Hands-on with Apple’s touchscreen MacBook Pro

Apple unveiled its first touchscreen MacBook Pro during a "Pro and tell" event on Wednesday. The new laptop, starting at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch version, is set to be preordered starting today ahead of its November 6th release. The laptop features an OLED touchscreen display, branded as a "PROLED XDR" panel, which offers up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

It runs on M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, not the M6 chip used in other recent MacBook Pro announcements. The touchscreen is built directly into the display panel, Apple says, reducing latency. The display also includes a Dynamic Island for Live Activities, similar to features on iPhones. The glowing Apple logo on the lid has made a return.

The touchscreen can be used for tasks such as scrolling webpages, zooming photos, testing iOS and iPadOS apps, or playing software instruments. Apple claims its apps are optimized for touch, with an updated API enabling developers to add touch capabilities to their own apps. The laptop weighs 3 pounds for the 14-inch version and 4 pounds for the 16-inch version, and both models are thinner than their predecessors.

The screen sizes have been increased, and bezels have been reduced. The MacBook Pro supports up to three external displays simultaneously or four with the M5 Max version. It also features a new hinge design for improved stability and an enhanced six-speaker sound system with improved bass and clarity. This marks a shift in Apple's stance on touchscreen laptops, which the company previously deemed "ergonomically terrible" and avoided since 2016.