Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 29: Apple has decided to bring touch to MacBook Pro, reversing a stance held for years. The company unveiled the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display this week, Hindustan Times reported. It is Apple’s first Mac laptop with a touchscreen. The move matters because Apple long kept touch for iPads and keyboards for Macs.
That separation defined Apple’s computing strategy for over a decade. Rivals, meanwhile, embraced touch laptops long ago. Microsoft, Dell, HP and Lenovo have sold touchscreen Windows machines for years. Apple now gains feature parity with those devices at the premium end. CEO John Ternus called the Mac stronger than ever while introducing the model. The bigger question is whether this signals convergence with iPadOS or simply adds input options. For now, touch sits alongside the keyboard and trackpad rather than replacing them.
The display is central to the pitch. It uses tandem OLED, which stacks several light-emitting layers within one panel. Spreading the light workload across layers should, in theory, improve efficiency and lifespan. Apple rates peak brightness at 2,000 nits. Its technical documentation cites a contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1. The panel also includes a full oxide transistor layer to balance pixel illumination. A stiffener behind the back glass aims to prevent light-bending distortion. These are manufacturer claims, still awaiting independent testing.
Under the hood, buyers choose between M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes are offered. M5 Pro models go up to 64GB of unified memory and 4TB storage. M5 Max versions stretch to 128GB of memory and 16TB storage. Such headroom targets developers, video editors and designers running heavy workloads. Apple claims up to 24 hours of video streaming on M5 Pro models. M5 Max models are rated at up to 22 hours on similar batteries. Real-world endurance will likely vary with screen brightness and workload. The laptop reportedly weighs about 1.38kg, close to lighter MacBook Air territory.
Software will decide how useful touch becomes. Scroll, zoom and draw gestures already work across apps, according to the report. Apple says touch lets apps add new functions within macOS. Developers must now adapt desktop interfaces without hurting mouse and trackpad use. Windows 8 showed how poorly planned touch interfaces can frustrate users.
Pricing places the machine firmly at the top of Apple’s range. It starts at ₹3,49,900 in India. The M6-powered 14-inch MacBook Pro begins at ₹2,39,900 by comparison. Higher component costs have pushed computing prices up across the industry, the report noted. Touch alone may not justify that premium for every professional buyer.
Still, the launch gives Apple touch across its entire computing line-up. That could encourage developers to build apps that work seamlessly across devices. Enterprise buyers will also weigh price against productivity gains. Whether professionals embrace touch on a Mac will depend on software, not hardware.
