Apple has introduced a touchscreen feature on its latest MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR Display, marking the company’s first embrace of touch input on a MacBook. The high-end model, starting at $2,899, is positioned for professional users who prioritize advanced capabilities and are willing to pay a premium.
The addition of touch functionality represents a notable shift for Apple, which historically avoided touchscreens on MacBooks. In 2010, Steve Jobs dismissed the idea, citing discomfort from prolonged arm use. However, evolving software and use cases appear to have prompted a reevaluation. The touchscreen enables more intuitive interactions in certain applications, such as map navigation and video editing, where direct manipulation simplifies tasks like zooming, panning, and adjusting timelines. Users can perform standard Mac gestures with a finger, including tapping to select, swiping to reveal the dock, and flicking windows to snap them to screen halves.
Despite these advantages, the touchscreen's benefits remain limited in everyday computing scenarios, where precision pointing and small interface elements make finger input less practical. Apple has not enabled Apple Pencil compatibility on the new MacBook Pro, citing software optimization for stylus use on the iPad instead. Some demonstrations, including a touch-screen piano app, highlighted physical constraints like the screen’s inability to lie flat, reducing ergonomic comfort.
This latest initiative follows Apple’s mixed history with touch innovations on its laptops, such as the Touch Bar introduced in 2016 and subsequently phased out in favor of physical keys. The new touchscreen could appeal primarily to creative professionals, including photographers, designers, and developers who engage with touch-enabled apps.
The move aligns with broader industry trends. According to IDC, touch-enabled notebooks are a growing market segment, with shipments reaching 33.4 million units worldwide in 2025, a 22% increase over the previous year. Yet, consumer adoption remains modest; only about 11% of buyers choose touch laptops, often without paying extra for that feature.
While touch input is a notable addition, the MacBook Pro’s standout upgrade lies in its new OLED display, delivering improved contrast and deeper blacks akin to those on the iPhone. The model also incorporates Apple’s Dynamic Island interface for multitasking and is lighter and thinner compared to previous MacBook Pros.
Alongside the new MacBook Pro, Apple announced updates to other products, including a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M6 chip, refreshed iMacs, and an iPad Mini featuring an OLED display starting at $699, with an optional antiglare upgrade for $899. Other recent product launches include the folding iPhone Duo and the HomeView smart-home hub. Apple insiders say further major announcements are unlikely until the release of lower-cost iPhones next spring.