Apple announced its first touchscreen laptop, the MacBook Pro with ProLED XDR Display, with the 14-inch model starting at $2,899. The launch reverses a long-held design stance and arrives as laptop shipments slump and memory costs push prices up.
Apple announced its first laptop with a touch screen on Wednesday, calling it the MacBook Pro with ProLED XDR Display. It runs MacOS rather than an iPhone or iPad operating system, and Apple showed users swiping on the screen to manipulate videos and images.
The laptop uses an OLED display and M5 Pro or Max chips, according to CNBC. Business Insider reports the screen also includes a Dynamic Island cutout, similar to recent iPhones.
Touchscreen models cost more than the M6 version
The 14-inch version starts at $2,899 and the 16-inch version costs at least $3,399, with sales starting Nov. 6. Business Insider notes that the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6, announced Tuesday, starts at $1,999 and has a Liquid Retina XDR display.
Apple has resisted touchscreens on its laptops for decades. In 2021, John Ternus, then Apple's senior VP of hardware engineering, told The Wall Street Journal that Apple had not felt a reason to change that. Ternus, now CEO, said at the launch: "Yes, for the very first time, we are bringing touch to the Mac,"
A weak laptop market sets the backdrop
The launch comes as the laptop market goes through one of its worst slumps ever, with overall shipments expected to fall 11% this year. IDC estimates that total PC shipments dropped 20% year over year in the third quarter, while Apple's own shipments fell 11%.
Counterpoint Research puts the decline at a 21% year-to-year drop in global PC shipments from July to September. Analysts say the AI-driven memory shortage has contributed to higher laptop prices, which has hurt sales and demand.
Mac remains a smaller business than iPhone
Apple reported $10.35 billion in Mac sales in its most recent quarter, just under 10% of total revenue. IDC's Ryan Reith said touchscreens are not a selling point behind most laptop purchases, and that only 17% of notebook PCs shipped globally this year will have one.
Reith said the question is mainly one of user interface and software, and that the feature could draw developers in.
Sources: CNBC, Business Insider
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