Apple launches first touchscreen MacBook pro: From new features to India price, everything you need to know
PTC News Desk: Apple has introduced touchscreen support to its MacBook Pro laptops for the first time, changing its long-standing approach to laptop design. The new models were announced at the company’s “Pro and tell” event on Wednesday. They feature an OLED display, touch gestures, Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, a redesigned interface and a lighter body.
In India, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is priced at ₹3,49,900, while the 16-inch model costs ₹4,09,900. The laptops are scheduled to go on sale from November 9. The touchscreen is the biggest new feature. Users can scroll through documents, zoom in on images, draw and add notes directly on the screen. Apple says the feature could also help professionals, allowing designers to work with 3D models and music producers to adjust controls using their fingers.
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The new MacBook Pro also brings the iPhone’s Dynamic Island feature to the Mac. It provides quick access to Spotlight search, Live Activities, music controls and other information at the top of the screen.
New OLED display and improved performance
The laptop features a tandem OLED display, which Apple calls PROLED XDR. It is designed to deliver deeper blacks, better contrast and more accurate colours. The display supports refresh rates of up to 120Hz through ProMotion. Its peak brightness reaches 2,000 nits when displaying HDR content. Apple is also offering a nano-texture display option to reduce reflections.
The new models run on Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. These processors are designed for demanding tasks such as video editing, 3D rendering, software development and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. According to Apple, the chips include Neural Accelerators in their graphics processing units (GPUs) to speed up AI-related work. Storage options go up to 16TB, and Apple claims storage speeds can be up to twice as fast as before.
Other improvements include a redesigned cooling system, an upgraded six-speaker audio setup and a three-microphone array designed for studio-quality recording. The laptops support Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. They also retain several familiar ports, including HDMI, an SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 charging, a headphone jack and three Thunderbolt 5 ports. Apple claims the new MacBook Pro can deliver up to 24 hours of battery life. The battery can also charge to 50 per cent in 30 minutes. The redesigned models are lighter than their predecessors.
Change in laptop strategy
Apple’s decision to introduce touchscreen support is significant because the company has opposed the idea for many years. In 2010, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs described touchscreen laptops as “ergonomically terrible”. In 2012, former CEO Tim Cook also questioned the idea of combining tablets and laptops, comparing it to trying to combine a toaster with a refrigerator.
Apple later introduced the Touch Bar in its MacBook Pro models in 2016. The touch-sensitive strip replaced the traditional function keys and offered controls that changed depending on the application being used. However, Apple brought back physical function keys in its 2021 MacBook Pro redesign and discontinued the Touch Bar in 2023.
The new MacBook Pro marks a major shift in the company’s approach. It introduces direct touchscreen controls while retaining the traditional keyboard and trackpad, giving users more ways to interact with the laptop.
- PTC NEWS
