Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro hits shelves on 6 November, priced from $2,899

Photo: Collected

Apple, which long stood against the idea of touchscreen laptops, has now gone down that very road. Last Wednesday the company unveiled a new MacBook Pro with a ‘PROLED XDR Display’, Apple’s first touchscreen laptop. The device will be available from 6 November.

The new MacBook Pro comes in two versions, 14-inch and 16-inch, powered by Apple’s M 5 Pro or M 5 Max chip. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899 and the 16-inch at $3,399.

Keeping pace with the spread of mobile technology, PC makers around the world have been building touchscreen laptops for more than a decade. Apple had lagged behind in this space until now. This time it is bringing out the new laptop aimed at the MacBook Pro’s core users, particularly creative professionals and app developers.

Apple says users will be able to drag slides from one presentation to another with a finger on the touchscreen. App developers will be able to see how their apps run on their own computers. Graphic designers will be able to sketch drafts of images and designs by touching the screen, and musicians can play virtual instruments.

The company said many existing apps will support touch on the new laptop from the outset, because the software will recognise a finger tap on the screen as a mouse click.

The iPhone’s ‘Dynamic Island’ feature has also been added to the new MacBook Pro. On the iPhone, this pill-shaped area at the top of the screen houses various information and the front camera. For creative professionals, it also offers higher peak brightness than the non-touch version and Adobe RGB colour space.

Apple says the touch sensor has not been placed as a separate layer on top of the display but built into the display itself. This will cut response time and latency when swiping or scrolling on the screen.

The touchscreen laptop market is more than a decade old. In 2012, Microsoft made a big push to take the computer industry towards touch with the launch of Windows 8. The operating system had large tile-shaped icons like those on smartphones and tablets, but it drew sharp criticism for its complicated use and navigation.

The touchscreen laptops of that time also had various hardware limitations. The machines were heavy, expensive and awkward to use as tablets. As a result, PC makers struggled to keep up with the rapid rise of smartphones and tablets. At an event in 2013, Apple’s then chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Cook criticised such efforts by rivals. He is now executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors.

Tim Cook said at the time, ‘Our competitors are going a different way; they are confused themselves. They are trying to turn PCs into tablets and tablets into PCs. Who knows what they will do next?’

Touchscreen laptop technology has moved past those early limitations over time. Component prices have fallen, designs have become lighter and Windows has improved; altogether, these laptops are now far more user-friendly than before. Big manufacturers such as Dell and Lenovo now sell various models of touchscreen laptops.

Though it once criticised hybrid computers, Apple itself has gradually been moving towards this technology for several years. In 2019 the company overhauled the iPad’s software, adding productivity features such as running several apps at once.

Apple has also brought the Mac’s software more in line with the iPhone’s. Control panel-style elements for managing settings and the transparent ‘Liquid Glass’ design of app icons are part of that.

Still, touchscreen use in the global laptop market remains limited. Data from the international market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) show that only 16.3 per cent of all laptops shipped worldwide in 2025 had touchscreens. Ryan Reith, group vice president at IDC, believes a major reason is the low popularity of touchscreen laptops among commercial buyers. Most employees work at office desks with their laptops hooked up to monitors, so they have relatively little need for touch.

Apple had earlier tried to bring touch technology to the MacBook Pro in 2016. It introduced a narrow touch-sensitive panel called the ‘Touch Bar’ just above the keyboard, which gave access to controls and shortcuts in various apps. But it offered little use for the extra cost, so it did not get the expected response from customers.

Apple is usually a little late in bringing new technology to market. But in the past it has been seen that, even without being first with MP3 players, tablets or smartwatches, it made them simple and user-friendly and popular with ordinary buyers.

The touchscreen MacBook Pro is the latest example of that strategy. Earlier this month Apple unveiled ‘HomeView’, a smart home hub with which the company hopes to challenge Amazon’s dominance of that market.

Sales of Apple’s first foldable iPhone began last week. Here too it came in late, as its main rival Samsung established a strong position in the foldable phone market long ago.

Apple has long been under pressure to come up with a new blockbuster product. The contrast between new CEO John Ternus’s hardware experience and the operational skills of his predecessor Tim Cook has also sparked interest in Apple’s capacity to innovate under its new leadership.

At Apple’s earnings call next week, investors will scrutinise how the new products are faring in the market. The issue has gained further weight after reports of the iPhone Duo’s screen cracking came to light.

Some market analysts, however, think Apple’s new touchscreen laptop will set a new benchmark for its Windows-based rivals. Responding by email after the announcement, mobile device and computing analyst Francisco Jeronimo said, ‘Apple’s entry will not dramatically change the PC market. But it will change the status and standing of touchscreen-enabled laptops.’

Background

According to a MobileSyrup report of 19 October, Apple had announced an event called ‘Pro and Tell’ for 28 October; Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had earlier said an OLED MacBook Pro could go on sale on 6 November.

A Gizbot report said Gurman had pointed to reports of a major ‘floor reset’ at Apple Stores from the night of 5 November to 6 November as the basis for that date.

Sources

Original report: Ajker Patrika

Background sources: MobileSyrup, 19 October 2026; Gizbot, October 2026