Apple's First Touchscreen MacBook Pro Wins Reviewers Over
Apple has released its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, pairing touch input with an OLED display. Reviewers call it Apple's best laptop but question the price.
- $2,899 buys the 14-inch model; the 16-inch starts at $3,399.
- $14,549 is the price of the fully loaded configuration.
- 3 pounds for the 14-inch and 4 pounds for the 16-inch.
- Same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the standard models.
Why it matters: Apple long kept touch off the Mac, and Steve Jobs called touch laptops a bad idea. Reviewers now say the touch feature is useful but secondary.
- No Apple Pencil support, so it does not replace an iPad.
- Reviewers cite memory-driven price increases already raising laptop costs.
How 7 sources split on this story
Where they split: Reviewers report different premiums over the standard MacBook Pro: The Verge and CNET say $400, Gizmodo says $500, and Engadget says $900 for the 14-inch model.
Center coverage, 3 sources: The center sees a refined redesign with a professional-grade display, where touch adds little beyond convenience.
Left coverage, 3 sources: The left sees an excellent laptop whose touchscreen barely matters, with a price few buyers can justify.
Right coverage, 1 sources: The right sees a long-requested feature arriving at a cost that should make buyers weigh whether it is worth it.
What’s next: CNET published a review in progress and says screen and performance results are still coming.
- Battery life claims of up to 24 hours await independent testing.
- How long will Apple keep selling the non-touch MacBook Pro alongside the new model?
- Will future top-end chips appear only in the OLED models, as Gizmodo's reviewer suggests may happen?
