TECHTALKS

Apple breaks tradition, unveils first touchscreen MacBook Pro

DT · Oct 31, 2026, 5:32 AM

AFTER years of resisting touchscreen laptops, Apple has unveiled its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, marking a major shift in the company’s approach to personal computing. — Photograph courtesy of Apple Inc.

COMBINED with up to 2000 nits peak SDR brightness and a state-of-the-art antireflective coating, the new MacBook Pro delivers exceptional clarity even in bright environments, while a nano-texture option further reduces glare and reflections.

Apple has unveiled its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, marking a major departure from the company’s long-standing resistance to touch-enabled laptops as it seeks to redefine how users interact with its flagship computers.

The technology giant introduced the redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models during a launch event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, 28 October, bringing touchscreen capabilities to the Mac for the first time.

The announcement represents a significant shift for Apple, which has historically maintained that touchscreens belong on tablets and smartphones rather than traditional laptops.

The new MacBook Pro features Apple’s PROLED XDR display, which uses tandem OLED technology to deliver improved brightness, deeper blacks and more accurate colors. The screens support up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, a 120Hz variable refresh rate and a contrast ratio of 10 million to one.

Unlike conventional MacBooks, the redesigned models allow users to interact directly with the display through gestures such as tapping, swiping, pinching and dragging, while retaining the keyboard and trackpad.

Apple also introduced Dynamic Island to the MacBook Pro, bringing the interactive notification feature previously associated with its iPhone lineup to its laptops.

The feature provides access to Spotlight searches, Live Activities, notifications and the company’s artificial intelligence-powered Siri assistant.

The laptops are powered by Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, designed to handle demanding tasks such as video editing, 3D rendering, software development and artificial intelligence applications.

Apple said the machines support up to 128GB of unified memory and 16TB of storage, with battery life reaching up to 24 hours.

The company also redesigned the laptops to make them thinner and lighter while improving stability during touchscreen use. The 14-inch model weighs approximately 3 pounds, while the 16-inch version weighs 4 pounds.

The introduction of touchscreen functionality also expands the MacBook Pro’s appeal to creative professionals, allowing graphic designers, video editors and musicians to interact directly with their work.

Applications including Microsoft Office, Adobe Lightroom, DaVinci Resolve and Blender are among those expected to support touch-based workflows.

The move reverses a philosophy long associated with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who questioned the practicality of vertically oriented touchscreens on laptop computers.

Apple had previously maintained a distinction between the MacBook, designed around a keyboard and trackpad, and the iPad, which prioritizes touchscreen interaction.

The new MacBook Pro signals a change in that approach as Apple faces competition from Windows laptop manufacturers that have offered touchscreen devices for years.

However, the new capabilities come at a premium.

The 14-inch touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 in the United States, placing it firmly in the high-end laptop market.

Preorders opened on 28 October, with the devices scheduled to reach stores on 6 November.