Apple unveiled a new 14-inch MacBook Pro starting at $1,999 on Tuesday, alongside a refreshed iMac priced from $1,499, a day before a Los Angeles product event that had tech watchers buzzing about whether the company would finally break its decades-long resistance to touchscreen laptops.
The new MacBook Pro, powered by Apple's M6 chip, can be pre-ordered starting October 28, with availability beginning Friday, November 6, according to Apple. The company says the M6 model delivers up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI performance than its M5 predecessor, along with up to 24 hours of battery life, per Investing.com.
The event, dubbed “Pro and tell,” had been confirmed earlier in October, with Apple saying it was planning to debut its first touch-screen MacBook, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg reported that the Los Angeles showcase would also include a new low-end MacBook Pro with an M6 chip, a refreshed iMac and a revamped iPad mini with a sharper screen.
What the Rumor Mill Expected
In the days leading up to the event, reports converged on the idea that Apple's touchscreen MacBook Pro would use a new OLED display and come in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, built around the current M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the same report notes. A last-minute leak reported by 9to5mac.com indicated Apple planned to keep selling non-touch MacBook Pro models alongside any new touch-enabled machines rather than replacing the lineup outright.
That same report, from 9to5Mac, said Apple had discussed charging $2,899 for a 14-inch touchscreen model with an M5 Pro chip, compared with the current $2,499 starting price for the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip before any added cost for an OLED touch panel.
Breaking With Years of Resistance
A shift toward touchscreen laptops would mark a striking reversal for a company that spent more than a decade publicly dismissing the idea. Steve Jobs called touchscreens on laptops “ergonomically terrible” back in 2010, and the closest Apple previously came was the MacBook Pro Touch Bar, offered from 2016 to 2023, the outlet reports.
The M1 Pro and M1 Max generation brought major changes to the MacBook Pro line in 2021. Inside Apple, the push for change reportedly came in part from executive John Ternus, who believed the company had fallen behind because touch screens had become table stakes for laptops, according to the 9to5Mac leak.
Macs and Apple's AI Pitch
The new hardware arrives as Apple leans on its Mac lineup as part of its broader artificial-intelligence strategy, since its chips can access more memory at higher speeds than many other consumer processors, according to CNBC. As Apple positions the M6 MacBook Pro around faster on-device AI performance, the question of whether future Macs also get touchscreens remains tied to that same AI-driven sales pitch.
Beyond Tuesday's confirmed launches, much about Apple's touchscreen ambitions remains unresolved in the available reporting. The Sacramento Bee reported that Apple was expected to unveil its first touchscreen MacBooks at the Los Angeles event, following the company's September launch of a folding iPhone duo and an October smart home hub debut in New York.
