Apple Touchscreen MacBook Pro Starts at $2,899, Ships November 6
Apple’s first full touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at $2,899, pairing M5 Pro or Max chips with 14-inch and 16-inch PROLED XDR displays from November 6.
Summary
Apple launched its full touchscreen MacBook Pro on October 28, 2026, nearly 10 years after introducing and later removing the Touch Bar. The 14-inch and 16-inch models offer M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, up to 128GB of unified memory and 16TB of storage. Their PROLED XDR displays deliver 2,000 nits of peak HDR and SDR brightness and a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio. A reinforced hinge stabilizes the screen during touch input and video calls, while a Dynamic Island-style cutout replaces the notch. A six-speaker array adds redesigned woofers. The lighter 14-inch model weighs 3.0 pounds, or 1.38 kg, and the 16-inch weighs 4.0 pounds, or 1.82 kg.
Both models include three Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI, an SDXC slot, MagSafe and a headphone jack. M5 Pro supports three external displays, while M5 Max supports four. Prices start at $2,899 for 14 inches and $3,399 for 16 inches. Preorders open October 30, with availability November 6. The computer is new CEO John Ternus’s second marquee launch after September’s iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable. It reverses years of opposition from Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, with Jobs once calling touchscreen Macs ergonomically terrible, after rumors circulated for nearly three years. Apple unveiled a standard 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro on October 27 starting at $1,999.
Positives
- 2,000-nit HDR and SDR brightness pairs with a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio on the new PROLED XDR display.
- 128GB of unified memory and 16TB of storage provide unusually high configuration ceilings for professional users.
- Three Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe and a headphone jack preserve broad connectivity.
- Four external displays are supported with M5 Max, while M5 Pro supports three.
- 3.0-pound and 4.0-pound weights make both touchscreen models lighter than their non-touch predecessors.
- October 30 preorders lead to November 6 availability in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes.
Risks & concerns
- $2,899 and $3,399 starting prices place the touchscreen models well above the $1,999 standard MacBook Pro.
- M5 Pro and M5 Max power the touchscreen line despite Apple unveiling a standard M6 model one day earlier.
- Nearly 10 years passed between Apple’s limited Touch Bar experiment and its adoption of a full touchscreen.
- Battery life and pricing for configurations with 128GB of memory or 16TB of storage remain unspecified.