Apple announced its first MacBook Pro models with touchscreens on Wednesday, marking a significant departure from the company’s long-standing reliance on keyboard, mouse, and trackpad input. The new laptops, featuring Apple’s ProLED XDR display and powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, will be available for preorder immediately and officially launch on November 6, according to the company’s “Pro and Tell” event in Los Angeles.
The 14-inch model starts at $2,899, while the 16-inch version begins at $3,399, representing a substantial price increase compared to non-touchscreen MacBook Pro models. For comparison, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M6 chip and Liquid Retina XDR display, announced the day prior, starts at $1,999.
Apple’s new touchscreen MacBook Pros retain the MacOS operating system and include a Dynamic Island cutout in the display, similar to recent iPhone models. The company highlighted features such as OLED technology, improved brightness, wider viewing angles, and a lighter design compared to current pro laptops. During the announcement, Apple demonstrated on-screen gestures for manipulating videos and images, though the laptops will continue running MacOS rather than iPadOS.
The introduction of touchscreen MacBook Pros represents a reversal of Apple’s long-held stance against touch-enabled laptops, a decision CEO John Ternus explicitly acknowledged in remarks to media and analysts. “Yes, for the very first time, we are bringing touch to the Mac,” Ternus stated during the event.
The announcement follows Apple’s recent product launches, including a new iPad Mini with an OLED screen and an iMac with an M6 chip, both unveiled earlier in the week. The new MacBook Pro models are the third major hardware release under Ternus’s leadership, signaling an accelerated product cadence for the company.
Industry analysts attribute the price increases for the new MacBook Pros to a global memory shortage, driven in part by the expansion of AI and cloud infrastructure. The shortage has affected multiple PC manufacturers, leading to higher costs across the sector. Market research firm Counterpoint Research reported a 21% year-over-year decline in global PC shipments from July to September, while IDC estimated an 11% drop in overall PC shipments for the year. Apple’s own shipments fell 11% in the third quarter, according to IDC’s estimates.
Despite the broader market downturn, Apple has raised prices for several products in recent months, including up to $300 increases for some Mac and iPad models in June. The company did not provide additional commentary on whether the touchscreen feature would justify the premium pricing or how it plans to address potential demand fluctuations amid economic uncertainty.