”claims that “after a long time, your arm wants to fall.” (HomeView, Apple’s smart home manager, has a vertical touchscreen and no one gave a peep about it. Even the iPad was vertical on Apple’s keyboards, although some of those also include touchpads).
The Mac also resisted a touchscreen during former CEO Tim Cook’s tenure, although these new laptops were definitely developed under his leadership. Over the past decade, touchscreens have become a common feature on laptops running Windows, and Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 11, was designed to be a bit more touch-friendly than its predecessors.
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