Apple's first touchscreen MacBook Pro: less revolution, more business as usual
Apple has unveiled a MacBook Pro with an OLED display and touch input, a combination its leaders previously dismissed. The Verge's reviewer concludes the touch features currently add to, rather than change, how a laptop is used.
US technology company Apple has released a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen and an OLED display called the PROLED XDR Display. Antonio G. Di Benedetto of the tech outlet The Verge tried the device at an Apple event. He writes that, according to the last two Apple CEOs, such a laptop shouldn't exist, yet the most surprising thing is how normal it turns out to be.
The display
The reviewer calls the screen one of the nicest he has seen on a laptop. Compared with current Mini LED models, the OLED delivers inkier blacks, high brightness, rich colors and infinite contrast. Apple describes it as a "reference-caliber display", and it is said to be the first laptop display supporting Apple CMF 2026 color modes.
Touch input
For 16 years Apple said it would not put an OLED or a touchscreen in a laptop. Now the touchscreen is here, but the reviewer sees no magic in it. Users can poke and swipe, and some interface elements in macOS 27 Golden Gate and certain apps magnify or expand slightly when tapped. Most gestures in the touch settings menu simply mirror what the trackpad already does. Professionals who recently began using the new model, whom he met at the event, still relied mainly on the keyboard and trackpad. In a photographer's demo, taps and swipes were a natural way to collage images, but a mouse or trackpad works as well.
The reviewer recalls that more than a decade ago touchscreen laptops were expected to be revolutionary, but the failure of Windows 8 turned them into just another product segment. In his view, Apple's move could pave the way for touchscreens on cheaper models such as the MacBook Air and Neo. He does not expect Apple Pencil support or a 360-degree hinge soon.
Other changes
The new model has a lighter chassis, a Dynamic Island in place of the notch, and the return of the illuminated Apple logo. The logo drew the biggest reaction from the audience during John Ternus' brief presentation.
