Apple Unveils Its First Touchscreen MacBook Pro, From $2,899, on Sale 6 November

The chips are the M5 Pro and M5 Max already used in the March models, with up to 128GB of unified memory. TechCrunch adds storage up to 16TB, three Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI, an SDXC card slot, MagSafe and a headphone jack. The 14-inch weighs three pounds and the 16-inch four pounds, and the body is up to a millimetre slimmer, MacRumors says. Fast charging reaches 50 percent in 30 minutes.

How does touch work on a Mac?

The touch sensor is built into the panel, so Apple says it adds no latency, and macOS translates touch into clicks, which means many existing apps respond to a finger straight away. A new hinge is meant to keep the screen steady when pressed, and it also steadies the camera on video calls.

Apple executives framed it as an addition rather than a change of philosophy. Speaking to Wired, as MacRumors summarised, Ternus said the Mac is still mainly an indirect input device built around the keyboard and trackpad, but that "there's times when it's comfortable and handy to have touch." Marketing chief Greg Joswiak said pro users had been waiting and that a generation of young creators expects it.

How does the price compare?

TechCrunch says the 14-inch OLED model starts at $2,899 and the 16-inch at $3,399, and a day earlier Apple introduced a standard 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M6 chip from $1,999. The touch models are therefore the premium end of the lineup. Independent testing will show what the new panel does to battery life.

Reviews will arrive before the 6 November on-sale date. The questions to watch are how many third-party apps adapt their interfaces for touch, whether the hinge holds up to daily tapping, and whether buyers will pay for a screen that, for the first time, asks to be touched.