Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Is Here (Sorry, Steve Jobs)

Apple unveiled a touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro from $2,899 on October 28, 2026, a day after a $1,999 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip.

A creator touches the screen of the new touchscreen MacBook Pro at night with a city skyline behind her

In 2010, Steve Jobs said a touchscreen on a laptop was "ergonomically terrible". Apple spent the next 16 years agreeing with him.

Until today.

On October 28, 2026, Apple unveiled the touchscreen MacBook Pro, its first Mac you can actually poke. It comes in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, with M5 Pro or M5 Max chips and a new tandem OLED screen Apple calls PROLED XDR.

The numbers are wild. Up to 2,000 nits of brightness. A contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1. The notch is gone, replaced by an iPhone-style Dynamic Island. Apple even built a new hinge so the screen doesn't wobble every time you tap it.

It's lighter too. The 14-inch model drops half a pound to 3 pounds, and Apple promises up to 24 hours of battery.

The price is where it hurts. $2,899 for the 14-inch with M5 Pro, $3,399 for the 16-inch, and $4,799 for a 16-inch with M5 Max.

That's a used car. A used car that now gets fingerprints on the screen.

A designer touches the screen of the new touchscreen MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display in an office

But Apple had a cheaper surprise one day earlier. On October 27, it announced a regular 14-inch MacBook Pro with the new M6 chip, starting at $1,999.

No touch, no OLED. But the M6 gets two extra CPU cores and two extra GPU cores, and Apple says graphics are up to 30% faster than M5, with AI tasks up to 25% faster. You also get Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, 16GB of memory to start and up to 24 hours of battery.

So who should upgrade? If your MacBook still has an Intel chip or an M1, yes. Apple says M1 owners get up to four extra hours of battery, and the jump in speed is huge.

If you bought an M5 last year, keep your money. Up to 30% faster graphics is nice, but it's not "sell my laptop" nice.

A man works outdoors in a garden on the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip

But careful: the touchscreen model is a first generation. We all saw what happened with the iPhone Duo and its cracking screens. Personally, I'd let other people test the touch MacBook for a few months before I hand over $2,899.

Both laptops can be preordered on Apple's site and land in stores on November 6.

Steve Jobs said people don't want to reach out and touch a laptop screen. Apple just put a $4,799 price tag on finding out.

Photos: Apple

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