Apple puts a touch screen on the MacBook Pro

Apple opened preorders on Wednesday for the first MacBook Pro with a touch screen. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899, while the 16-inch version costs $3,399. Both laptops will ship on November 6.

The new devices feature what Apple calls a PROLED XDR display. This tandem OLED panel offers a peak SDR brightness of 2,000 nits and a contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1. The screen supports a 120Hz refresh rate. Apple states that the touch sensor is built directly into the display panel rather than layered on top, a design choice the company says reduces latency.

This launch reverses a long-standing company policy. In 2010, Steve Jobs described touch screen laptops as ergonomically terrible. In 2012, Tim Cook told investors he did not see the tablet and laptop converging. Apple briefly tested a Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro starting in 2016 but removed it in 2023.

The hardware includes M5 Pro or M5 Max chips. The 14-inch model weighs 3 pounds, and the 16-inch model weighs 4 pounds. Apple slimmed the bezels to increase the actual screen size to 14.2 inches and 16.3 inches, respectively. The 16-inch laptop is nearly a millimeter thinner than its predecessor.

The laptops offer up to 24 hours of battery life. They include a MagSafe 3 port, a headphone jack, an SD card reader, an HDMI port, and three Thunderbolt 5 ports. The M5 Max version supports four external displays simultaneously, while the M5 Pro version supports three. Apple also added a six-speaker sound system and a newly designed hinge.

Apple says an updated API will allow developers to add touch support to their apps. The company cited testing iOS and iPadOS apps and playing software instruments as use cases. A Dynamic Island feature on the screen will display Live Activities, similar to iPhone functionality.

The announcement capped a week of new product reveals that also included an OLED iPad Mini and M6-powered iMacs.